Module::Build::Compat

Module::Build::CompatUser Contributed Perl DocumentatModule::Build::Compat(3)



NAME
       Module::Build::Compat - Compatibility with ExtUtils::MakeMaker

SYNOPSIS
	 # In a Build.PL :
	 use Module::Build;
	 my $build = Module::Build->new
	   ( module_name => ’Foo::Bar’,
	     license	 => ’perl’,
	     create_makefile_pl => ’passthrough’ );
	 ...

DESCRIPTION
       Because ExtUtils::MakeMaker has been the standard way to distribute
       modules for a long time, many tools (CPAN.pm, or your system adminis-
       trator) may expect to find a working Makefile.PL in every distribution
       they download from CPAN.	 If you want to throw them a bone, you can
       use Module::Build::Compat to automatically generate a Makefile.PL for
       you, in one of several different styles.

       Module::Build::Compat also provides some code that helps out the Make-
       file.PL at runtime.

METHODS
       create_makefile_pl($style, $build)
	   Creates a Makefile.PL in the current directory in one of several
	   styles, based on the supplied Module::Build object $build.  This
	   is typically controlled by passing the desired style as the "cre-
	   ate_makefile_pl" parameter to Module::Build’s "new()" method; the
	   Makefile.PL will then be automatically created during the "dist-
	   dir" action.

	   The currently supported styles are:

	   small
	       A small Makefile.PL will be created that passes all function-
	       ality through to the Build.PL script in the same directory.
	       The user must already have Module::Build installed in order to
	       use this, or else they’ll get a module-not-found error.

	   passthrough
	       This is just like the "small" option above, but if Mod-
	       ule::Build is not already installed on the user’s system, the
	       script will offer to use "CPAN.pm" to download it and install
	       it before continuing with the build.

	   traditional
	       A Makefile.PL will be created in the "traditional" style, i.e.
	       it will use "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" and won’t rely on "Mod-
	       ule::Build" at all.  In order to create the Makefile.PL, we’ll
	       include the "requires" and "build_requires" dependencies as
	       the "PREREQ_PM" parameter.

	       You don’t want to use this style if during the "perl Build.PL"
	       stage you ask the user questions, or do some auto-sensing
	       about the user’s environment, or if you subclass Module::Build
	       to do some customization, because the vanilla Makefile.PL
	       won’t do any of that.

       run_build_pl(args => \@ARGV)
	   This method runs the Build.PL script, passing it any arguments the
	   user may have supplied to the "perl Makefile.PL" command.  Because
	   ExtUtils::MakeMaker and Module::Build accept different arguments,
	   this method also performs some translation between the two.

	   "run_build_pl()" accepts the following named parameters:

	   args
	       The "args" parameter specifies the parameters that would usu-
	       ally appear on the command line of the "perl Makefile.PL" com-
	       mand - typically you’ll just pass a reference to @ARGV.

	   script
	       This is the filename of the script to run - it defaults to
	       "Build.PL".

       write_makefile()
	   This method writes a ’dummy’ Makefile that will pass all commands
	   through to the corresponding Module::Build actions.

	   "write_makefile()" accepts the following named parameters:

	   makefile
	       The name of the file to write - defaults to the string "Make-
	       file".

SCENARIOS
       So, some common scenarios are:

       1.  Just include a Build.PL script (without a Makefile.PL script), and
	   give installation directions in a README or INSTALL document
	   explaining how to install the module.  In particular, explain that
	   the user must install Module::Build before installing your module.

	   Note that if you do this, you may make things easier for yourself,
	   but harder for people with older versions of CPAN or CPANPLUS on
	   their system, because those tools generally only understand the
	   Makefile.PL/"ExtUtils::MakeMaker" way of doing things.

       2.  Include a Build.PL script and a "traditional" Makefile.PL, created
	   either manually or with "create_makefile_pl()".  Users won’t ever
	   have to install Module::Build if they use the Makefile.PL, but
	   they won’t get to take advantage of Module::Build’s extra features
	   either.

	   For good measure, of course, test both the Makefile.PL and the
	   Build.PL before shipping.

       3.  Include a Build.PL script and a "pass-through" Makefile.PL built
	   using Module::Build::Compat.	 This will mean that people can con-
	   tinue to use the "old" installation commands, and they may never
	   notice that it’s actually doing something else behind the scenes.
	   It will also mean that your installation process is compatible
	   with older versions of tools like CPAN and CPANPLUS.

AUTHOR
       Ken Williams <kwilliams@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Ken Williams.  All rights reserved.

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
       it under the same terms as Perl itself.

SEE ALSO
       Module::Build(3), ExtUtils::MakeMaker(3)



perl v5.8.8			  2009-05-27	     Module::Build::Compat(3)