path: root/upstream/fedora-40/man1/perlmodlib.1

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.\" ========================================================================
.\"
.IX Title "PERLMODLIB 1"
.TH PERLMODLIB 1 2024-01-25 "perl v5.38.2" "Perl Programmers Reference Guide"
.\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
.\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
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.nh
.SH NAME
perlmodlib \- constructing new Perl modules and finding existing ones
.SH "THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY"
.IX Header "THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY"
Many modules are included in the Perl distribution.  These are described
below, and all end in \fI.pm\fR.  You may discover compiled library
files (usually ending in \fI.so\fR) or small pieces of modules to be
autoloaded (ending in \fI.al\fR); these were automatically generated
by the installation process.  You may also discover files in the
library directory that end in either \fI.pl\fR or \fI.ph\fR.  These are
old libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still
run.  The \fI.pl\fR files will all eventually be converted into standard
modules, and the \fI.ph\fR files made by \fBh2ph\fR will probably end up
as extension modules made by \fBh2xs\fR.  (Some \fI.ph\fR values may
already be available through the POSIX, Errno, or Fcntl modules.)
The \fBpl2pm\fR file in the distribution may help in your conversion,
but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from bulletproof.
.SS "Pragmatic Modules"
.IX Subsection "Pragmatic Modules"
They work somewhat like compiler directives (pragmata) in that they
tend to affect the compilation of your program, and thus will usually
work well only when used within a \f(CW\*(C`use\*(C'\fR, or \f(CW\*(C`no\*(C'\fR.  Most of these
are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may countermand them
by saying:
.PP
.Vb 3
\&    no integer;
\&    no strict \*(Aqrefs\*(Aq;
\&    no warnings;
.Ve
.PP
which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.
.PP
Some pragmas are lexically scoped\-\-typically those that affect the
\&\f(CW$^H\fR hints variable.  Others affect the current package instead,
like \f(CW\*(C`use vars\*(C'\fR and \f(CW\*(C`use subs\*(C'\fR, which allow you to predeclare a
variables or subroutines within a particular \fIfile\fR rather than
just a block.  Such declarations are effective for the entire file
for which they were declared.  You cannot rescind them with \f(CW\*(C`no
vars\*(C'\fR or \f(CW\*(C`no subs\*(C'\fR.
.PP
The following pragmas are defined (and have their own documentation).
.IP attributes 12
.IX Item "attributes"
Get/set subroutine or variable attributes
.IP autodie 12
.IX Item "autodie"
Replace functions with ones that succeed or die with lexical scope
.IP autodie::exception 12
.IX Item "autodie::exception"
Exceptions from autodying functions.
.IP autodie::exception::system 12
.IX Item "autodie::exception::system"
Exceptions from autodying \fBsystem()\fR.
.IP autodie::hints 12
.IX Item "autodie::hints"
Provide hints about user subroutines to autodie
.IP autodie::skip 12
.IX Item "autodie::skip"
Skip a package when throwing autodie exceptions
.IP autouse 12
.IX Item "autouse"
Postpone load of modules until a function is used
.IP base 12
.IX Item "base"
Establish an ISA relationship with base classes at compile time
.IP bigfloat 12
.IX Item "bigfloat"
Transparent big floating point number support for Perl
.IP bigint 12
.IX Item "bigint"
Transparent big integer support for Perl
.IP bignum 12
.IX Item "bignum"
Transparent big number support for Perl
.IP bigrat 12
.IX Item "bigrat"
Transparent big rational number support for Perl
.IP blib 12
.IX Item "blib"
Use MakeMaker's uninstalled version of a package
.IP builtin 12
.IX Item "builtin"
Import built-in utility functions
.IP bytes 12
.IX Item "bytes"
Expose the individual bytes of characters
.IP charnames 12
.IX Item "charnames"
Access to Unicode character names and named character sequences; also define character names
.IP constant 12
.IX Item "constant"
Declare constants
.IP deprecate 12
.IX Item "deprecate"
Perl pragma for deprecating the inclusion of a module in core
.IP diagnostics 12
.IX Item "diagnostics"
Produce verbose warning diagnostics
.IP encoding 12
.IX Item "encoding"
Allows you to write your script in non-ASCII and non\-UTF\-8
.IP encoding::warnings 12
.IX Item "encoding::warnings"
Warn on implicit encoding conversions
.IP experimental 12
.IX Item "experimental"
Experimental features made easy
.IP feature 12
.IX Item "feature"
Enable new features
.IP fields 12
.IX Item "fields"
Compile-time class fields
.IP filetest 12
.IX Item "filetest"
Control the filetest permission operators
.IP if 12
.IX Item "if"
\&\f(CW\*(C`use\*(C'\fR a Perl module if a condition holds
.IP integer 12
.IX Item "integer"
Use integer arithmetic instead of floating point
.IP less 12
.IX Item "less"
Request less of something
.IP lib 12
.IX Item "lib"
Manipulate \f(CW@INC\fR at compile time
.IP locale 12
.IX Item "locale"
Use or avoid POSIX locales for built-in operations
.IP mro 12
.IX Item "mro"
Method Resolution Order
.IP ok 12
.IX Item "ok"
Alternative to Test::More::use_ok
.IP open 12
.IX Item "open"
Set default PerlIO layers for input and output
.IP ops 12
.IX Item "ops"
Restrict unsafe operations when compiling
.IP overload 12
.IX Item "overload"
Package for overloading Perl operations
.IP overloading 12
.IX Item "overloading"
Lexically control overloading
.IP parent 12
.IX Item "parent"
Establish an ISA relationship with base classes at compile time
.IP re 12
.IX Item "re"
Alter regular expression behaviour
.IP sigtrap 12
.IX Item "sigtrap"
Enable simple signal handling
.IP sort 12
.IX Item "sort"
Control \fBsort()\fR behaviour
.IP stable 12
.IX Item "stable"
Experimental features made easy, once we know they're stable
.IP strict 12
.IX Item "strict"
Restrict unsafe constructs
.IP subs 12
.IX Item "subs"
Predeclare subroutine names
.IP threads 12
.IX Item "threads"
Perl interpreter-based threads
.IP threads::shared 12
.IX Item "threads::shared"
Perl extension for sharing data structures between threads
.IP utf8 12
.IX Item "utf8"
Enable/disable UTF\-8 (or UTF-EBCDIC) in source code
.IP vars 12
.IX Item "vars"
Predeclare global variable names
.IP version 12
.IX Item "version"
Perl extension for Version Objects
.IP vmsish 12
.IX Item "vmsish"
Control VMS-specific language features
.IP warnings 12
.IX Item "warnings"
Control optional warnings
.IP warnings::register 12
.IX Item "warnings::register"
Warnings import function
.SS "Standard Modules"
.IX Subsection "Standard Modules"
Standard, bundled modules are all expected to behave in a well-defined
manner with respect to namespace pollution because they use the
Exporter module.  See their own documentation for details.
.PP
It's possible that not all modules listed below are installed on your
system. For example, the GDBM_File module will not be installed if you
don't have the gdbm library.
.IP Amiga::ARexx 12
.IX Item "Amiga::ARexx"
Perl extension for ARexx support
.IP Amiga::Exec 12
.IX Item "Amiga::Exec"
Perl extension for low level amiga support
.IP AnyDBM_File 12
.IX Item "AnyDBM_File"
Provide framework for multiple DBMs
.IP App::Cpan 12
.IX Item "App::Cpan"
Easily interact with CPAN from the command line
.IP App::Prove 12
.IX Item "App::Prove"
Implements the \f(CW\*(C`prove\*(C'\fR command.
.IP App::Prove::State 12
.IX Item "App::Prove::State"
State storage for the \f(CW\*(C`prove\*(C'\fR command.
.IP App::Prove::State::Result 12
.IX Item "App::Prove::State::Result"
Individual test suite results.
.IP App::Prove::State::Result::Test 12
.IX Item "App::Prove::State::Result::Test"
Individual test results.
