=head1 THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY
-A number of modules are included the Perl distribution. These are
-described below, and all end in F<.pm>. You may also discover files in
-the library directory that end in either F<.pl> or F<.ph>. These are old
-libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still run. The
-F<.pl> files will all eventually be converted into standard modules, and
-the F<.ph> files made by B<h2ph> will probably end up as extension modules
-made by B<h2xs>. (Some F<.ph> values may already be available through the
-POSIX module.) The B<pl2pm> file in the distribution may help in your
-conversion, but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from
-bulletproof.
+Many modules are included the Perl distribution. These are described
+below, and all end in F<.pm>. You may discover compiled library
+file (usually ending in F<.so>) or small pieces of modules to be
+autoloaded (ending in F<.al>); these were automatically generated
+by the installation process. You may also discover files in the
+library directory that end in either F<.pl> or F<.ph>. These are
+old libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still
+run. The F<.pl> files will all eventually be converted into standard
+modules, and the F<.ph> files made by B<h2ph> will probably end up
+as extension modules made by B<h2xs>. (Some F<.ph> values may
+already be available through the POSIX, Errno, or Fcntl modules.)
+The B<pl2pm> file in the distribution may help in your conversion,
+but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from bulletproof.
=head2 Pragmatic Modules
-They work somewhat like pragmas in that they tend to affect the compilation of
-your program, and thus will usually work well only when used within a
-C<use>, or C<no>. Most of these are locally scoped, so an inner BLOCK
-may countermand any of these by saying:
+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 C<use>, or C<no>. Most of these
+are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may countermand them
+by saying:
no integer;
no strict 'refs';
+ no warning;
which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.
-Unlike the pragmas that effect the C<$^H> hints variable, the C<use
-vars> and C<use subs> declarations are not BLOCK-scoped. They allow
-you to predeclare a variables or subroutines within a particular
-I<file> rather than just a block. Such declarations are effective
-for the entire file for which they were declared. You cannot rescind
-them with C<no vars> or C<no subs>.
+Some pragmas are lexically scoped--typically those that affect the
+C<$^H> hints variable. Others affect the current package instead,
+like C<use vars> and C<use subs>, whic allow you to predeclare a
+variables or subroutines within a particular I<file> rather than
+just a block. Such declarations are effective for the entire file
+for which they were declared. You cannot rescind them with C<no
+vars> or C<no subs>.
The following pragmas are defined (and have their own documentation).
=over 12
-=item use autouse MODULE => qw(sub1 sub2 sub3)
+=item attrs
-Defers C<require MODULE> until someone calls one of the specified
-subroutines (which must be exported by MODULE). This pragma should be
-used with caution, and only when necessary.
+set/get attributes of a subroutine
+
+=item autouse
+
+postpone load of modules until a function is used
+
+=item base
+
+Establish IS-A relationship with base class at compile time
=item blib
-manipulate @INC at compile time to use MakeMaker's uninstalled version
-of a package
+Use MakeMaker's uninstalled version of a package
+
+=item constant
+
+declare constants
=item diagnostics
-force verbose warning diagnostics
+Perl compiler pragma to force verbose warning diagnostics
+
+=item fields
+
+compile-time class fields
+
+=item filetest
+
+control the filetest permission operators
=item integer
=item less
-request less of something from the compiler
+perl pragma to request less of something from the compiler
=item lib
=item locale
-use or ignore current locale for builtin operations (see L<perllocale>)
+use and avoid POSIX locales for built-in operations
=item ops
-restrict named opcodes when compiling or running Perl code
+restrict unsafe operations when compiling
=item overload
-overload basic Perl operations
+Package for overloading perl operations
+
+=item re
+
+alter regular expression behavior
=item sigtrap
predeclare sub names
-=item vmsish
+=item utf8
-adopt certain VMS-specific behaviors
+turn on UTF-8 and Unicode support
=item vars
predeclare global variable names
+=item warning
+
+control optional warnings
+
+=item vmsish
+
+control VMS-specific language features
+
+=item warning
+
+control optional warnings
+
=back
=head2 Standard Modules
=item AutoLoader
-load functions only on demand
+load subroutines only on demand
=item AutoSplit
split a package for autoloading
+=item B
+
+The Perl Compiler; See also L<perlcc>.
