


PERLMODLIB(1)    Perl Programmers Reference Guide   PERLMODLIB(1)


NAME
       perlmodlib - constructing new Perl modules and finding
       existing ones

DESCRIPTION
THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY
       A number of modules are included the Perl distribution.
       These are described below, and all end in .pm.  You may
       also discover files in the library directory that end in
       either .pl or .ph.  These are old libraries supplied so
       that old programs that use them still run.  The .pl files
       will all eventually be converted into standard modules,
       and the .ph files made by h2ph will probably end up as
       extension modules made by h2xs.  (Some .ph values may
       already be available through the POSIX module.)  The pl2pm
       file in the distribution may help in your conversion, but
       it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from
       bulletproof.

       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 use, or no.
       Most of these are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may
       countermand any of these by saying:

           no integer;
           no strict 'refs';

       which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.

       Unlike the pragmas that effect the $^H hints variable, the
       use vars and use subs declarations are not BLOCK-scoped.
       They allow you to predeclare a variables or subroutines
       within a particular file rather than just a block.  Such
       declarations are effective for the entire file for which
       they were declared.  You cannot rescind them with no vars
       or no subs.

       The following pragmas are defined (and have their own
       documentation).

       use autouse MODULE => qw(sub1 sub2 sub3)
                   Defers 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.

       blib        manipulate @INC at compile time to use
                   MakeMaker's uninstalled version of a package

       diagnostics force verbose warning diagnostics




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       integer     compute arithmetic in integer instead of
                   double

       less        request less of something from the compiler

       lib         manipulate @INC at compile time

       locale      use or ignore current locale for builtin
                   operations (see the perllocale manpage)

       ops         restrict named opcodes when compiling or
                   running Perl code

       overload    overload basic Perl operations

       re          alter behaviour of regular expressions

       sigtrap     enable simple signal handling

       strict      restrict unsafe constructs

       subs        predeclare sub names

       vmsish      adopt certain VMS-specific behaviors

       vars        predeclare global variable names

       Standard Modules

       Standard, bundled modules are all expected to behave in a
       well-defined manner with respect to namespace pollution
       because they use the Exporter module.  See their own
       documentation for details.

       AnyDBM_File provide framework for multiple DBMs

       AutoLoader  load functions only on demand

       AutoSplit   split a package for autoloading

       Benchmark   benchmark running times of code

       CPAN        interface to Comprehensive Perl Archive
                   Network

       CPAN::FirstTime
                   create a CPAN configuration file

       CPAN::Nox   run CPAN while avoiding compiled extensions

       Carp        warn of errors (from perspective of caller)

       Class::Struct
                   declare struct-like datatypes



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       Config      access Perl configuration information

       Cwd         get pathname of current working directory

       DB_File     access to Berkeley DB

       Devel::SelfStubber
                   generate stubs for a SelfLoading module

       DirHandle   supply object methods for directory handles

       DynaLoader  dynamically load C libraries into Perl code

       English     use nice English (or awk) names for ugly
                   punctuation variables

       Env         import environment variables

       Exporter    implements default import method for modules

       ExtUtils::Embed
                   utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++
                   applications

       ExtUtils::Install
                   install files from here to there

       ExtUtils::Liblist
                   determine libraries to use and how to use them

       ExtUtils::MM_OS2
                   methods to override Unix behaviour in
                   ExtUtils::MakeMaker

       ExtUtils::MM_Unix
                   methods used by ExtUtils::MakeMaker

       ExtUtils::MM_VMS
                   methods to override Unix behaviour in
                   ExtUtils::MakeMaker

       ExtUtils::MakeMaker
                   create an extension Makefile

       ExtUtils::Manifest
                   utilities to write and check a MANIFEST file

       ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap
                   make a bootstrap file for use by DynaLoader

       ExtUtils::Mksymlists
                   write linker options files for dynamic
                   extension




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       ExtUtils::testlib
                   add blib/* directories to @INC

       Fatal       make errors in builtins or Perl functions
                   fatal

       Fcntl       load the C Fcntl.h defines

       File::Basename
                   split a pathname into pieces

       File::CheckTree
                   run many filetest checks on a tree

       File::Compare
                   compare files or filehandles

       File::Copy  copy files or filehandles

       File::Find  traverse a file tree

       File::Path  create or remove a series of directories

       File::Spec  portably perform operations on file names

       File::Spec::Functions
                   function call interface to File::Spec module