.IP Archive::Tar 12
.IX Item "Archive::Tar"
Module for manipulations of tar archives
.IP Archive::Tar::File 12
.IX Item "Archive::Tar::File"
A subclass for in-memory extracted file from Archive::Tar
.IP Attribute::Handlers 12
.IX Item "Attribute::Handlers"
Simpler definition of attribute handlers
.IP AutoLoader 12
.IX Item "AutoLoader"
Load subroutines only on demand
.IP AutoSplit 12
.IX Item "AutoSplit"
Split a package for autoloading
.IP B 12
.IX Item "B"
The Perl Compiler Backend
.IP B::Concise 12
.IX Item "B::Concise"
Walk Perl syntax tree, printing concise info about ops
.IP B::Deparse 12
.IX Item "B::Deparse"
Perl compiler backend to produce perl code
.IP B::Op_private 12
.IX Item "B::Op_private"
OP op_private flag definitions
.IP B::Showlex 12
.IX Item "B::Showlex"
Show lexical variables used in functions or files
.IP B::Terse 12
.IX Item "B::Terse"
Walk Perl syntax tree, printing terse info about ops
.IP B::Xref 12
.IX Item "B::Xref"
Generates cross reference reports for Perl programs
.IP Benchmark 12
.IX Item "Benchmark"
Benchmark running times of Perl code
.ie n .IP """IO::Socket::IP""" 12
.el .IP \f(CWIO::Socket::IP\fR 12
.IX Item "IO::Socket::IP"
Family-neutral IP socket supporting both IPv4 and IPv6
.ie n .IP """Socket""" 12
.el .IP \f(CWSocket\fR 12
.IX Item "Socket"
Networking constants and support functions
.IP CORE 12
.IX Item "CORE"
Namespace for Perl's core routines
.IP CPAN 12
.IX Item "CPAN"
Query, download and build perl modules from CPAN sites
.IP CPAN::API::HOWTO 12
.IX Item "CPAN::API::HOWTO"
A recipe book for programming with CPAN.pm
.IP CPAN::Debug 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Debug"
Internal debugging for CPAN.pm
.IP CPAN::Distroprefs 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Distroprefs"
Read and match distroprefs
.IP CPAN::FirstTime 12
.IX Item "CPAN::FirstTime"
Utility for CPAN::Config file Initialization
.IP CPAN::HandleConfig 12
.IX Item "CPAN::HandleConfig"
Internal configuration handling for CPAN.pm
.IP CPAN::Kwalify 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Kwalify"
Interface between CPAN.pm and Kwalify.pm
.IP CPAN::Meta 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta"
The distribution metadata for a CPAN dist
.IP CPAN::Meta::Converter 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Converter"
Convert CPAN distribution metadata structures
.IP CPAN::Meta::Feature 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Feature"
An optional feature provided by a CPAN distribution
.IP CPAN::Meta::History 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History"
History of CPAN Meta Spec changes
.IP CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_0 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_0"
Version 1.0 metadata specification for META.yml
.IP CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_1 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_1"
Version 1.1 metadata specification for META.yml
.IP CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_2 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_2"
Version 1.2 metadata specification for META.yml
.IP CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_3 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_3"
Version 1.3 metadata specification for META.yml
.IP CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_4 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::History::Meta_1_4"
Version 1.4 metadata specification for META.yml
.IP CPAN::Meta::Merge 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Merge"
Merging CPAN Meta fragments
.IP CPAN::Meta::Prereqs 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Prereqs"
A set of distribution prerequisites by phase and type
.IP CPAN::Meta::Requirements 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Requirements"
A set of version requirements for a CPAN dist
.IP CPAN::Meta::Spec 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Spec"
Specification for CPAN distribution metadata
.IP CPAN::Meta::Validator 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::Validator"
Validate CPAN distribution metadata structures
.IP CPAN::Meta::YAML 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Meta::YAML"
Read and write a subset of YAML for CPAN Meta files
.IP CPAN::Nox 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Nox"
Wrapper around CPAN.pm without using any XS module
.IP CPAN::Plugin 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Plugin"
Base class for CPAN shell extensions
.IP CPAN::Plugin::Specfile 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Plugin::Specfile"
Proof of concept implementation of a trivial CPAN::Plugin
.IP CPAN::Queue 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Queue"
Internal queue support for CPAN.pm
.IP CPAN::Tarzip 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Tarzip"
Internal handling of tar archives for CPAN.pm
.IP CPAN::Version 12
.IX Item "CPAN::Version"
Utility functions to compare CPAN versions
.IP Carp 12
.IX Item "Carp"
Alternative warn and die for modules
.IP Class::Struct 12
.IX Item "Class::Struct"
Declare struct-like datatypes as Perl classes
.IP Compress::Raw::Bzip2 12
.IX Item "Compress::Raw::Bzip2"
Low-Level Interface to bzip2 compression library
.IP Compress::Raw::Zlib 12
.IX Item "Compress::Raw::Zlib"
Low-Level Interface to zlib or zlib-ng compression library
.IP Compress::Zlib 12
.IX Item "Compress::Zlib"
Interface to zlib compression library
.IP Config 12
.IX Item "Config"
Access Perl configuration information
.IP Config::Extensions 12
.IX Item "Config::Extensions"
Hash lookup of which core extensions were built.
.IP Config::Perl::V 12
.IX Item "Config::Perl::V"
Structured data retrieval of perl \-V output
.IP Cwd 12
.IX Item "Cwd"
Get pathname of current working directory
.IP DB 12
.IX Item "DB"
Programmatic interface to the Perl debugging API
.IP DBM_Filter 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter"
Filter DBM keys/values
.IP DBM_Filter::compress 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter::compress"
Filter for DBM_Filter
.IP DBM_Filter::encode 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter::encode"
Filter for DBM_Filter
.IP DBM_Filter::int32 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter::int32"
Filter for DBM_Filter
.IP DBM_Filter::null 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter::null"
Filter for DBM_Filter
.IP DBM_Filter::utf8 12
.IX Item "DBM_Filter::utf8"
Filter for DBM_Filter
.IP DB_File 12
.IX Item "DB_File"
Perl5 access to Berkeley DB version 1.x
.IP Data::Dumper 12
.IX Item "Data::Dumper"
Stringified perl data structures, suitable for both printing and \f(CW\*(C`eval\*(C'\fR
.IP Devel::PPPort 12
.IX Item "Devel::PPPort"
Perl/Pollution/Portability
.IP Devel::Peek 12
.IX Item "Devel::Peek"
A data debugging tool for the XS programmer
.IP Devel::SelfStubber 12
.IX Item "Devel::SelfStubber"
Generate stubs for a SelfLoading module
.IP Digest 12
.IX Item "Digest"
Modules that calculate message digests
.IP Digest::MD5 12
.IX Item "Digest::MD5"
Perl interface to the MD5 Algorithm
.IP Digest::SHA 12
.IX Item "Digest::SHA"
Perl extension for SHA\-1/224/256/384/512
.IP Digest::base 12
.IX Item "Digest::base"
Digest base class
.IP Digest::file 12
.IX Item "Digest::file"
Calculate digests of files
.IP DirHandle 12
.IX Item "DirHandle"
(obsolete) supply object methods for directory handles
.IP Dumpvalue 12
.IX Item "Dumpvalue"
Provides screen dump of Perl data.
.IP DynaLoader 12
.IX Item "DynaLoader"
Dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
.IP Encode 12
.IX Item "Encode"
Character encodings in Perl
.IP Encode::Alias 12
.IX Item "Encode::Alias"
Alias definitions to encodings
.IP Encode::Byte 12
.IX Item "Encode::Byte"
Single Byte Encodings
.IP Encode::CJKConstants 12
.IX Item "Encode::CJKConstants"
Internally used by Encode::??::ISO_2022_*
.IP Encode::CN 12
.IX Item "Encode::CN"
China-based Chinese Encodings
.IP Encode::CN::HZ 12
.IX Item "Encode::CN::HZ"
Internally used by Encode::CN
.IP Encode::Config 12
.IX Item "Encode::Config"
Internally used by Encode
.IP Encode::EBCDIC 12
.IX Item "Encode::EBCDIC"
EBCDIC Encodings
.IP Encode::Encoder 12
.IX Item "Encode::Encoder"
Object Oriented Encoder
.IP Encode::Encoding 12
.IX Item "Encode::Encoding"
Encode Implementation Base Class
.IP Encode::GSM0338 12
.IX Item "Encode::GSM0338"
ETSI GSM 03.38 Encoding
.IP Encode::Guess 12
.IX Item "Encode::Guess"
Guesses encoding from data
.IP Encode::JP 12
.IX Item "Encode::JP"
Japanese Encodings
.IP Encode::JP::H2Z 12
.IX Item "Encode::JP::H2Z"
Internally used by Encode::JP::2022_JP*
.IP Encode::JP::JIS7 12
.IX Item "Encode::JP::JIS7"
Internally used by Encode::JP
.IP Encode::KR 12
.IX Item "Encode::KR"
Korean Encodings
.IP Encode::KR::2022_KR 12
.IX Item "Encode::KR::2022_KR"
Internally used by Encode::KR
.IP Encode::MIME::Header 12
.IX Item "Encode::MIME::Header"
MIME encoding for an unstructured email header
.IP Encode::MIME::Name 12
.IX Item "Encode::MIME::Name"
Internally used by Encode
.IP Encode::PerlIO 12
.IX Item "Encode::PerlIO"
A detailed document on Encode and PerlIO
.IP Encode::Supported 12
.IX Item "Encode::Supported"
Encodings supported by Encode
.IP Encode::Symbol 12
.IX Item "Encode::Symbol"
Symbol Encodings
.IP Encode::TW 12
.IX Item "Encode::TW"
Taiwan-based Chinese Encodings
.IP Encode::Unicode 12
.IX Item "Encode::Unicode"
Various Unicode Transformation Formats
.IP Encode::Unicode::UTF7 12
.IX Item "Encode::Unicode::UTF7"
UTF\-7 encoding
.IP English 12
.IX Item "English"
Use nice English (or awk) names for ugly punctuation variables
.IP Env 12
.IX Item "Env"
Perl module that imports environment variables as scalars or arrays
.IP Errno 12
.IX Item "Errno"
System errno constants
.IP Exporter 12
.IX Item "Exporter"
Implements default import method for modules
.IP Exporter::Heavy 12
.IX Item "Exporter::Heavy"
Exporter guts
.IP ExtUtils::CBuilder 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::CBuilder"
Compile and link C code for Perl modules
.IP ExtUtils::CBuilder::Platform::Windows 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::CBuilder::Platform::Windows"
Builder class for Windows platforms
.IP ExtUtils::Command 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Command"
Utilities to replace common UNIX commands in Makefiles etc.
.IP ExtUtils::Command::MM 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Command::MM"
Commands for the MM's to use in Makefiles
.IP ExtUtils::Constant 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Constant"
Generate XS code to import C header constants
.IP ExtUtils::Constant::Base 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Constant::Base"
Base class for ExtUtils::Constant objects
.IP ExtUtils::Constant::Utils 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Constant::Utils"
Helper functions for ExtUtils::Constant
.IP ExtUtils::Constant::XS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Constant::XS"
Generate C code for XS modules' constants.
