[perl5.git] / pod / perlsource.pod

=encoding utf8

=for comment
Consistent formatting of this file is achieved with:
  perl ./Porting/podtidy pod/perlsource.pod

=head1 NAME

perlsource - A guide to the Perl source tree

=head1 DESCRIPTION

This document describes the layout of the Perl source tree. If you're hacking
on the Perl core, this will help you find what you're looking for.

=head1 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND

The Perl source tree is big. Here's some of the thing you'll find in it:

=head2 C code

The C source code and header files mostly live in the root of the source
tree. There are a few platform-specific directories which contain C code. In
addition, some of the modules shipped with Perl include C or XS code.

See L<perlinterp> for more details on the files that make up the Perl
interpreter, as well as details on how it works.

=head2 Core modules

Modules shipped as part of the Perl core live in four subdirectories. Two of
these directories contain modules that live in the core, and two contain
modules that can also be released separately on CPAN. Modules which can be
released on cpan are known as "dual-life" modules.

=over 4

=item * F<lib/>

This directory contains pure-Perl modules which are only released as part of
the core. This directory contains I<all> of the modules and their tests,
unlike other core modules.

=item * F<ext/>

This directory contains XS-using modules which are only released as part of
the core. These modules generally have their F<Makefile.PL> and are laid out
more like a typical CPAN module.

=item * F<dist/>

This directory is for dual-life modules where the blead source is
canonical. Note that some modules in this directory may not yet have been
released separately on CPAN.

=item * F<cpan/>

This directory contains dual-life modules where the CPAN module is
canonical. Do not patch these modules directly! Changes to these modules
should be submitted to the maintainer of the CPAN module. Once those changes
are applied and released, the new version of the module will be incorporated
into the core.

=back

For some dual-life modules, it has not yet been determined if the CPAN version
or the blead source is canonical. Until that is done, those modules should be
in F<cpan/>.

=head2 Tests

The Perl core has an extensive test suite. If you add new tests (or new
modules with tests), you may need to update the F<t/TEST> file so that the
tests are run.

=over 4

=item * Module tests

Tests for core modules in the F<lib/> directory are right next to the module
itself. For example, we have F<lib/strict.pm> and F<lib/strict.t>.

Tests for modules in F<ext/> and the dual-life modules are in F<t/>
subdirectories for each module, like a standard CPAN distribution.

=item * F<t/base/>

Tests for the absolute basic functionality of Perl. This includes C<if>, basic
file reads and writes, simple regexes, etc. These are run first in the test
suite and if any of them fail, something is I<really> broken.

=item * F<t/cmd/>

Tests for basic control structures, C<if/else>, C<while>,
subroutines, etc.

=item * F<t/comp/>

Tests for basic issues of how Perl parses and compiles itself.

=item * F<t/io/>

Tests for built-in IO functions, including command line arguments.

=item * F<t/mro/>

Tests for perl's method resolution order implementations (see L<mro>).

=item * F<t/op/>

Tests for perl's built in functions that don't fit into any of the
other directories.

=item * F<t/re/>

Tests for regex related functions or behaviour. (These used to live in
t/op).

=item * F<t/run/>

Tests for features of how perl actually runs, including exit codes and
handling of PERL* environment variables.

=item * F<t/uni/>

Tests for the core support of Unicode.

=item * F<t/win32/>

Windows-specific tests.

=item * F<t/porting/>

Tests the state of the source tree for various common errors. For example, it
tests that everyone who is listed in the git log has a corresponding entry in
the F<AUTHORS> file.

=item * F<t/lib/>

The old home for the module tests, you shouldn't put anything new in
here. There are still some bits and pieces hanging around in here that
need to be moved. Perhaps you could move them?  Thanks!

=item * F<t/x2p>

A test suite for the s2p converter.

=back

=head2 Documentation

All of the core documentation intended for end users lives in
F<pod/>. Individual modules in F<lib/>, F<ext/>, F<dist/>, and F<cpan/>
usually have their own documentation, either in the F<Module.pm> file or an
accompanying F<Module.pod> file.

Finally, documentation intended for core Perl developers lives in the
F<Porting/> directory.