       File::stat  by-name interface to Perl's builtin stat()
                   functions

       FileCache   keep more files open than the system permits

       FileHandle  supply object methods for filehandles

       FindBin     locate directory of original Perl script

       GDBM_File   access to the gdbm library

       Getopt::Long
                   extended processing of command line options

       Getopt::Std process single-character switches with switch
                   clustering

       I18N::Collate
                   compare 8-bit scalar data according to the
                   current locale

       IO          load various IO modules

       IO::File    supply object methods for filehandles





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       IO::Handle  supply object methods for I/O handles

       IO::Pipe    supply object methods for pipes

       IO::Seekable
                   supply seek based methods for I/O objects

       IO::Select  OO interface to the select system call

       IO::Socket  object interface to socket communications

       IPC::Open2  open a process for both reading and writing

       IPC::Open3  open a process for reading, writing, and error
                   handling

       Math::BigFloat
                   arbitrary length float math package

       Math::BigInt
                   arbitrary size integer math package

       Math::Complex
                   complex numbers and associated mathematical
                   functions

       Math::Trig  simple interface to parts of Math::Complex for
                   those who need trigonometric functions only
                   for real numbers

       NDBM_File   tied access to ndbm files

       Net::Ping   Hello, anybody home?

       Net::hostent
                   by-name interface to Perl's builtin gethost*()
                   functions

       Net::netent by-name interface to Perl's builtin getnet*()
                   functions

       Net::protoent
                   by-name interface to Perl's builtin
                   getproto*() functions

       Net::servent
                   by-name interface to Perl's builtin getserv*()
                   functions

       Opcode      disable named opcodes when compiling or
                   running Perl code

       Pod::Text   convert POD data to formatted ASCII text




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       POSIX       interface to IEEE Standard 1003.1

       SDBM_File   tied access to sdbm files

       Safe        compile and execute code in restricted
                   compartments

       Search::Dict
                   search for key in dictionary file

       SelectSaver save and restore selected file handle

       SelfLoader  load functions only on demand

       Shell       run shell commands transparently within Perl

       Socket      load the C socket.h defines and structure
                   manipulators

       Symbol      manipulate Perl symbols and their names

       Sys::Hostname
                   try every conceivable way to get hostname

       Sys::Syslog interface to the Unix syslog(3) calls

       Term::Cap   termcap interface

       Term::Complete
                   word completion module

       Term::ReadLine
                   interface to various readline packages

       Test::Harness
                   run Perl standard test scripts with statistics

       Text::Abbrev
                   create an abbreviation table from a list

       Text::ParseWords
                   parse text into an array of tokens

       Text::Soundex
                   implementation of the Soundex Algorithm as
                   described by Knuth

       Text::Tabs  expand and unexpand tabs per the Unix
                   expand(1) and unexpand(1)

       Text::Wrap  line wrapping to form simple paragraphs

       Tie::Hash   base class definitions for tied hashes




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       Tie::RefHash
                   base class definitions for tied hashes with
                   references as keys

       Tie::Scalar base class definitions for tied scalars

       Tie::SubstrHash
                   fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing

       Time::Local efficiently compute time from local and GMT
                   time

       Time::gmtime
                   by-name interface to Perl's builtin gmtime()
                   function

       Time::localtime
                   by-name interface to Perl's builtin
                   localtime() function

       Time::tm    internal object used by Time::gmtime and
                   Time::localtime

       UNIVERSAL   base class for ALL classes (blessed
                   references)

       User::grent by-name interface to Perl's builtin getgr*()
                   functions

       User::pwent by-name interface to Perl's builtin getpw*()
                   functions

       To find out all the modules installed on your system,
       including those without documentation or outside the
       standard release, do this:

           % 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 perldoc program.

       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.

       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-



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       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.