.IP ExtUtils::Embed 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Embed"
Utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++ applications
.IP ExtUtils::Install 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Install"
Install files from here to there
.IP ExtUtils::Installed 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Installed"
Inventory management of installed modules
.IP ExtUtils::Liblist 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Liblist"
Determine libraries to use and how to use them
.IP ExtUtils::MM 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM"
OS adjusted ExtUtils::MakeMaker subclass
.IP ExtUtils::MM::Utils 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM::Utils"
ExtUtils::MM methods without dependency on ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_AIX 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_AIX"
AIX specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Any 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Any"
Platform-agnostic MM methods
.IP ExtUtils::MM_BeOS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_BeOS"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Cygwin 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Cygwin"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_DOS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_DOS"
DOS specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Darwin 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Darwin"
Special behaviors for OS X
.IP ExtUtils::MM_MacOS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_MacOS"
Once produced Makefiles for MacOS Classic
.IP ExtUtils::MM_NW5 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_NW5"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_OS2 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_OS2"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_OS390 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_OS390"
OS390 specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_QNX 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_QNX"
QNX specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_UWIN 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_UWIN"
U/WIN specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Unix 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Unix"
Methods used by ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_VMS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_VMS"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_VOS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_VOS"
VOS specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Win32 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Win32"
Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MM_Win95 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MM_Win95"
Method to customize MakeMaker for Win9X
.IP ExtUtils::MY 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MY"
ExtUtils::MakeMaker subclass for customization
.IP ExtUtils::MakeMaker 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MakeMaker"
Create a module Makefile
.IP ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Config 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Config"
Wrapper around Config.pm
.IP ExtUtils::MakeMaker::FAQ 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MakeMaker::FAQ"
Frequently Asked Questions About MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Locale 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Locale"
Bundled Encode::Locale
.IP ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial"
Writing a module with MakeMaker
.IP ExtUtils::Manifest 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Manifest"
Utilities to write and check a MANIFEST file
.IP ExtUtils::Miniperl 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Miniperl"
Write the C code for miniperlmain.c and perlmain.c
.IP ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap"
Make a bootstrap file for use by DynaLoader
.IP ExtUtils::Mksymlists 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Mksymlists"
Write linker options files for dynamic extension
.IP ExtUtils::PL2Bat 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::PL2Bat"
Batch file creation to run perl scripts on Windows
.IP ExtUtils::Packlist 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Packlist"
Manage .packlist files
.IP ExtUtils::ParseXS 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::ParseXS"
Converts Perl XS code into C code
.IP ExtUtils::ParseXS::Constants 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::ParseXS::Constants"
Initialization values for some globals
.IP ExtUtils::ParseXS::Eval 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::ParseXS::Eval"
Clean package to evaluate code in
.IP ExtUtils::ParseXS::Utilities 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::ParseXS::Utilities"
Subroutines used with ExtUtils::ParseXS
.IP ExtUtils::Typemaps 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Typemaps"
Read/Write/Modify Perl/XS typemap files
.IP ExtUtils::Typemaps::Cmd 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Typemaps::Cmd"
Quick commands for handling typemaps
.IP ExtUtils::Typemaps::InputMap 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Typemaps::InputMap"
Entry in the INPUT section of a typemap
.IP ExtUtils::Typemaps::OutputMap 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Typemaps::OutputMap"
Entry in the OUTPUT section of a typemap
.IP ExtUtils::Typemaps::Type 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::Typemaps::Type"
Entry in the TYPEMAP section of a typemap
.IP ExtUtils::XSSymSet 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::XSSymSet"
Keep sets of symbol names palatable to the VMS linker
.IP ExtUtils::testlib 12
.IX Item "ExtUtils::testlib"
Add blib/* directories to \f(CW@INC\fR
.IP Fatal 12
.IX Item "Fatal"
Replace functions with equivalents which succeed or die
.IP Fcntl 12
.IX Item "Fcntl"
Load the C Fcntl.h defines
.IP File::Basename 12
.IX Item "File::Basename"
Parse file paths into directory, filename and suffix.
.IP File::Compare 12
.IX Item "File::Compare"
Compare files or filehandles
.IP File::Copy 12
.IX Item "File::Copy"
Copy files or filehandles
.IP File::DosGlob 12
.IX Item "File::DosGlob"
DOS like globbing and then some
.IP File::Fetch 12
.IX Item "File::Fetch"
A generic file fetching mechanism
.IP File::Find 12
.IX Item "File::Find"
Traverse a directory tree.
.IP File::Glob 12
.IX Item "File::Glob"
Perl extension for BSD glob routine
.IP File::GlobMapper 12
.IX Item "File::GlobMapper"
Extend File Glob to Allow Input and Output Files
.IP File::Path 12
.IX Item "File::Path"
Create or remove directory trees
.IP File::Spec 12
.IX Item "File::Spec"
Portably perform operations on file names
.IP File::Spec::AmigaOS 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::AmigaOS"
File::Spec for AmigaOS
.IP File::Spec::Cygwin 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Cygwin"
Methods for Cygwin file specs
.IP File::Spec::Epoc 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Epoc"
Methods for Epoc file specs
.IP File::Spec::Functions 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Functions"
Portably perform operations on file names
.IP File::Spec::Mac 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Mac"
File::Spec for Mac OS (Classic)
.IP File::Spec::OS2 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::OS2"
Methods for OS/2 file specs
.IP File::Spec::Unix 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Unix"
File::Spec for Unix, base for other File::Spec modules
.IP File::Spec::VMS 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::VMS"
Methods for VMS file specs
.IP File::Spec::Win32 12
.IX Item "File::Spec::Win32"
Methods for Win32 file specs
.IP File::Temp 12
.IX Item "File::Temp"
Return name and handle of a temporary file safely
.IP File::stat 12
.IX Item "File::stat"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in \fBstat()\fR functions
.IP FileCache 12
.IX Item "FileCache"
Keep more files open than the system permits
.IP FileHandle 12
.IX Item "FileHandle"
Supply object methods for filehandles
.IP Filter::Simple 12
.IX Item "Filter::Simple"
Simplified source filtering
.IP Filter::Util::Call 12
.IX Item "Filter::Util::Call"
Perl Source Filter Utility Module
.IP FindBin 12
.IX Item "FindBin"
Locate directory of original perl script
.IP GDBM_File 12
.IX Item "GDBM_File"
Perl5 access to the gdbm library.
.IP Getopt::Long 12
.IX Item "Getopt::Long"
Extended processing of command line options
.IP Getopt::Std 12
.IX Item "Getopt::Std"
Process single-character switches with switch clustering
.IP HTTP::Tiny 12
.IX Item "HTTP::Tiny"
A small, simple, correct HTTP/1.1 client
.IP Hash::Util 12
.IX Item "Hash::Util"
A selection of general-utility hash subroutines
.IP Hash::Util::FieldHash 12
.IX Item "Hash::Util::FieldHash"
Support for Inside-Out Classes
.IP I18N::Collate 12
.IX Item "I18N::Collate"
Compare 8\-bit scalar data according to the current locale
.IP I18N::LangTags 12
.IX Item "I18N::LangTags"
Functions for dealing with RFC3066\-style language tags
.IP I18N::LangTags::Detect 12
.IX Item "I18N::LangTags::Detect"
Detect the user's language preferences
.IP I18N::LangTags::List 12
.IX Item "I18N::LangTags::List"
Tags and names for human languages
.IP I18N::Langinfo 12
.IX Item "I18N::Langinfo"
Query locale information
.IP IO 12
.IX Item "IO"
Load various IO modules
.IP IO::Compress::Base 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::Base"
Base Class for IO::Compress modules
.IP IO::Compress::Bzip2 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::Bzip2"
Write bzip2 files/buffers
.IP IO::Compress::Deflate 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::Deflate"
Write RFC 1950 files/buffers
.IP IO::Compress::FAQ 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::FAQ"
Frequently Asked Questions about IO::Compress
.IP IO::Compress::Gzip 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::Gzip"
Write RFC 1952 files/buffers
.IP IO::Compress::RawDeflate 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::RawDeflate"
Write RFC 1951 files/buffers
.IP IO::Compress::Zip 12
.IX Item "IO::Compress::Zip"
Write zip files/buffers
.IP IO::Dir 12
.IX Item "IO::Dir"
Supply object methods for directory handles
.IP IO::File 12
.IX Item "IO::File"
Supply object methods for filehandles
.IP IO::Handle 12
.IX Item "IO::Handle"
Supply object methods for I/O handles
.IP IO::Pipe 12
.IX Item "IO::Pipe"
Supply object methods for pipes
.IP IO::Poll 12
.IX Item "IO::Poll"
Object interface to system poll call
.IP IO::Seekable 12
.IX Item "IO::Seekable"
Supply seek based methods for I/O objects
.IP IO::Select 12
.IX Item "IO::Select"
OO interface to the select system call
.IP IO::Socket 12
.IX Item "IO::Socket"
Object interface to socket communications
.IP IO::Socket::INET 12
.IX Item "IO::Socket::INET"
Object interface for AF_INET domain sockets
.IP IO::Socket::UNIX 12
.IX Item "IO::Socket::UNIX"
Object interface for AF_UNIX domain sockets
.IP IO::Uncompress::AnyInflate 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::AnyInflate"
Uncompress zlib-based (zip, gzip) file/buffer
.IP IO::Uncompress::AnyUncompress 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::AnyUncompress"
Uncompress gzip, zip, bzip2, zstd, xz, lzma, lzip, lzf or lzop file/buffer
.IP IO::Uncompress::Base 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::Base"
Base Class for IO::Uncompress modules
.IP IO::Uncompress::Bunzip2 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::Bunzip2"
Read bzip2 files/buffers
.IP IO::Uncompress::Gunzip 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::Gunzip"
Read RFC 1952 files/buffers
.IP IO::Uncompress::Inflate 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::Inflate"
Read RFC 1950 files/buffers
.IP IO::Uncompress::RawInflate 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::RawInflate"
Read RFC 1951 files/buffers
.IP IO::Uncompress::Unzip 12
.IX Item "IO::Uncompress::Unzip"
Read zip files/buffers
.IP IO::Zlib 12
.IX Item "IO::Zlib"
IO:: style interface to Compress::Zlib
.IP IPC::Cmd 12
.IX Item "IPC::Cmd"
Finding and running system commands made easy
.IP IPC::Msg 12
.IX Item "IPC::Msg"
SysV Msg IPC object class
.IP IPC::Open2 12
.IX Item "IPC::Open2"
Open a process for both reading and writing using \fBopen2()\fR
.IP IPC::Open3 12
.IX Item "IPC::Open3"
Open a process for reading, writing, and error handling using \fBopen3()\fR
.IP IPC::Semaphore 12
.IX Item "IPC::Semaphore"
SysV Semaphore IPC object class
.IP IPC::SharedMem 12
.IX Item "IPC::SharedMem"
SysV Shared Memory IPC object class
.IP IPC::SysV 12
.IX Item "IPC::SysV"
System V IPC constants and system calls
.IP Internals 12
.IX Item "Internals"
Reserved special namespace for internals related functions
.IP JSON::PP 12
.IX Item "JSON::PP"
JSON::XS compatible pure-Perl module.
