Chapter 4: CPAN Module Distributions

Chapter 4 - CPAN Module Distributions
by?Sam Tregar?
Apress ? 2002
has companion web siteCompanion Web Site

Overview

A CPAN MODULE IS released into an unpredictable environment. Nothing is certain— operating system, version of Perl, and the availability of other modules will vary from user to user. To combat this variability, CPAN modules come packaged in module distributions. A module distribution includes all the files necessary to build, test, and install your module.

The portability of module distributions is at the core of what makes CPAN so extraordinarily successful. Many languages have repositories containing freely available code modules. But only Perl's has the capability to automatically install these modules on every supported platform with no appreciable work required on the user's part. This chapter will show you how your modules can be packaged to take full advantage of this remarkable capability.

Chapter 1 included examples of installing modules from module distributions; in this chapter, I'll briefly expand on how CPAN module installation works. Then I'll explain how to build them. Along the way, I'll also describe refinements in constructing the module itself for maximum portability.



Writing Perl Modules for CPAN
Writing Perl Modules for CPAN
ISBN: 159059018X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 110
Authors: Sam Tregar

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