+
+=item B::Asmdata
+
+Autogenerated data about Perl ops, used to generate bytecode
+
+=item B::Assembler
+
+Assemble Perl bytecode
+
+=item B::Bblock
+
+Walk basic blocks
+
+=item B::Bytecode
+
+Perl compiler's bytecode backend
+
+=item B::C
+
+Perl compiler's C backend
+
+=item B::CC
+
+Perl compiler's optimized C translation backend
+
+=item B::Debug
+
+Walk Perl syntax tree, printing debug info about ops
+
+=item B::Deparse
+
+Perl compiler backend to produce perl code
+
+=item B::Disassembler
+
+Disassemble Perl bytecode
+
+=item B::Lint
+
+Perl lint
+
+=item B::Showlex
+
+Show lexical variables used in functions or files
+
+=item B::Stackobj
+
+Helper module for CC backend
+
+=item B::Terse
+
+Walk Perl syntax tree, printing terse info about ops
+
+=item B::Xref
+
+Generates cross reference reports for Perl programs
+
=item Benchmark
benchmark running times of code
+=item CGI
+
+Simple Common Gateway Interface Class
+
+=item CGI::Apache
+
+Make things work with CGI.pm against Perl-Apache API
+
+=item CGI::Carp
+
+CGI routines for writing to the HTTPD (or other) error log
+
+=item CGI::Cookie
+
+Interface to Netscape Cookies
+
+=item CGI::Fast
+
+CGI Interface for Fast CGI
+
+=item CGI::Push
+
+Simple Interface to Server Push
+
+=item CGI::Switch
+
+Try more than one constructors and return the first object available
+
=item CPAN
-interface to Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
+query, download and build perl modules from CPAN sites
=item CPAN::FirstTime
-create a CPAN configuration file
+Utility for CPAN::Config file Initialization
=item CPAN::Nox
-run CPAN while avoiding compiled extensions
+Wrapper around CPAN.pm without using any XS module
=item Carp
=item Class::Struct
-declare struct-like datatypes
+declare struct-like datatypes as Perl classes
=item Config
get pathname of current working directory
+=item DB
+
+programmatic interface to the Perl debugging API
+
=item DB_File
-access to Berkeley DB
+Perl5 access to Berkeley DB version 1.x
+
+=item Data::Dumper
+
+stringified perl data structures, suitable for both printing and C<eval>
+
+=item Devel::Peek
+
+A data debugging tool for the XS programmer
=item Devel::SelfStubber
supply object methods for directory handles
+=item Dumpvalue
+
+provides screen dump of Perl data.
+
=item DynaLoader
-dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
+Dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
=item English
=item Env
-import environment variables
+perl module that imports environment variables
+
+=item Errno
+
+System errno constants
=item Exporter
-implements default import method for modules
+Implements default import method for modules
+
+=item ExtUtils::Command
+
+utilities to replace common UNIX commands in Makefiles etc.