.IP JSON::PP::Boolean 12
.IX Item "JSON::PP::Boolean"
Dummy module providing JSON::PP::Boolean
.IP List::Util 12
.IX Item "List::Util"
A selection of general-utility list subroutines
.IP List::Util::XS 12
.IX Item "List::Util::XS"
Indicate if List::Util was compiled with a C compiler
.IP Locale::Maketext 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext"
Framework for localization
.IP Locale::Maketext::Cookbook 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext::Cookbook"
Recipes for using Locale::Maketext
.IP Locale::Maketext::Guts 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext::Guts"
Deprecated module to load Locale::Maketext utf8 code
.IP Locale::Maketext::GutsLoader 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext::GutsLoader"
Deprecated module to load Locale::Maketext utf8 code
.IP Locale::Maketext::Simple 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext::Simple"
Simple interface to Locale::Maketext::Lexicon
.IP Locale::Maketext::TPJ13 12
.IX Item "Locale::Maketext::TPJ13"
Article about software localization
.IP MIME::Base64 12
.IX Item "MIME::Base64"
Encoding and decoding of base64 strings
.IP MIME::QuotedPrint 12
.IX Item "MIME::QuotedPrint"
Encoding and decoding of quoted-printable strings
.IP Math::BigFloat 12
.IX Item "Math::BigFloat"
Arbitrary size floating point math package
.IP Math::BigInt 12
.IX Item "Math::BigInt"
Arbitrary size integer math package
.IP Math::BigInt::Calc 12
.IX Item "Math::BigInt::Calc"
Pure Perl module to support Math::BigInt
.IP Math::BigInt::FastCalc 12
.IX Item "Math::BigInt::FastCalc"
Math::BigInt::Calc with some XS for more speed
.IP Math::BigInt::Lib 12
.IX Item "Math::BigInt::Lib"
Virtual parent class for Math::BigInt libraries
.IP Math::BigRat 12
.IX Item "Math::BigRat"
Arbitrary size rational number math package
.IP Math::Complex 12
.IX Item "Math::Complex"
Complex numbers and associated mathematical functions
.IP Math::Trig 12
.IX Item "Math::Trig"
Trigonometric functions
.IP Memoize 12
.IX Item "Memoize"
Make functions faster by trading space for time
.IP Memoize::AnyDBM_File 12
.IX Item "Memoize::AnyDBM_File"
Glue to provide EXISTS for AnyDBM_File for Storable use
.IP Memoize::Expire 12
.IX Item "Memoize::Expire"
Plug-in module for automatic expiration of memoized values
.IP Memoize::NDBM_File 12
.IX Item "Memoize::NDBM_File"
Glue to provide EXISTS for NDBM_File for Storable use
.IP Memoize::SDBM_File 12
.IX Item "Memoize::SDBM_File"
DEPRECATED compability shim
.IP Memoize::Storable 12
.IX Item "Memoize::Storable"
Store Memoized data in Storable database
.IP Module::CoreList 12
.IX Item "Module::CoreList"
What modules shipped with versions of perl
.IP Module::CoreList::Utils 12
.IX Item "Module::CoreList::Utils"
What utilities shipped with versions of perl
.IP Module::Load 12
.IX Item "Module::Load"
Runtime require of both modules and files
.IP Module::Load::Conditional 12
.IX Item "Module::Load::Conditional"
Looking up module information / loading at runtime
.IP Module::Loaded 12
.IX Item "Module::Loaded"
Mark modules as loaded or unloaded
.IP Module::Metadata 12
.IX Item "Module::Metadata"
Gather package and POD information from perl module files
.IP NDBM_File 12
.IX Item "NDBM_File"
Tied access to ndbm files
.IP NEXT 12
.IX Item "NEXT"
Provide a pseudo-class NEXT (et al) that allows method redispatch
.IP Net::Cmd 12
.IX Item "Net::Cmd"
Network Command class (as used by FTP, SMTP etc)
.IP Net::Config 12
.IX Item "Net::Config"
Local configuration data for libnet
.IP Net::Domain 12
.IX Item "Net::Domain"
Attempt to evaluate the current host's internet name and domain
.IP Net::FTP 12
.IX Item "Net::FTP"
FTP Client class
.IP Net::FTP::dataconn 12
.IX Item "Net::FTP::dataconn"
FTP Client data connection class
.IP Net::NNTP 12
.IX Item "Net::NNTP"
NNTP Client class
.IP Net::Netrc 12
.IX Item "Net::Netrc"
OO interface to users netrc file
.IP Net::POP3 12
.IX Item "Net::POP3"
Post Office Protocol 3 Client class (RFC1939)
.IP Net::Ping 12
.IX Item "Net::Ping"
Check a remote host for reachability
.IP Net::SMTP 12
.IX Item "Net::SMTP"
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Client
.IP Net::Time 12
.IX Item "Net::Time"
Time and daytime network client interface
.IP Net::hostent 12
.IX Item "Net::hostent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in gethost*() functions
.IP Net::libnetFAQ 12
.IX Item "Net::libnetFAQ"
Libnet Frequently Asked Questions
.IP Net::netent 12
.IX Item "Net::netent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in getnet*() functions
.IP Net::protoent 12
.IX Item "Net::protoent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in getproto*() functions
.IP Net::servent 12
.IX Item "Net::servent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in getserv*() functions
.IP O 12
.IX Item "O"
Generic interface to Perl Compiler backends
.IP ODBM_File 12
.IX Item "ODBM_File"
Tied access to odbm files
.IP Opcode 12
.IX Item "Opcode"
Disable named opcodes when compiling perl code
.IP POSIX 12
.IX Item "POSIX"
Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1
.IP Params::Check 12
.IX Item "Params::Check"
A generic input parsing/checking mechanism.
.IP Parse::CPAN::Meta 12
.IX Item "Parse::CPAN::Meta"
Parse META.yml and META.json CPAN metadata files
.IP Perl::OSType 12
.IX Item "Perl::OSType"
Map Perl operating system names to generic types
.IP PerlIO 12
.IX Item "PerlIO"
On demand loader for PerlIO layers and root of PerlIO::* name space
.IP PerlIO::encoding 12
.IX Item "PerlIO::encoding"
Encoding layer
.IP PerlIO::mmap 12
.IX Item "PerlIO::mmap"
Memory mapped IO
.IP PerlIO::scalar 12
.IX Item "PerlIO::scalar"
In-memory IO, scalar IO
.IP PerlIO::via 12
.IX Item "PerlIO::via"
Helper class for PerlIO layers implemented in perl
.IP PerlIO::via::QuotedPrint 12
.IX Item "PerlIO::via::QuotedPrint"
PerlIO layer for quoted-printable strings
.IP Pod::Checker 12
.IX Item "Pod::Checker"
Check pod documents for syntax errors
.IP Pod::Escapes 12
.IX Item "Pod::Escapes"
For resolving Pod E<...> sequences
.IP Pod::Functions 12
.IX Item "Pod::Functions"
Group Perl's functions a la perlfunc.pod
.IP Pod::Html 12
.IX Item "Pod::Html"
Module to convert pod files to HTML
.IP Pod::Html::Util 12
.IX Item "Pod::Html::Util"
Helper functions for Pod-Html
.IP Pod::Man 12
.IX Item "Pod::Man"
Convert POD data to formatted *roff input
.IP Pod::ParseLink 12
.IX Item "Pod::ParseLink"
Parse an L<> formatting code in POD text
.IP Pod::Perldoc 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc"
Look up Perl documentation in Pod format.
.IP Pod::Perldoc::BaseTo 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::BaseTo"
Base for Pod::Perldoc formatters
.IP Pod::Perldoc::GetOptsOO 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::GetOptsOO"
Customized option parser for Pod::Perldoc
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToANSI 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToANSI"
Render Pod with ANSI color escapes
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToChecker 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToChecker"
Let Perldoc check Pod for errors
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToMan 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToMan"
Let Perldoc render Pod as man pages
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToNroff 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToNroff"
Let Perldoc convert Pod to nroff
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToPod 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToPod"
Let Perldoc render Pod as ... Pod!