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:

       o Language Extensions and Documentation Tools

       o Development Support

       o Operating System Interfaces

       o Networking, Device Control (modems) and InterProcess
            Communication

       o Data Types and Data Type Utilities

       o Database Interfaces

       o User Interfaces

       o Interfaces to / Emulations of Other Programming
            Languages

       o File Names, File Systems and File Locking (see also File
            Handles)

       o String Processing, Language Text Processing, Parsing,
            and Searching

       o Option, Argument, Parameter, and Configuration File
            Processing

       o Internationalization and Locale

       o Authentication, Security, and Encryption

       o World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP, CGI, MIME

       o Server and Daemon Utilities

       o Archiving and Compression

       o Images, Pixmap and Bitmap Manipulation, Drawing, and
            Graphing

       o Mail and Usenet News





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       o Control Flow Utilities (callbacks and exceptions etc)

       o File Handle and Input/Output Stream Utilities

       o Miscellaneous Modules

       The registered CPAN sites as of this writing include the
       following.  You should try to choose one close to you:

       o Africa

               South Africa    ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
                               ftp://ftpza.co.za/pub/mirrors/cpan/


       o Asia

               Armenia         ftp://sunsite.aua.am/pub/CPAN/
               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://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/


       o 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/


       o Central America

               Costa Rica      ftp://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/pub/Unix/CPAN/


       o Europe






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               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.unipi.it/pub/mirror/perl/CPAN/
               Netherlands     ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/mirror/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.ua.pt/pub/CPAN/
               Romania         ftp://ftp.dntis.ro/pub/mirrors/perl-cpan/
                               ftp://ftp.dnttm.ro/pub/CPAN/
               Russia          ftp://cpan.npi.msu.su/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/





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       o North America

               Alberta         ftp://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
               California      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 D.F.     ftp://ftp.msg.com.mx/pub/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/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.spu.edu/pub/CPAN/


       o South America

               Brazil          ftp://cpan.if.usp.br/pub/mirror/CPAN/
               Chile           ftp://ftp.ing.puc.cl/pub/unix/perl/CPAN/
                               ftp://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/Lang/perl/CPAN/


       For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites, see
       http://www.perl.com/perl/CPAN or ftp://ftp.perl.com/perl/.

Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse
       (The following section is borrowed directly from Tim
       Bunce's modules file, available at your nearest CPAN
       site.)

       Perl implements a class using a package, but the presence
       of a package doesn't imply the presence of a class.  A
       package is just a namespace.  A class is a package that
       provides subroutines that can be used as methods.  A
       method is just a subroutine that expects, as its first
       argument, either the name of a package (for "static"
       methods), or a reference to something (for "virtual"
       methods).

       A module is a file that (by convention) provides a class
       of the same name (sans the .pm), plus an import method in
       that class that can be called to fetch exported symbols.



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       This module may implement some of its methods by loading
       dynamic C or C++ objects, but that should be totally
       transparent to the user of the module.  Likewise, the
       module might set up an AUTOLOAD function to slurp in
       subroutine definitions on demand, but this is also
       transparent.  Only the .pm file is required to exist.  See
       the perlsub manpage, the perltoot manpage, and the
       AutoLoader manpage for details about the AUTOLOAD
       mechanism.

       Guidelines for Module Creation


       Do similar modules already exist in some form?
           If so, please try to reuse the existing modules either
           in whole or by inheriting useful features into a new
           class.  If this is not practical try to get together
           with the module authors to work on extending or
           enhancing the functionality of the existing modules.
           A perfect example is the plethora of packages in perl4
           for dealing with command line options.

           If you are writing a module to expand an already
           existing set of modules, please coordinate with the
           author of the package.  It helps if you follow the
           same naming scheme and module interaction scheme as
           the original author.

       Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and
           reuse.
           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.,:

            sub new {
                   my $class = shift;
                   return bless {}, $class;
            }

           or even this if you'd like it to be used as either a
           static or a virtual method.

            sub new {
                   my $self  = shift;
                   my $class = ref($self) || $self;
                   return bless {}, $class;
            }

           Pass arrays as references so more parameters can be
           added later (it's also faster).  Convert functions
           into methods where appropriate.  Split large methods
           into smaller more flexible ones.  Inherit methods from
           other modules if appropriate.




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           Avoid class name tests like: die "Invalid" unless ref
           $ref eq 'FOO'.  Generally you can delete the "eq
           'FOO'" part with no harm at all.  Let the objects look
           after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired class
           names as far as possible.

           Avoid $r->Class::func() where using @ISA=qw(... Class
           ...) and $r->func() would work (see the perlbot
           manpage for more details).

           Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions
           won't be a 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 "@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:  $obj = new
           YOURCLASS; into: $obj = new SUBCLASS; ?