=item ExtUtils::Embed
-utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++ applications
+Utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++ applications
=item ExtUtils::Install
install files from here to there
+=item ExtUtils::Installed
+
+Inventory management of installed modules
+
=item ExtUtils::Liblist
determine libraries to use and how to use them
=item ExtUtils::MM_OS2
-methods to override Unix behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
+methods to override UN*X behavior in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
=item ExtUtils::MM_Unix
=item ExtUtils::MM_VMS
-methods to override Unix behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
+methods to override UN*X behavior in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
+
+=item ExtUtils::MM_Win32
+
+methods to override UN*X behavior in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
=item ExtUtils::MakeMaker
utilities to write and check a MANIFEST file
+=item ExtUtils::Miniperl
+
+write the C code for perlmain.c
+
=item ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap
make a bootstrap file for use by DynaLoader
write linker options files for dynamic extension
+=item ExtUtils::Packlist
+
+manage .packlist files
+
=item ExtUtils::testlib
add blib/* directories to @INC
+=item Fatal
+
+replace functions with equivalents which succeed or die
+
=item Fcntl
load the C Fcntl.h defines
split a pathname into pieces
-=item File::CheckTree
-
-run many filetest checks on a tree
-
=item File::Compare
-compare files or filehandles
+Compare files or filehandles
=item File::Copy
-copy files or filehandles
+Copy files or filehandles
+
+=item File::DosGlob
+
+DOS like globbing and then some
=item File::Find
create or remove a series of directories
+=item File::Spec
+
+portably perform operations on file names
+
+=item File::Spec::Functions
+
+portably perform operations on file names
+
+=item File::Spec::Mac
+
+File::Spec for MacOS
+
+=item File::Spec::OS2
+
+methods for OS/2 file specs
+
+=item File::Spec::Unix
+
+methods used by File::Spec
+
+=item File::Spec::VMS
+
+methods for VMS file specs
+
+=item File::Spec::Win32
+
+methods for Win32 file specs
+
=item File::stat
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin stat() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in stat() functions
=item FileCache
=item FindBin
-locate directory of original perl script
+Locate directory of original perl script
=item GDBM_File
-access to the gdbm library
+Perl5 access to the gdbm library.
=item Getopt::Long
=item Getopt::Std
-process single-character switches with switch clustering
+Process single-character switches with switch clustering
=item I18N::Collate
load various IO modules
+=item IO::Dir
+
+supply object methods for directory handles
+
=item IO::File
supply object methods for filehandles
supply object methods for pipes
+=item IO::Poll
+
+Object interface to system poll call
+
=item IO::Seekable
supply seek based methods for I/O objects
=item IO::Socket
-object interface to socket communications
+Object interface to socket communications
+
+=item IO::Socket::INET
+
+Object interface for AF_INET domain sockets
+
+=item IO::Socket::UNIX
+
+Object interface for AF_UNIX domain sockets
+
+=item IPC::Msg
+
+SysV Msg IPC object class
=item IPC::Open2
open a process for reading, writing, and error handling
+=item IPC::Semaphore
+
+SysV Semaphore IPC object class
+
+=item IPC::SysV
+
+SysV IPC constants
+
=item Math::BigFloat
-arbitrary length float math package
+Arbitrary length float math package
=item Math::BigInt
-arbitrary size integer math package
+Arbitrary size integer math package
=item Math::Complex
complex numbers and associated mathematical functions
+=item Math::Trig
+
+trigonometric functions
+
=item NDBM_File
-tied access to ndbm files
+Tied access to ndbm files
=item Net::Ping
-Hello, anybody home?
+check a remote host for reachability
=item Net::hostent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin gethost*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in gethost*() functions
=item Net::netent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin getnet*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in getnet*() functions
=item Net::protoent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin getproto*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in getproto*() functions
=item Net::servent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin getserv*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in getserv*() functions
-=item Opcode
+=item O
-disable named opcodes when compiling or running perl code
+Generic interface to Perl Compiler backends
-=item Pod::Text
+=item Opcode
-convert POD data to formatted ASCII text
+Disable named opcodes when compiling perl code
=item POSIX
-interface to IEEE Standard 1003.1
+Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1
+
+=item Pod::Html
+
+module to convert pod files to HTML
+
+=item Pod::Text
+
+convert POD data to formatted ASCII text
=item SDBM_File
-tied access to sdbm files
+Tied access to sdbm files
=item Safe
-compile and execute code in restricted compartments
+Compile and execute code in restricted compartments
=item Search::Dict
=item Sys::Hostname
-try every conceivable way to get hostname
+Try every conceivable way to get hostname
=item Sys::Syslog
-interface to the Unix syslog(3) calls
+Perl interface to the UNIX syslog(3) calls
=item Term::Cap
-termcap interface
+Perl termcap interface
=item Term::Complete
-word completion module
+Perl word completion module
=item Term::ReadLine
-interface to various C<readline> packages
+Perl interface to various C<readline> packages.