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToRtf 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToRtf"
Let Perldoc render Pod as RTF
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToTerm 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToTerm"
Render Pod with terminal escapes
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToText 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToText"
Let Perldoc render Pod as plaintext
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToTk 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToTk"
Let Perldoc use Tk::Pod to render Pod
.IP Pod::Perldoc::ToXml 12
.IX Item "Pod::Perldoc::ToXml"
Let Perldoc render Pod as XML
.IP Pod::Simple 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple"
Framework for parsing Pod
.IP Pod::Simple::Checker 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Checker"
Check the Pod syntax of a document
.IP Pod::Simple::Debug 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Debug"
Put Pod::Simple into trace/debug mode
.IP Pod::Simple::DumpAsText 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::DumpAsText"
Dump Pod-parsing events as text
.IP Pod::Simple::DumpAsXML 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::DumpAsXML"
Turn Pod into XML
.IP Pod::Simple::HTML 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::HTML"
Convert Pod to HTML
.IP Pod::Simple::HTMLBatch 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::HTMLBatch"
Convert several Pod files to several HTML files
.IP Pod::Simple::JustPod 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::JustPod"
Just the Pod, the whole Pod, and nothing but the Pod
.IP Pod::Simple::LinkSection 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::LinkSection"
Represent "section" attributes of L codes
.IP Pod::Simple::Methody 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Methody"
Turn Pod::Simple events into method calls
.IP Pod::Simple::PullParser 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::PullParser"
A pull-parser interface to parsing Pod
.IP Pod::Simple::PullParserEndToken 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::PullParserEndToken"
End-tokens from Pod::Simple::PullParser
.IP Pod::Simple::PullParserStartToken 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::PullParserStartToken"
Start-tokens from Pod::Simple::PullParser
.IP Pod::Simple::PullParserTextToken 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::PullParserTextToken"
Text-tokens from Pod::Simple::PullParser
.IP Pod::Simple::PullParserToken 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::PullParserToken"
Tokens from Pod::Simple::PullParser
.IP Pod::Simple::RTF 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::RTF"
Format Pod as RTF
.IP Pod::Simple::Search 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Search"
Find POD documents in directory trees
.IP Pod::Simple::SimpleTree 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::SimpleTree"
Parse Pod into a simple parse tree
.IP Pod::Simple::Subclassing 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Subclassing"
Write a formatter as a Pod::Simple subclass
.IP Pod::Simple::Text 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::Text"
Format Pod as plaintext
.IP Pod::Simple::TextContent 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::TextContent"
Get the text content of Pod
.IP Pod::Simple::XHTML 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::XHTML"
Format Pod as validating XHTML
.IP Pod::Simple::XMLOutStream 12
.IX Item "Pod::Simple::XMLOutStream"
Turn Pod into XML
.IP Pod::Text 12
.IX Item "Pod::Text"
Convert POD data to formatted text
.IP Pod::Text::Color 12
.IX Item "Pod::Text::Color"
Convert POD data to formatted color ASCII text
.IP Pod::Text::Overstrike 12
.IX Item "Pod::Text::Overstrike"
Convert POD data to formatted overstrike text
.IP Pod::Text::Termcap 12
.IX Item "Pod::Text::Termcap"
Convert POD data to ASCII text with format escapes
.IP Pod::Usage 12
.IX Item "Pod::Usage"
Extracts POD documentation and shows usage information
.IP SDBM_File 12
.IX Item "SDBM_File"
Tied access to sdbm files
.IP Safe 12
.IX Item "Safe"
Compile and execute code in restricted compartments
.IP Scalar::Util 12
.IX Item "Scalar::Util"
A selection of general-utility scalar subroutines
.IP Search::Dict 12
.IX Item "Search::Dict"
Look \- search for key in dictionary file
.IP SelectSaver 12
.IX Item "SelectSaver"
Save and restore selected file handle
.IP SelfLoader 12
.IX Item "SelfLoader"
Load functions only on demand
.IP Storable 12
.IX Item "Storable"
Persistence for Perl data structures
.IP Sub::Util 12
.IX Item "Sub::Util"
A selection of utility subroutines for subs and CODE references
.IP Symbol 12
.IX Item "Symbol"
Manipulate Perl symbols and their names
.IP Sys::Hostname 12
.IX Item "Sys::Hostname"
Try every conceivable way to get hostname
.IP Sys::Syslog 12
.IX Item "Sys::Syslog"
Perl interface to the UNIX \fBsyslog\fR\|(3) calls
.IP Sys::Syslog::Win32 12
.IX Item "Sys::Syslog::Win32"
Win32 support for Sys::Syslog
.IP TAP::Base 12
.IX Item "TAP::Base"
Base class that provides common functionality to TAP::Parser
.IP TAP::Formatter::Base 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Base"
Base class for harness output delegates
.IP TAP::Formatter::Color 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Color"
Run Perl test scripts with color
.IP TAP::Formatter::Console 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Console"
Harness output delegate for default console output
.IP TAP::Formatter::Console::ParallelSession 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Console::ParallelSession"
Harness output delegate for parallel console output
.IP TAP::Formatter::Console::Session 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Console::Session"
Harness output delegate for default console output
.IP TAP::Formatter::File 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::File"
Harness output delegate for file output
.IP TAP::Formatter::File::Session 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::File::Session"
Harness output delegate for file output
.IP TAP::Formatter::Session 12
.IX Item "TAP::Formatter::Session"
Abstract base class for harness output delegate
.IP TAP::Harness 12
.IX Item "TAP::Harness"
Run test scripts with statistics
.IP TAP::Harness::Env 12
.IX Item "TAP::Harness::Env"
Parsing harness related environmental variables where appropriate
.IP TAP::Object 12
.IX Item "TAP::Object"
Base class that provides common functionality to all \f(CW\*(C`TAP::*\*(C'\fR modules
.IP TAP::Parser 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser"
Parse TAP output
.IP TAP::Parser::Aggregator 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Aggregator"
Aggregate TAP::Parser results
.IP TAP::Parser::Grammar 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Grammar"
A grammar for the Test Anything Protocol.
.IP TAP::Parser::Iterator 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Iterator"
Base class for TAP source iterators
.IP TAP::Parser::Iterator::Array 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Iterator::Array"
Iterator for array-based TAP sources
.IP TAP::Parser::Iterator::Process 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Iterator::Process"
Iterator for process-based TAP sources
.IP TAP::Parser::Iterator::Stream 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Iterator::Stream"
Iterator for filehandle-based TAP sources
.IP TAP::Parser::IteratorFactory 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::IteratorFactory"
Figures out which SourceHandler objects to use for a given Source
.IP TAP::Parser::Multiplexer 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Multiplexer"
Multiplex multiple TAP::Parsers
.IP TAP::Parser::Result 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result"
Base class for TAP::Parser output objects
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Bailout 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Bailout"
Bailout result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Comment 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Comment"
Comment result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Plan 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Plan"
Plan result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Pragma 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Pragma"
TAP pragma token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Test 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Test"
Test result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Unknown 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Unknown"
Unknown result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::Version 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::Version"
TAP syntax version token.
.IP TAP::Parser::Result::YAML 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Result::YAML"
YAML result token.
.IP TAP::Parser::ResultFactory 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::ResultFactory"
Factory for creating TAP::Parser output objects
.IP TAP::Parser::Scheduler 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Scheduler"
Schedule tests during parallel testing
.IP TAP::Parser::Scheduler::Job 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Scheduler::Job"
A single testing job.
.IP TAP::Parser::Scheduler::Spinner 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Scheduler::Spinner"
A no-op job.
.IP TAP::Parser::Source 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::Source"
A TAP source & meta data about it
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler"
Base class for different TAP source handlers
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Executable 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Executable"
Stream output from an executable TAP source
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::File 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::File"
Stream TAP from a text file.
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Handle 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Handle"
Stream TAP from an IO::Handle or a GLOB.
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Perl 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Perl"
Stream TAP from a Perl executable
.IP TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::RawTAP 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::RawTAP"
Stream output from raw TAP in a scalar/array ref.
.IP TAP::Parser::YAMLish::Reader 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::YAMLish::Reader"
Read YAMLish data from iterator
.IP TAP::Parser::YAMLish::Writer 12
.IX Item "TAP::Parser::YAMLish::Writer"
Write YAMLish data
.IP Term::ANSIColor 12
.IX Item "Term::ANSIColor"
Color screen output using ANSI escape sequences
.IP Term::Cap 12
.IX Item "Term::Cap"
Perl termcap interface
.IP Term::Complete 12
.IX Item "Term::Complete"
Perl word completion module
.IP Term::ReadLine 12
.IX Item "Term::ReadLine"
Perl interface to various \f(CW\*(C`readline\*(C'\fR packages.
.IP Test 12
.IX Item "Test"
Provides a simple framework for writing test scripts
.IP Test2 12
.IX Item "Test2"
Framework for writing test tools that all work together.
.IP Test2::API 12
.IX Item "Test2::API"
Primary interface for writing Test2 based testing tools.
.IP Test2::API::Breakage 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::Breakage"
What breaks at what version
.IP Test2::API::Context 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::Context"
Object to represent a testing context.
.IP Test2::API::Instance 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::Instance"
Object used by Test2::API under the hood
.IP Test2::API::InterceptResult 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::InterceptResult"
Representation of a list of events.
.IP Test2::API::InterceptResult::Event 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::InterceptResult::Event"
Representation of an event for use in
.IP Test2::API::InterceptResult::Hub 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::InterceptResult::Hub"
Hub used by InterceptResult.
.IP Test2::API::InterceptResult::Squasher 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::InterceptResult::Squasher"
Encapsulation of the algorithm that
.IP Test2::API::Stack 12
.IX Item "Test2::API::Stack"
Object to manage a stack of Test2::Hub
.IP Test2::Event 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event"
Base class for events
.IP Test2::Event::Bail 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Bail"
Bailout!
.IP Test2::Event::Diag 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Diag"
Diag event type
.IP Test2::Event::Encoding 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Encoding"
Set the encoding for the output stream
.IP Test2::Event::Exception 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Exception"
Exception event
.IP Test2::Event::Fail 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Fail"
Event for a simple failed assertion
.IP Test2::Event::Generic 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Generic"
Generic event type.
