package ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial;
use vars qw($VERSION);
$VERSION = 0.01;
=head1 NAME
ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with MakeMaker
=head1 SYNOPSIS
use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
WriteMakefile(
NAME => 'Your::Module',
VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
);
=head1 DESCRIPTION
This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with MakeMaker.
Its really not that hard.
=head2 The Mantra
MakeMaker modules are installed using this simple mantra
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
There are lots more commands and options, but the above will do it.
=head2 The Layout
The basic files in a module look something like this.
MANIFEST
That's all that's strictly necessary. There's additional files you might
want:
Changes
README
INSTALL
=over 4
=item Makefile.PL
When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile. That's the whole point of
MakeMaker. The Makefile.PL is a simple module which loads
ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the WriteMakefile() function with a few
simple arguments.
Here's an example of what you need for a simple module:
use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
WriteMakefile(
NAME => 'Your::Module',
VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
);
NAME is the top-level namespace of your module. VERSION_FROM is the file
which contains the $VERSION variable for the entire distribution. Typically
this is the same as your top-level module.
=item MANIFEST
A simple listing of all the files in your distribution.
MANIFEST
Filepaths in a MANIFEST always use Unix conventions (ie. /) even if you're
not on Unix.
You can write this by hand or generate it with 'make manifest'.
=item lib/
This is the directory where your .pm and .pod files you wish to have
installed go. They are layed out according to namespace. So Foo::Bar
is lib/Foo/Bar.pm.
=item t/
Tests for your modules go here. Each test filename ends with a .t.
So t/foo.t. 'make test' will run these tests. The directory is flat,
you cannot, for example, have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.
Tests are run from the top level of your distribution. So inside a test
you would refer to ./lib to enter the lib directory, for example.
=item Changes
A log of changes you've made to this module. The layout is free-form.
Here's an example:
1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
- thing() does some stuff now
- fixed the wiggy bug in withit()
1.00 Mon Apr 7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
- "Rain of Frogs" now supported
=item README
A short description of your module, what it does, why someone would use it
and its limitations. CPAN automatically pulls your README file out of
the archive and makes it available to CPAN users, it is the first thing
they will read to decide if your module is right for them.
=item INSTALL
Instructions on how to install your module along with any dependencies.
Suggested information to include here:
any extra modules required for use
the minimum version of Perl required
if only works on certain operating systems
=item MANIFEST.SKIP
A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using 'make
manifest' to generate the MANIFEST. These regular expressions
are checked against each filepath found in the distribution (so
Here's a sample:
~$ # ignore emacs and vim backup files
.bak$ # ignore manual backups
\# # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files
Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.
MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid things like
version control directories and backup files. Specifying your own
will override this default.
=item bin/
=back
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<perlmodstyle> gives stylistic help writing a module.
L<perlnewmod> gives more information about how to write a module.
There are modules to help you through the process of writing a module:
L<ExtUtils::ModuleMaker>, L<Module::Install>, L<PAR>
=cut
1;