+
+=item Test
+
+provides a simple framework for writing test scripts
=item Test::Harness
=item Text::ParseWords
-parse text into an array of tokens
+parse text into an array of tokens or array of arrays
=item Text::Soundex
-implementation of the Soundex Algorithm as described by Knuth
+Implementation of the Soundex Algorithm as Described by Knuth
-=item Text::Tabs
-
-expand and unexpand tabs per the Unix expand(1) and unexpand(1)
+=item Text::Tabs -- expand and unexpand tabs per the unix expand(1) and unexpand(1)
=item Text::Wrap
line wrapping to form simple paragraphs
-=item Tie::Hash
+=item Thread
+
+multithreading
+
+=item Thread::Queue
+
+thread-safe queues
+
+=item Thread::Semaphore
+
+thread-safe semaphores
+
+=item Thread::Signal
+
+Start a thread which runs signal handlers reliably
+
+=item Thread::Specific
+
+thread-specific keys
+
+=item Tie::Array
+
+base class for tied arrays
+
+=item Tie::Handle
+
+base class definitions for tied handles
+
+=item Tie::Hash, Tie::StdHash
base class definitions for tied hashes
=item Tie::RefHash
-base class definitions for tied hashes with references as keys
+use references as hash keys
-=item Tie::Scalar
+=item Tie::Scalar, Tie::StdScalar
base class definitions for tied scalars
=item Tie::SubstrHash
-fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing
+Fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing
=item Time::Local
=item Time::gmtime
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin gmtime() function
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in gmtime() function
=item Time::localtime
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin localtime() function
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in localtime() function
=item Time::tm
=item User::grent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin getgr*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in getgr*() functions
=item User::pwent
-by-name interface to Perl's builtin getpw*() functions
+by-name interface to Perl's built-in getpw*() functions
=back
-To find out I<all> the modules installed on your system, including
-those without documentation or outside the standard release, do this:
+To find out I<all> modules installed on your system, including
+those without documentation or outside the standard release,
+jus tdo this:
- find `perl -e 'print "@INC"'` -name '*.pm' -print
+ % find `perl -e 'print "@INC"'` -name '*.pm' -print
-They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible via
-your system man(1) command. If that fails, try the I<perldoc> program.
+They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible
+via your system man(1) command. If you do not have a B<find>
+program, you can use the Perl B<find2perl> program instead, which
+generates Perl code as output you can run through perl. If you
+have a B<man> program but it doesn't find your modules, you'll have
+to fix your manpath. See L<perl> for details. If you have no
+system B<man> command, you might try the B<perldoc> program.
=head2 Extension Modules
-Extension modules are written in C (or a mix of Perl and C) and may be
-statically linked or in general are
-dynamically loaded into Perl if and when you need them. Supported
-extension modules include the Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX 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 be linked in statically. Supported extension modules
+include Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX.
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 in
-archie(1L), the Perl FAQ or Meta-FAQ, the WWW page, and even with their
-authors before randomly posting asking for their present condition and
-disposition.
+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 Alta Vista or Deja News.
=head1 CPAN
-CPAN stands for the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network. This is a globally
-replicated collection of all known Perl materials, including hundreds
-of unbundled modules. Here are the major categories of modules:
+CPAN stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network; it's a globally
+replicated trove of Perl materials, including documentation, style
+guides, tricks and trap, alternate ports to non-Unix systems and
+occasional binary distributions for these. Search engines for
+CPAN can be found at http://cpan.perl.com/ and at
+http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_perl/cpan-search.pl .
+
+Most importantly, CPAN includes around a thousand unbundled modules,
+some of which require a C compiler to build. Major categories of
+modules are:
=over
=back
-The registered CPAN sites as of this writing include the following.
+Registered CPAN sites as of this writing include the following.