.IP Test2::Event::Note 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Note"
Note event type
.IP Test2::Event::Ok 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Ok"
Ok event type
.IP Test2::Event::Pass 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Pass"
Event for a simple passing assertion
.IP Test2::Event::Plan 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Plan"
The event of a plan
.IP Test2::Event::Skip 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Skip"
Skip event type
.IP Test2::Event::Subtest 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Subtest"
Event for subtest types
.IP Test2::Event::TAP::Version 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::TAP::Version"
Event for TAP version.
.IP Test2::Event::V2 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::V2"
Second generation event.
.IP Test2::Event::Waiting 12
.IX Item "Test2::Event::Waiting"
Tell all procs/threads it is time to be done
.IP Test2::EventFacet 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet"
Base class for all event facets.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::About 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::About"
Facet with event details.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Amnesty 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Amnesty"
Facet for assertion amnesty.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Assert 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Assert"
Facet representing an assertion.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Control 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Control"
Facet for hub actions and behaviors.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Error 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Error"
Facet for errors that need to be shown.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Hub 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Hub"
Facet for the hubs an event passes through.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Info 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Info"
Facet for information a developer might care about.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Info::Table 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Info::Table"
Intermediary representation of a table.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Meta 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Meta"
Facet for meta-data
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Parent 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Parent"
Facet for events contains other events
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Plan 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Plan"
Facet for setting the plan
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Render 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Render"
Facet that dictates how to render an event.
.IP Test2::EventFacet::Trace 12
.IX Item "Test2::EventFacet::Trace"
Debug information for events
.IP Test2::Formatter 12
.IX Item "Test2::Formatter"
Namespace for formatters.
.IP Test2::Formatter::TAP 12
.IX Item "Test2::Formatter::TAP"
Standard TAP formatter
.IP Test2::Hub 12
.IX Item "Test2::Hub"
The conduit through which all events flow.
.IP Test2::Hub::Interceptor 12
.IX Item "Test2::Hub::Interceptor"
Hub used by interceptor to grab results.
.IP Test2::Hub::Interceptor::Terminator 12
.IX Item "Test2::Hub::Interceptor::Terminator"
Exception class used by
.IP Test2::Hub::Subtest 12
.IX Item "Test2::Hub::Subtest"
Hub used by subtests
.IP Test2::IPC 12
.IX Item "Test2::IPC"
Turn on IPC for threading or forking support.
.IP Test2::IPC::Driver 12
.IX Item "Test2::IPC::Driver"
Base class for Test2 IPC drivers.
.IP Test2::IPC::Driver::Files 12
.IX Item "Test2::IPC::Driver::Files"
Temp dir + Files concurrency model.
.IP Test2::Tools::Tiny 12
.IX Item "Test2::Tools::Tiny"
Tiny set of tools for unfortunate souls who cannot use
.IP Test2::Transition 12
.IX Item "Test2::Transition"
Transition notes when upgrading to Test2
.IP Test2::Util 12
.IX Item "Test2::Util"
Tools used by Test2 and friends.
.IP Test2::Util::ExternalMeta 12
.IX Item "Test2::Util::ExternalMeta"
Allow third party tools to safely attach meta-data
.IP Test2::Util::Facets2Legacy 12
.IX Item "Test2::Util::Facets2Legacy"
Convert facet data to the legacy event API.
.IP Test2::Util::HashBase 12
.IX Item "Test2::Util::HashBase"
Build hash based classes.
.IP Test2::Util::Trace 12
.IX Item "Test2::Util::Trace"
Legacy wrapper fro Test2::EventFacet::Trace.
.IP Test::Builder 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder"
Backend for building test libraries
.IP Test::Builder::Formatter 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::Formatter"
Test::Builder subclass of Test2::Formatter::TAP
.IP Test::Builder::IO::Scalar 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::IO::Scalar"
A copy of IO::Scalar for Test::Builder
.IP Test::Builder::Module 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::Module"
Base class for test modules
.IP Test::Builder::Tester 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::Tester"
Test testsuites that have been built with
.IP Test::Builder::Tester::Color 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::Tester::Color"
Turn on colour in Test::Builder::Tester
.IP Test::Builder::TodoDiag 12
.IX Item "Test::Builder::TodoDiag"
Test::Builder subclass of Test2::Event::Diag
.IP Test::Harness 12
.IX Item "Test::Harness"
Run Perl standard test scripts with statistics
.IP Test::Harness::Beyond 12
.IX Item "Test::Harness::Beyond"
Beyond make test
.IP Test::More 12
.IX Item "Test::More"
Yet another framework for writing test scripts
.IP Test::Simple 12
.IX Item "Test::Simple"
Basic utilities for writing tests.
.IP Test::Tester 12
.IX Item "Test::Tester"
Ease testing test modules built with Test::Builder
.IP Test::Tester::Capture 12
.IX Item "Test::Tester::Capture"
Help testing test modules built with Test::Builder
.IP Test::Tester::CaptureRunner 12
.IX Item "Test::Tester::CaptureRunner"
Help testing test modules built with Test::Builder
.IP Test::Tutorial 12
.IX Item "Test::Tutorial"
A tutorial about writing really basic tests
.IP Test::use::ok 12
.IX Item "Test::use::ok"
Alternative to Test::More::use_ok
.IP Text::Abbrev 12
.IX Item "Text::Abbrev"
Abbrev \- create an abbreviation table from a list
.IP Text::Balanced 12
.IX Item "Text::Balanced"
Extract delimited text sequences from strings.
.IP Text::ParseWords 12
.IX Item "Text::ParseWords"
Parse text into an array of tokens or array of arrays
.IP Text::Tabs 12
.IX Item "Text::Tabs"
Expand and unexpand tabs like unix \fBexpand\fR\|(1) and \fBunexpand\fR\|(1)
.IP Text::Wrap 12
.IX Item "Text::Wrap"
Line wrapping to form simple paragraphs
.IP Thread 12
.IX Item "Thread"
Manipulate threads in Perl (for old code only)
.IP Thread::Queue 12
.IX Item "Thread::Queue"
Thread-safe queues
.IP Thread::Semaphore 12
.IX Item "Thread::Semaphore"
Thread-safe semaphores
.IP Tie::Array 12
.IX Item "Tie::Array"
Base class for tied arrays
.IP Tie::File 12
.IX Item "Tie::File"
Access the lines of a disk file via a Perl array
.IP Tie::Handle 12
.IX Item "Tie::Handle"
Base class definitions for tied handles
.IP Tie::Hash 12
.IX Item "Tie::Hash"
Base class definitions for tied hashes
.IP Tie::Hash::NamedCapture 12
.IX Item "Tie::Hash::NamedCapture"
Named regexp capture buffers
.IP Tie::Memoize 12
.IX Item "Tie::Memoize"
Add data to hash when needed
.IP Tie::RefHash 12
.IX Item "Tie::RefHash"
Use references as hash keys
.IP Tie::Scalar 12
.IX Item "Tie::Scalar"
Base class definitions for tied scalars
.IP Tie::StdHandle 12
.IX Item "Tie::StdHandle"
Base class definitions for tied handles
.IP Tie::SubstrHash 12
.IX Item "Tie::SubstrHash"
Fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing
.IP Time::HiRes 12
.IX Item "Time::HiRes"
High resolution alarm, sleep, gettimeofday, interval timers
.IP Time::Local 12
.IX Item "Time::Local"
Efficiently compute time from local and GMT time
.IP Time::Piece 12
.IX Item "Time::Piece"
Object Oriented time objects
.IP Time::Seconds 12
.IX Item "Time::Seconds"
A simple API to convert seconds to other date values
.IP Time::gmtime 12
.IX Item "Time::gmtime"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in \fBgmtime()\fR function
.IP Time::localtime 12
.IX Item "Time::localtime"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in \fBlocaltime()\fR function
.IP Time::tm 12
.IX Item "Time::tm"
Internal object used by Time::gmtime and Time::localtime
.IP UNIVERSAL 12
.IX Item "UNIVERSAL"
Base class for ALL classes (blessed references)
.IP Unicode::Collate 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate"
Unicode Collation Algorithm
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::Big5 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::Big5"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::GB2312 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::GB2312"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::JISX0208 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::JISX0208"
Weighting JIS KANJI for Unicode::Collate
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::Korean 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::Korean"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::Pinyin 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::Pinyin"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::Stroke 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::Stroke"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::CJK::Zhuyin 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::CJK::Zhuyin"
Weighting CJK Unified Ideographs
.IP Unicode::Collate::Locale 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Collate::Locale"
Linguistic tailoring for DUCET via Unicode::Collate
.IP Unicode::Normalize 12
.IX Item "Unicode::Normalize"
Unicode Normalization Forms
.IP Unicode::UCD 12
.IX Item "Unicode::UCD"
Unicode character database
.IP User::grent 12
.IX Item "User::grent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in getgr*() functions
.IP User::pwent 12
.IX Item "User::pwent"
By-name interface to Perl's built-in getpw*() functions
.IP VMS::DCLsym 12
.IX Item "VMS::DCLsym"
Perl extension to manipulate DCL symbols
.IP VMS::Filespec 12
.IX Item "VMS::Filespec"
Convert between VMS and Unix file specification syntax
.IP VMS::Stdio 12
.IX Item "VMS::Stdio"
Standard I/O functions via VMS extensions
.IP Win32 12
.IX Item "Win32"
Interfaces to some Win32 API Functions
.IP Win32API::File 12
.IX Item "Win32API::File"
Low-level access to Win32 system API calls for files/dirs.