=head2 Hacking toolks and documentation

The F<Porting> directory contains a grab bag of code and documentation
intended to help porters work on Perl. Some of the highlights include:

=over 4

=item * F<check*>

These are scripts which will check the source things like ANSI C violations,
POD encoding issues, etc.

=item * F<Maintainers>, F<Maintainers.pl>, and F<Maintainers.pm>

These files contain information on who maintains which modules. Run C<perl
Porting/Maintainers -M Module::Name> to find out more information about a
dual-life module.

=item * F<podtidy>

Tidies a pod file. It's a good idea to run this on a pod file you've patched.

=back

=head2 Build system

The Perl build system starts with the F<Configure> script in the root
directory.

Platform-specific pieces of the build system also live in platform-specific
directories like F<win32/>, F<vms/>, etc.

The F<Configure> script is ultimately responsible for generating a
F<Makefile>.

The build system that Perl uses is called metaconfig. This system is
maintained separately from the Perl core.

The metaconfig system has its own git repository. Please see its README file
in L<http://perl5.git.perl.org/metaconfig.git/> for more details.

The F<Cross> directory contains various files related to cross-compiling
Perl. See F<Cross/README> for more details.

=head2 F<AUTHORS>

This file everyone who's contributed to Perl. If you submit a patch, you
should add your name to this file as part of the patch.

=head2 F<MANIFEST>

The F<MANIFEST> file in the root of the source tree contains a list of every
file in the Perl core, as well as a brief description of each file.

You can get an overview of all the files with this command:

  % perl -lne 'print if /^[^\/]+\.[ch]\s+/' MANIFEST
Commit	Line	Data
04c692a8 DR	1	=encoding utf8
	2
	3	=for comment
	4	Consistent formatting of this file is achieved with:
	5	perl ./Porting/podtidy pod/perlsource.pod
	6
	7	=head1 NAME
	8
	9	perlsource - A guide to the Perl source tree
	10
	11	=head1 DESCRIPTION
	12
	13	This document describes the layout of the Perl source tree. If you're hacking
	14	on the Perl core, this will help you find what you're looking for.
	15
	16	=head1 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND
	17
	18	The Perl source tree is big. Here's some of the thing you'll find in it:
	19
	20	=head2 C code
	21
	22	The C source code and header files mostly live in the root of the source
	23	tree. There are a few platform-specific directories which contain C code. In
	24	addition, some of the modules shipped with Perl include C or XS code.
	25
	26	See L<perlinterp> for more details on the files that make up the Perl
	27	interpreter, as well as details on how it works.
	28
	29	=head2 Core modules
	30
	31	Modules shipped as part of the Perl core live in four subdirectories. Two of
	32	these directories contain modules that live in the core, and two contain
	33	modules that can also be released separately on CPAN. Modules which can be
	34	released on cpan are known as "dual-life" modules.
	35
	36	=over 4
	37
	38	=item * F<lib/>
	39
	40	This directory contains pure-Perl modules which are only released as part of
	41	the core. This directory contains I<all> of the modules and their tests,
	42	unlike other core modules.
	43
	44	=item * F<ext/>
	45
	46	This directory contains XS-using modules which are only released as part of
	47	the core. These modules generally have their F<Makefile.PL> and are laid out
	48	more like a typical CPAN module.
	49
	50	=item * F<dist/>
	51
	52	This directory is for dual-life modules where the blead source is
	53	canonical. Note that some modules in this directory may not yet have been
	54	released separately on CPAN.
	55
	56	=item * F<cpan/>
	57
	58	This directory contains dual-life modules where the CPAN module is
	59	canonical. Do not patch these modules directly! Changes to these modules
	60	should be submitted to the maintainer of the CPAN module. Once those changes
	61	are applied and released, the new version of the module will be incorporated
	62	into the core.
	63
	64	=back
65
66	For some dual-life modules, it has not yet been determined if the CPAN version
67	or the blead source is canonical. Until that is done, those modules should be
68	in F<cpan/>.
69
70	=head2 Tests
71
72	The Perl core has an extensive test suite. If you add new tests (or new
73	modules with tests), you may need to update the F<t/TEST> file so that the
74	tests are run.
75
76	=over 4
77
78	=item * Module tests
79
80	Tests for core modules in the F<lib/> directory are right next to the module
81	itself. For example, we have F<lib/strict.pm> and F<lib/strict.t>.
82
83	Tests for modules in F<ext/> and the dual-life modules are in F<t/>
84	subdirectories for each module, like a standard CPAN distribution.
85
86	=item * F<t/base/>
87
88	Tests for the absolute basic functionality of Perl. This includes C<if>, basic
89	file reads and writes, simple regexes, etc. These are run first in the test
90	suite and if any of them fail, something is I<really> broken.
91
92	=item * F<t/cmd/>
93
94	Tests for basic control structures, C<if/else>, C<while>,
95	subroutines, etc.
96
97	=item * F<t/comp/>
98
99	Tests for basic issues of how Perl parses and compiles itself.
100
101	=item * F<t/io/>
102
103	Tests for built-in IO functions, including command line arguments.
104
105	=item * F<t/mro/>
106
107	Tests for perl's method resolution order implementations (see L<mro>).
108
109	=item * F<t/op/>
110
111	Tests for perl's built in functions that don't fit into any of the
112	other directories.
113
114	=item * F<t/re/>
115
116	Tests for regex related functions or behaviour. (These used to live in
117	t/op).
118
119	=item * F<t/run/>
120
121	Tests for features of how perl actually runs, including exit codes and
122	handling of PERL* environment variables.
123
124	=item * F<t/uni/>
125
126	Tests for the core support of Unicode.
127
128	=item * F<t/win32/>
129
130	Windows-specific tests.
131
132	=item * F<t/porting/>
133
134	Tests the state of the source tree for various common errors. For example, it
135	tests that everyone who is listed in the git log has a corresponding entry in
136	the F<AUTHORS> file.
137
138	=item * F<t/lib/>
139
140	The old home for the module tests, you shouldn't put anything new in
141	here. There are still some bits and pieces hanging around in here that
142	need to be moved. Perhaps you could move them? Thanks!
143
144	=item * F<t/x2p>
145
146	A test suite for the s2p converter.
147
148	=back
149
150	=head2 Documentation
151
152	All of the core documentation intended for end users lives in
153	F<pod/>. Individual modules in F<lib/>, F<ext/>, F<dist/>, and F<cpan/>
154	usually have their own documentation, either in the F<Module.pm> file or an
155	accompanying F<Module.pod> file.
156
157	Finally, documentation intended for core Perl developers lives in the
158	F<Porting/> directory.
159
160	=head2 Hacking toolks and documentation
161
162	The F<Porting> directory contains a grab bag of code and documentation
163	intended to help porters work on Perl. Some of the highlights include:
164
165	=over 4
166
167	=item * F<check*>
168
169	These are scripts which will check the source things like ANSI C violations,
170	POD encoding issues, etc.
171
172	=item * F<Maintainers>, F<Maintainers.pl>, and F<Maintainers.pm>
173
174	These files contain information on who maintains which modules. Run C<perl
175	Porting/Maintainers -M Module::Name> to find out more information about a
176	dual-life module.
177
178	=item * F<podtidy>
179
180	Tidies a pod file. It's a good idea to run this on a pod file you've patched.
181
182	=back
183
184	=head2 Build system
185
186	The Perl build system starts with the F<Configure> script in the root
187	directory.
188
189	Platform-specific pieces of the build system also live in platform-specific
190	directories like F<win32/>, F<vms/>, etc.
191
192	The F<Configure> script is ultimately responsible for generating a
193	F<Makefile>.
194
195	The build system that Perl uses is called metaconfig. This system is
196	maintained separately from the Perl core.
197
198	The metaconfig system has its own git repository. Please see its README file
199	in L<http://perl5.git.perl.org/metaconfig.git/> for more details.
200
201	The F<Cross> directory contains various files related to cross-compiling
202	Perl. See F<Cross/README> for more details.
203
204	=head2 F<AUTHORS>
205
206	This file everyone who's contributed to Perl. If you submit a patch, you
207	should add your name to this file as part of the patch.
208
209	=head2 F<MANIFEST>
210
211	The F<MANIFEST> file in the root of the source tree contains a list of every
212	file in the Perl core, as well as a brief description of each file.
213
214	You can get an overview of all the files with this command:
215
216	% perl -lne 'print if /^[^\/]+\.[ch]\s+/' MANIFEST