You should try to choose one close to you:
=over
-=item *
-Africa
-
- South Africa ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
-
-=item *
-Asia
-
- Hong Kong ftp://ftp.hkstar.com/pub/CPAN/
- Japan ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.lab.kdd.co.jp/lang/perl/CPAN/
- South Korea ftp://ftp.nuri.net/pub/CPAN/
- Taiwan ftp://dongpo.math.ncu.edu.tw/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.wownet.net/pub2/PERL/
-
-=item *
-Australasia
-
- Australia ftp://ftp.netinfo.com.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
- New Zealand ftp://ftp.tekotago.ac.nz/pub/perl/CPAN/
-
-=item *
-Europe
-
- Austria ftp://ftp.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
- Belgium ftp://ftp.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be/pub/mirror/CPAN/
- Czech Republic ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/Languages/Perl/CPAN/
- Denmark ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
- Finland ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
- France ftp://ftp.ibp.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/computing/unix/perl/CPAN/
- Germany ftp://ftp.gmd.de/packages/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/programming/languages/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.mpi-sb.mpg.de/pub/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.rz.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pub/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/source/Perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.uni-hamburg.de/pub/soft/lang/perl/CPAN/
- Greece ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/perl/
- Hungary ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/perl/CPAN/
- Italy ftp://cis.utovrm.it/CPAN/
- the Netherlands ftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/PERL/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.EU.net/packages/cpan/
- Norway ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/languages/perl/cpan/
- Poland ftp://ftp.pk.edu.pl/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/CPAN/
- Portugal ftp://ftp.ci.uminho.pt/pub/lang/perl/
- ftp://ftp.telepac.pt/pub/CPAN/
- Russia ftp://ftp.sai.msu.su/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
- Slovenia ftp://ftp.arnes.si/software/perl/CPAN/
- Spain ftp://ftp.etse.urv.es/pub/mirror/perl/
- ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/CPAN/
- Sweden ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
- UK ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/CPAN/
- ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/mirrors/perl-CPAN/
-
-=item *
-North America
-
- Ontario ftp://ftp.utilis.com/public/CPAN/
- ftp://enterprise.ic.gc.ca/pub/perl/CPAN/
- Manitoba ftp://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
- California ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/plan/perl/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/perl/CPAN/
- Colorado ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
- Florida ftp://ftp.cis.ufl.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
- Illinois ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
- Massachusetts ftp://ftp.iguide.com/pub/mirrors/packages/perl/CPAN/
- New York ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
- North Carolina ftp://ftp.duke.edu/pub/perl/
- Oklahoma ftp://ftp.ou.edu/mirrors/CPAN/
- Oregon http://www.perl.org/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/packages/CPAN/
- Pennsylvania ftp://ftp.epix.net/pub/languages/perl/
- Texas ftp://ftp.sedl.org/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
- ftp://ftp.metronet.com/pub/perl/
-
-=item *
-South America
-
- Chile ftp://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/Lang/perl/CPAN/
+=item Africa
+
+ South Africa ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftpza.co.za/pub/mirrors/cpan/
+
+=item Asia
+
+ China ftp://freesoft.cei.gov.cn/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Hong Kong ftp://ftp.hkstar.com/pub/CPAN/
+ Israel ftp://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
+ Japan ftp://ftp.dti.ad.jp/pub/lang/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.lab.kdd.co.jp/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.meisei-u.ac.jp/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://mirror.nucba.ac.jp/mirror/Perl/
+ Singapore ftp://ftp.nus.edu.sg/pub/unix/perl/CPAN/
+ South Korea ftp://ftp.bora.net/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.nuri.net/pub/CPAN/
+ Taiwan ftp://ftp.wownet.net/pub2/PERL/
+ ftp://ftp1.sinica.edu.tw/pub1/perl/CPAN/
+ Thailand ftp://ftp.cs.riubon.ac.th/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.nectec.or.th/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
+
+=item Australasia
+
+ Australia ftp://cpan.topend.com.au/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.labyrinth.net.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.sage-au.org.au/pub/compilers/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ New Zealand ftp://ftp.auckland.ac.nz/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://sunsite.net.nz/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+
+Central America
+
+ Costa Rica ftp://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/pub/Unix/CPAN/
+
+=item Europe
+