.IP Win32CORE 12
.IX Item "Win32CORE"
Win32 CORE function stubs
.IP XS::APItest 12
.IX Item "XS::APItest"
Test the perl C API
.IP XS::Typemap 12
.IX Item "XS::Typemap"
Module to test the XS typemaps distributed with perl
.IP XSLoader 12
.IX Item "XSLoader"
Dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
.IP autodie::Scope::Guard 12
.IX Item "autodie::Scope::Guard"
Wrapper class for calling subs at end of scope
.IP autodie::Scope::GuardStack 12
.IX Item "autodie::Scope::GuardStack"
Hook stack for managing scopes via %^H
.IP autodie::Util 12
.IX Item "autodie::Util"
Internal Utility subroutines for autodie and Fatal
.IP version::Internals 12
.IX Item "version::Internals"
Perl extension for Version Objects
.PP
To find out \fIall\fR modules installed on your system, including
those without documentation or outside the standard release,
just use the following command (under the default win32 shell,
double quotes should be used instead of single quotes).
.PP
.Vb 3
\&    % perl \-MFile::Find=find \-MFile::Spec::Functions \-Tlwe \e
\&      \*(Aqfind { wanted => sub { print canonpath $_ if /\e.pm\ez/ },
\&      no_chdir => 1 }, @INC\*(Aq
.Ve
.PP
(The \-T is here to prevent \f(CW@INC\fR from being populated by \f(CW\*(C`PERL5LIB\*(C'\fR,
\&\f(CW\*(C`PERLLIB\*(C'\fR, and \f(CW\*(C`PERL_USE_UNSAFE_INC\*(C'\fR.)
They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible
via your system \fBman\fR\|(1) command.  If you do not have a \fBfind\fR
program, you can use the Perl \fBfind2perl\fR program instead, which
generates Perl code as output you can run through perl.  If you
have a \fBman\fR program but it doesn't find your modules, you'll have
to fix your manpath.  See perl for details.  If you have no
system \fBman\fR command, you might try the \fBperldoc\fR program.
.PP
Note also that the command \f(CW\*(C`perldoc perllocal\*(C'\fR gives you a (possibly
incomplete) list of the modules that have been further installed on
your system. (The perllocal.pod file is updated by the standard MakeMaker
install process.)
.SS "Extension Modules"
.IX Subsection "Extension Modules"
Extension modules are written in C (or a mix of Perl and C).  They
are usually dynamically loaded into Perl if and when you need them,
but may also be linked in statically.  Supported extension modules
include Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX.
.PP
Many popular C extension modules do not come bundled (at least, not
completely) due to their sizes, volatility, or simply lack of time
for adequate testing and configuration across the multitude of
platforms on which Perl was beta-tested.  You are encouraged to
look for them on CPAN (described below), or using web search engines
like Google or DuckDuckGo.
.SH CPAN
.IX Header "CPAN"
CPAN stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network; it's a globally
replicated trove of Perl materials, including documentation, style
guides, tricks and traps, alternate ports to non-Unix systems and
occasional binary distributions for these.   Search engines for
CPAN can be found at https://www.cpan.org/
.PP
Most importantly, CPAN includes around a thousand unbundled modules,
some of which require a C compiler to build.  Major categories of
modules are:
.IP \(bu 4
Language Extensions and Documentation Tools
.IP \(bu 4
Development Support
.IP \(bu 4
Operating System Interfaces
.IP \(bu 4
Networking, Device Control (modems) and InterProcess Communication
.IP \(bu 4
Data Types and Data Type Utilities
.IP \(bu 4
Database Interfaces
.IP \(bu 4
User Interfaces
.IP \(bu 4
Interfaces to / Emulations of Other Programming Languages
.IP \(bu 4
File Names, File Systems and File Locking (see also File Handles)
.IP \(bu 4
String Processing, Language Text Processing, Parsing, and Searching
.IP \(bu 4
Option, Argument, Parameter, and Configuration File Processing
.IP \(bu 4
Internationalization and Locale
.IP \(bu 4
Authentication, Security, and Encryption
.IP \(bu 4
World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP, CGI, MIME
.IP \(bu 4
Server and Daemon Utilities
.IP \(bu 4
Archiving and Compression
.IP \(bu 4
Images, Pixmap and Bitmap Manipulation, Drawing, and Graphing
.IP \(bu 4
Mail and Usenet News
.IP \(bu 4
Control Flow Utilities (callbacks and exceptions etc)
.IP \(bu 4
File Handle and Input/Output Stream Utilities
.IP \(bu 4
Miscellaneous Modules
.PP
You can find the CPAN online at <https://www.cpan.org/>
.SH "Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse"
.IX Header "Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse"
(The following section is borrowed directly from Tim Bunce's modules
file, available at your nearest CPAN site.)
.PP
Perl implements a class using a package, but the presence of a
package doesn't imply the presence of a class.  A package is just a
namespace.  A class is a package that provides subroutines that can be
used as methods.  A method is just a subroutine that expects, as its
first argument, either the name of a package (for "static" methods),
or a reference to something (for "virtual" methods).
.PP
A module is a file that (by convention) provides a class of the same
name (sans the .pm), plus an import method in that class that can be
called to fetch exported symbols.  This module may implement some of
its methods by loading dynamic C or C++ objects, but that should be
totally transparent to the user of the module.  Likewise, the module
might set up an AUTOLOAD function to slurp in subroutine definitions on
demand, but this is also transparent.  Only the \fI.pm\fR file is required to
exist.  See perlsub, perlobj, and AutoLoader for details about
the AUTOLOAD mechanism.
.SS "Guidelines for Module Creation"
.IX Subsection "Guidelines for Module Creation"
.IP \(bu 4
Do similar modules already exist in some form?
.Sp
If so, please try to reuse the existing modules either in whole or
by inheriting useful features into a new class.  If this is not
practical try to get together with the module authors to work on
extending or enhancing the functionality of the existing modules.
A perfect example is the plethora of packages in perl4 for dealing
with command line options.
.Sp
If you are writing a module to expand an already existing set of
modules, please coordinate with the author of the package.  It
helps if you follow the same naming scheme and module interaction
scheme as the original author.
.IP \(bu 4
Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and reuse.
.Sp
Try to \f(CW\*(C`use warnings;\*(C'\fR (or \f(CW\*(C`use warnings qw(...);\*(C'\fR).
Remember that you can add \f(CW\*(C`no warnings qw(...);\*(C'\fR to individual blocks
of code that need less warnings.
.Sp
Use blessed references.  Use the two argument form of bless to bless
into the class name given as the first parameter of the constructor,
e.g.,:
.Sp
.Vb 4
\& sub new {
\&     my $class = shift;
\&     return bless {}, $class;
\& }
.Ve
.Sp
or even this if you'd like it to be used as either a static
or a virtual method.
.Sp
.Vb 5
\& sub new {
\&     my $self  = shift;
\&     my $class = ref($self) || $self;
\&     return bless {}, $class;
\& }
.Ve
.Sp
Pass arrays as references so more parameters can be added later
(it's also faster).  Convert functions into methods where
appropriate.  Split large methods into smaller more flexible ones.
Inherit methods from other modules if appropriate.
.Sp
Avoid class name tests like: \f(CW\*(C`die "Invalid" unless ref $ref eq \*(AqFOO\*(Aq\*(C'\fR.
Generally you can delete the \f(CW\*(C`eq \*(AqFOO\*(Aq\*(C'\fR part with no harm at all.
Let the objects look after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired
class names as far as possible.
.Sp
Avoid \f(CW\*(C`$r\->Class::func()\*(C'\fR where using \f(CW\*(C`@ISA=qw(... Class ...)\*(C'\fR and
\&\f(CW\*(C`$r\->func()\*(C'\fR would work.
.Sp
Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions won't be a
burden to programs that don't use them. Add test functions to
the module after _\|_END_\|_ either using AutoSplit or by saying:
.Sp
.Vb 1
\& eval join(\*(Aq\*(Aq,<main::DATA>) || die $@ unless caller();
.Ve
.Sp
Does your module pass the 'empty subclass' test? If you say
\&\f(CW\*(C`@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);\*(C'\fR your applications should be able
to use SUBCLASS in exactly the same way as YOURCLASS.  For example,
does your application still work if you change:  \f(CW\*(C`$obj = YOURCLASS\->new();\*(C'\fR
into: \f(CW\*(C`$obj = SUBCLASS\->new();\*(C'\fR ?
.Sp
Avoid keeping any state information in your packages. It makes it
difficult for multiple other packages to use yours. Keep state
information in objects.
.Sp
Always use \fB\-w\fR.
.Sp
Try to \f(CW\*(C`use strict;\*(C'\fR (or \f(CW\*(C`use strict qw(...);\*(C'\fR).
Remember that you can add \f(CW\*(C`no strict qw(...);\*(C'\fR to individual blocks
of code that need less strictness.
.Sp
Always use \fB\-w\fR.
.Sp
Follow the guidelines in perlstyle.
.Sp
Always use \fB\-w\fR.
.IP \(bu 4
Some simple style guidelines
.Sp
The perlstyle manual supplied with Perl has many helpful points.
.Sp
Coding style is a matter of personal taste. Many people evolve their
style over several years as they learn what helps them write and
maintain good code.  Here's one set of assorted suggestions that
seem to be widely used by experienced developers:
.Sp
Use underscores to separate words.  It is generally easier to read
\&\f(CW$var_names_like_this\fR than \f(CW$VarNamesLikeThis\fR, especially for
non-native speakers of English. It's also a simple rule that works
consistently with VAR_NAMES_LIKE_THIS.
.Sp
Package/Module names are an exception to this rule. Perl informally
reserves lowercase module names for 'pragma' modules like integer
and strict. Other modules normally begin with a capital letter and
use mixed case with no underscores (need to be short and portable).