+ Austria ftp://ftp.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Belgium ftp://ftp.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be/pub/mirror/CPAN/
+ Bulgaria ftp://ftp.ntrl.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
+ Croatia ftp://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
+ Czech Republic ftp://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/perl/
+ ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/Languages/Perl/CPAN/
+ Denmark ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Estonia ftp://ftp.ut.ee/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Finland ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ France ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.oleane.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/computing/CPAN/
+ Germany ftp://ftp.archive.de.uu.net/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.gmd.de/packages/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/programming/languages/script/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.mpi-sb.mpg.de/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.rz.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/source/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.uni-hamburg.de/pub/soft/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ Greece ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/perl/
+ Hungary ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/perl/CPAN/
+ Ireland ftp://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
+ Italy ftp://cis.uniRoma2.it/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.flashnet.it/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.unina.it/pub/Other/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.unipi.it/pub/mirror/perl/CPAN/
+ Netherlands ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.EU.net/packages/cpan/
+ ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Norway ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/languages/perl/cpan/
+ ftp://sunsite.uio.no/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Poland ftp://ftp.man.szczecin.pl/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.man.torun.pl/pub/doc/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.pk.edu.pl/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/CPAN/
+ Portugal ftp://ftp.ci.uminho.pt/pub/mirrors/cpan/
+ ftp://ftp.ist.utl.pt/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.ua.pt/pub/CPAN/
+ Romania ftp://ftp.dntis.ro/pub/mirrors/perl-cpan/
+ ftp://ftp.dnttm.ro/pub/CPAN/
+ Russia ftp://ftp.chg.ru/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.sai.msu.su/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ Slovakia ftp://ftp.entry.sk/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ Slovenia ftp://ftp.arnes.si/software/perl/CPAN/
+ Spain ftp://ftp.etse.urv.es/pub/perl/
+ ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/CPAN/
+ Sweden ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ Switzerland ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/CPAN/
+ Turkey ftp://sunsite.bilkent.edu.tr/pub/languages/CPAN/
+ United Kingdom ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.flirble.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.plig.org/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/CPAN/
+ ftp://unix.hensa.ac.uk/mirrors/perl-CPAN/
+
+=item North America
+
+ Alberta ftp://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
+ California ftp://cpan.nas.nasa.gov/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/plan/perl/CPAN/
+ Colorado ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ Florida ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ Illinois ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ Indiana ftp://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.uwsg.indiana.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ Manitoba ftp://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
+ Massachusetts ftp://ftp.ccs.neu.edu/net/mirrors/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.iguide.com/pub/mirrors/packages/perl/CPAN/
+ Mexico ftp://ftp.msg.com.mx/pub/CPAN/
+ Minnesota ftp://ftp.midearthbbs.com/CPAN/
+ New York ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
+ North Carolina ftp://ftp.duke.edu/pub/perl/
+ Oklahoma ftp://ftp.ou.edu/mirrors/CPAN/
+ Ontario ftp://ftp.crc.ca/pub/packages/lang/perl/CPAN/
+ Oregon ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/packages/CPAN/
+ Pennsylvania ftp://ftp.epix.net/pub/languages/perl/
+ Texas ftp://ftp.sedl.org/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
+ Utah ftp://mirror.xmission.com/CPAN/
+ Virginia ftp://ftp.perl.org/pub/perl/CPAN/
+ ftp://ruff.cs.jmu.edu/pub/CPAN/
+ Washington ftp://ftp-mirror.internap.com/pub/CPAN/
+ ftp://ftp.spu.edu/pub/CPAN/
+
+=item South America
+
+ Brazil ftp://cpan.if.usp.br/pub/mirror/CPAN/
+ Chile ftp://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/Lang/perl/CPAN/
=back
For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites,
-see F<http://www.perl.com/perl/CPAN> or F<ftp://ftp.perl.com/perl/>.
+see http://www.perl.com/perl/CPAN or ftp://www.perl.com/perl/ .
=head1 Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse
=item Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and reuse.
+Always use B<-w>.
+
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.,:
Inherit methods from other modules if appropriate.
Avoid class name tests like: C<die "Invalid" unless ref $ref eq 'FOO'>.
-Generally you can delete the "C<eq 'FOO'>" part with no harm at all.
+Generally you can delete the C<eq 'FOO'> part with no harm at all.
Let the objects look after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired
class names as far as possible.
C<$r-E<gt>func()> would work (see L<perlbot> for more details).
Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions won't be a
-burden to programs which don't use them. Add test functions to
+burden to programs that don't use them. Add test functions to
the module after __END__ either using AutoSplit or by saying:
eval join('',<main::DATA>) || die $@ unless caller();
Does your module pass the 'empty subclass' test? If you say
-"C<@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);>" your applications should be able
+C<@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);> your applications should be able
to use SUBCLASS in exactly the same way as YOURCLASS. For example,
does your application still work if you change: C<$obj = new YOURCLASS;>
into: C<$obj = new SUBCLASS;> ?
difficult for multiple other packages to use yours. Keep state
information in objects.
-Always use B<-w>. Try to C<use strict;> (or C<use strict qw(...);>).
+Always use B<-w>.
+
+Try to C<use strict;> (or C<use strict qw(...);>).
Remember that you can add C<no strict qw(...);> to individual blocks
-of code which need less strictness. Always use B<-w>. Always use B<-w>!
+of code that need less strictness.
+
+Always use B<-w>.
+
Follow the guidelines in the perlstyle(1) manual.
+Always use B<-w>.
+
=item Some simple style guidelines
-The perlstyle manual supplied with perl has many helpful points.
+The perlstyle manual supplied with Perl has many helpful points.
Coding style is a matter of personal taste. Many people evolve their
style over several years as they learn what helps them write and
You may find it helpful to use letter case to indicate the scope
or nature of a variable. For example:
- $ALL_CAPS_HERE constants only (beware clashes with perl vars)
+ $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
Artistic). Larry has good reasons for NOT just using the GNU GPL.
My personal recommendation, out of respect for Larry, Perl, and the
-perl community at large is to state something simply like:
+Perl community at large is to state something simply like:
Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
variable called $VERSION. This should be a floating point
number with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e., hundredths,
e.g, C<$VERSION = "0.01">). Don't use a "1.3.2" style version.
-See Exporter.pm in Perl5.001m or later for details.
+See L<Exporter> for details.
It may be handy to add a function or method to retrieve the number.
Use the number in announcements and archive file names when
Usenet newsgroup. This will at least ensure very wide once-off
distribution.
-If possible you should place the module into a major ftp archive and
+If possible, register the module with CPAN. You should
include details of its location in your announcement.
Some notes about ftp archives: Please use a long descriptive file
-name which includes the version number. Most incoming directories
+name that includes the version number. Most incoming directories
will not be readable/listable, i.e., you won't be able to see your
file after uploading it. Remember to send your email notification
message as soon as possible after uploading else your file may get
=item Take care when changing a released module.
-Always strive to remain compatible with previous released versions
-(see 2.2 above) Otherwise try to add a mechanism to revert to the
-old behaviour if people rely on it. Document incompatible changes.
+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.
=back
=item Consider the implications.
-All the perl applications which make use of the script will need to
+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?
=item Make the most of the opportunity.
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.
+opportunity to redesign the interface. The guidelines for module
+creation above include many of the issues you should consider.
=item The pl2pm utility will get you started.
=item Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module Library.
-=item Many applications contain some perl code which could be reused.
+=item Many applications contain some Perl code that could be reused.
Help save the world! Share your code in a form that makes it easy
to reuse.
fragment of code built on top of the reusable modules. In these cases
the application could invoked as:
- perl -e 'use Module::Name; method(@ARGV)' ...
+ % perl -e 'use Module::Name; method(@ARGV)' ...
or
- perl -mModule::Name ... (in perl5.002 or higher)
+ % perl -mModule::Name ... (in perl5.002 or higher)
=back
https://perl5.git.perl.org / perl5.git / blobdiff