.Sp
You may find it helpful to use letter case to indicate the scope
or nature of a variable. For example:
.Sp
.Vb 3
\& $ALL_CAPS_HERE   constants only (beware clashes with Perl vars)
\& $Some_Caps_Here  package\-wide global/static
\& $no_caps_here    function scope my() or local() variables
.Ve
.Sp
Function and method names seem to work best as all lowercase.
e.g., \f(CW\*(C`$obj\->as_string()\*(C'\fR.
.Sp
You can use a leading underscore to indicate that a variable or
function should not be used outside the package that defined it.
.IP \(bu 4
Select what to export.
.Sp
Do NOT export method names!
.Sp
Do NOT export anything else by default without a good reason!
.Sp
Exports pollute the namespace of the module user.  If you must
export try to use \f(CW@EXPORT_OK\fR in preference to \f(CW@EXPORT\fR and avoid
short or common names to reduce the risk of name clashes.
.Sp
Generally anything not exported is still accessible from outside the
module using the ModuleName::item_name (or \f(CW\*(C`$blessed_ref\->method\*(C'\fR)
syntax.  By convention you can use a leading underscore on names to
indicate informally that they are 'internal' and not for public use.
.Sp
(It is actually possible to get private functions by saying:
\&\f(CW\*(C`my $subref = sub { ... };  &$subref;\*(C'\fR.  But there's no way to call that
directly as a method, because a method must have a name in the symbol
table.)
.Sp
As a general rule, if the module is trying to be object oriented
then export nothing. If it's just a collection of functions then
\&\f(CW@EXPORT_OK\fR anything but use \f(CW@EXPORT\fR with caution.
.IP \(bu 4
Select a name for the module.
.Sp
This name should be as descriptive, accurate, and complete as
possible.  Avoid any risk of ambiguity. Always try to use two or
more whole words.  Generally the name should reflect what is special
about what the module does rather than how it does it.  Please use
nested module names to group informally or categorize a module.
There should be a very good reason for a module not to have a nested name.
Module names should begin with a capital letter.
.Sp
Having 57 modules all called Sort will not make life easy for anyone
(though having 23 called Sort::Quick is only marginally better :\-).
Imagine someone trying to install your module alongside many others.
.Sp
If you are developing a suite of related modules/classes it's good
practice to use nested classes with a common prefix as this will
avoid namespace clashes. For example: Xyz::Control, Xyz::View,
Xyz::Model etc. Use the modules in this list as a naming guide.
.Sp
If adding a new module to a set, follow the original author's
standards for naming modules and the interface to methods in
those modules.
.Sp
If developing modules for private internal or project specific use,
that will never be released to the public, then you should ensure
that their names will not clash with any future public module. You
can do this either by using the reserved Local::* category or by
using a category name that includes an underscore like Foo_Corp::*.
.Sp
To be portable each component of a module name should be limited to
11 characters. If it might be used on MS-DOS then try to ensure each is
unique in the first 8 characters. Nested modules make this easier.
.Sp
For additional guidance on the naming of modules, please consult:
.Sp
.Vb 1
\&    https://pause.perl.org/pause/query?ACTION=pause_namingmodules
.Ve
.Sp
or send mail to the <module\-authors@perl.org> mailing list.
.IP \(bu 4
Have you got it right?
.Sp
How do you know that you've made the right decisions? Have you
picked an interface design that will cause problems later? Have
you picked the most appropriate name? Do you have any questions?
.Sp
The best way to know for sure, and pick up many helpful suggestions,
is to ask someone who knows. The <module\-authors@perl.org> mailing list
is useful for this purpose; it's also accessible via news interface as
perl.module\-authors at nntp.perl.org.
.Sp
All you need to do is post a short summary of the module, its
purpose and interfaces. A few lines on each of the main methods is
probably enough. (If you post the whole module it might be ignored
by busy people \- generally the very people you want to read it!)
.Sp
Don't worry about posting if you can't say when the module will be
ready \- just say so in the message. It might be worth inviting
others to help you, they may be able to complete it for you!
.IP \(bu 4
README and other Additional Files.
.Sp
It's well known that software developers usually fully document the
software they write. If, however, the world is in urgent need of
your software and there is not enough time to write the full
documentation please at least provide a README file containing:
.RS 4
.IP \(bu 10
A description of the module/package/extension etc.
.IP \(bu 10
A copyright notice \- see below.
.IP \(bu 10
Prerequisites \- what else you may need to have.
.IP \(bu 10
How to build it \- possible changes to Makefile.PL etc.
.IP \(bu 10
How to install it.
.IP \(bu 10
Recent changes in this release, especially incompatibilities
.IP \(bu 10
Changes / enhancements you plan to make in the future.
.RE
.RS 4
.Sp
If the README file seems to be getting too large you may wish to
split out some of the sections into separate files: INSTALL,
Copying, ToDo etc.
.IP \(bu 4
Adding a Copyright Notice.
.Sp
How you choose to license your work is a personal decision.
The general mechanism is to assert your Copyright and then make
a declaration of how others may copy/use/modify your work.
.Sp
Perl, for example, is supplied with two types of licence: The GNU GPL
and The Artistic Licence (see the files README, Copying, and Artistic,
or perlgpl and perlartistic).  Larry has good reasons for NOT
just using the GNU GPL.
.Sp
My personal recommendation, out of respect for Larry, Perl, and the
Perl community at large is to state something simply like:
.Sp
.Vb 3
\& Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
\& This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
\& modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
.Ve
.Sp
This statement should at least appear in the README file. You may
also wish to include it in a Copying file and your source files.
Remember to include the other words in addition to the Copyright.
.IP \(bu 4
Give the module a version/issue/release number.
.Sp
To be fully compatible with the Exporter and MakeMaker modules you
should store your module's version number in a non-my package
variable called \f(CW$VERSION\fR.  This should be a positive floating point
number with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e., hundredths,
e.g, \f(CW\*(C`$VERSION = "0.01"\*(C'\fR).  Don't use a "1.3.2" style version.
See Exporter for details.
.Sp
It may be handy to add a function or method to retrieve the number.
Use the number in announcements and archive file names when
releasing the module (ModuleName\-1.02.tar.Z).
See perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker.pm for details.
.IP \(bu 4
How to release and distribute a module.
.Sp
If possible, register the module with CPAN. Follow the instructions
and links on:
.Sp
.Vb 1
\&   https://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html
.Ve
.Sp
and upload to:
.Sp
.Vb 1
\&   https://pause.perl.org/
.Ve
.Sp
and notify <modules@perl.org>. This will allow anyone to install
your module using the \f(CW\*(C`cpan\*(C'\fR tool distributed with Perl.
.Sp
By using the WWW interface you can ask the Upload Server to mirror
your modules from your ftp or WWW site into your own directory on
CPAN!
.IP \(bu 4
Take care when changing a released module.
.Sp
Always strive to remain compatible with previous released versions.
Otherwise try to add a mechanism to revert to the
old behavior if people rely on it.  Document incompatible changes.
.RE
.RS 4
.RE
.SS "Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into Modules"
.IX Subsection "Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into Modules"
.IP \(bu 4
There is no requirement to convert anything.
.Sp
If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Perl 4 library scripts should
continue to work with no problems. You may need to make some minor
changes (like escaping non-array @'s in double quoted strings) but
there is no need to convert a .pl file into a Module for just that.
.IP \(bu 4
Consider the implications.
.Sp
All Perl applications that make use of the script will need to
be changed (slightly) if the script is converted into a module.  Is
it worth it unless you plan to make other changes at the same time?
.IP \(bu 4
Make the most of the opportunity.
.Sp
If you are going to convert the script to a module you can use the
opportunity to redesign the interface.  The guidelines for module
creation above include many of the issues you should consider.
.IP \(bu 4
The pl2pm utility will get you started.
.Sp
This utility will read *.pl files (given as parameters) and write
corresponding *.pm files. The pl2pm utilities does the following:
.RS 4
.IP \(bu 10
Adds the standard Module prologue lines
.IP \(bu 10
Converts package specifiers from ' to ::
.IP \(bu 10
Converts die(...) to croak(...)
.IP \(bu 10
Several other minor changes
.RE
.RS 4
.Sp
Being a mechanical process pl2pm is not bullet proof. The converted
code will need careful checking, especially any package statements.
Don't delete the original .pl file till the new .pm one works!
.RE
.SS "Guidelines for Reusing Application Code"
.IX Subsection "Guidelines for Reusing Application Code"
.IP \(bu 4
Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module Library.
.IP \(bu 4
Many applications contain some Perl code that could be reused.
.Sp
Help save the world! Share your code in a form that makes it easy
to reuse.
.IP \(bu 4
Break-out the reusable code into one or more separate module files.
.IP \(bu 4
Take the opportunity to reconsider and redesign the interfaces.
.IP \(bu 4
In some cases the 'application' can then be reduced to a small
.Sp
fragment of code built on top of the reusable modules. In these cases
the application could invoked as:
.Sp
.Vb 3
\&     % perl \-e \*(Aquse Module::Name; method(@ARGV)\*(Aq ...
\&or
\&     % perl \-mModule::Name ...    (in perl5.002 or higher)
.Ve
.SH NOTE
.IX Header "NOTE"
Perl does not enforce private and public parts of its modules as you may
have been used to in other languages like C++, Ada, or Modula\-17.  Perl
doesn't have an infatuation with enforced privacy.  It would prefer
that you stayed out of its living room because you weren't invited, not
because it has a shotgun.
.PP
The module and its user have a contract, part of which is common law,
and part of which is "written".  Part of the common law contract is
that a module doesn't pollute any namespace it wasn't asked to.  The
written contract for the module (A.K.A. documentation) may make other
provisions.  But then you know when you \f(CW\*(C`use RedefineTheWorld\*(C'\fR that
you're redefining the world and willing to take the consequences.