           Avoid keeping any state information in your packages.
           It makes it difficult for multiple other packages to
           use yours. Keep state information in objects.

           Always use -w. Try to use strict; (or use strict
           qw(...);).  Remember that you can add no strict
           qw(...); to individual blocks of code that need less
           strictness. Always use -w. Always use -w!  Follow the
           guidelines in the perlstyle(1) manual.

       Some simple style guidelines
           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 maintain good code.
           Here's one set of assorted suggestions that seem to be
           widely used by experienced developers:

           Use underscores to separate words.  It is generally
           easier to read $var_names_like_this than
           $VarNamesLikeThis, especially for non-native speakers
           of English. It's also a simple rule that works
           consistently with VAR_NAMES_LIKE_THIS.

           Package/Module names are an exception to this rule.
           Perl informally reserves lowercase module names for
           'pragma' modules like integer and strict. Other
           modules normally begin with a capital letter and use



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           mixed case with no underscores (need to be short and
           portable).

           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)
            $Some_Caps_Here  package-wide global/static
            $no_caps_here    function scope my() or local() variables

           Function and method names seem to work best as all
           lowercase.  e.g., $obj->as_string().

           You can use a leading underscore to indicate that a
           variable or function should not be used outside the
           package that defined it.

       Select what to export.
           Do NOT export method names!

           Do NOT export anything else by default without a good
           reason!

           Exports pollute the namespace of the module user.  If
           you must export try to use @EXPORT_OK in preference to
           @EXPORT and avoid short or common names to reduce the
           risk of name clashes.

           Generally anything not exported is still accessible
           from outside the module using the
           ModuleName::item_name (or $blessed_ref->method)
           syntax.  By convention you can use a leading
           underscore on names to indicate informally that they
           are 'internal' and not for public use.

           (It is actually possible to get private functions by
           saying: my $subref = sub { ... };  &$subref;.  But
           there's no way to call that directly as a method,
           because a method must have a name in the symbol
           table.)

           As a general rule, if the module is trying to be
           object oriented then export nothing. If it's just a
           collection of functions then @EXPORT_OK anything but
           use @EXPORT with caution.

       Select a name for the module.
           This name should be as descriptive, accurate, and
           complete as possible.  Avoid any risk of ambiguity.
           Always try to use two or more whole words.  Generally
           the name should reflect what is special about what the
           module does rather than how it does it.  Please use
           nested module names to group informally or categorize
           a module.  There should be a very good reason for a



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           module not to have a nested name.  Module names should
           begin with a capital letter.

           Having 57 modules all called Sort will not make life
           easy for anyone (though having 23 called Sort::Quick
           is only marginally better :-).  Imagine someone trying
           to install your module alongside many others.  If in
           any doubt ask for suggestions in comp.lang.perl.misc.

           If you are developing a suite of related
           modules/classes it's good practice to use nested
           classes with a common prefix as this will avoid
           namespace clashes. For example: Xyz::Control,
           Xyz::View, Xyz::Model etc. Use the modules in this
           list as a naming guide.

           If adding a new module to a set, follow the original
           author's standards for naming modules and the
           interface to methods in those modules.

           To be portable each component of a module name should
           be limited to 11 characters. If it might be used on
           MS-DOS then try to ensure each is unique in the first
           8 characters. Nested modules make this easier.

       Have you got it right?
           How do you know that you've made the right decisions?
           Have you picked an interface design that will cause
           problems later? Have you picked the most appropriate
           name? Do you have any questions?

           The best way to know for sure, and pick up many
           helpful suggestions, is to ask someone who knows.
           Comp.lang.perl.misc is read by just about all the
           people who develop modules and it's the best place to
           ask.

           All you need to do is post a short summary of the
           module, its purpose and interfaces. A few lines on
           each of the main methods is probably enough. (If you
           post the whole module it might be ignored by busy
           people - generally the very people you want to read
           it!)

           Don't worry about posting if you can't say when the
           module will be ready - just say so in the message. It
           might be worth inviting others to help you, they may
           be able to complete it for you!

       README and other Additional Files.
           It's well known that software developers usually fully
           document the software they write. If, however, the
           world is in urgent need of your software and there is
           not enough time to write the full documentation please



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           at least provide a README file containing:

       o A description of the module/package/extension etc.

       o A copyright notice - see below.

       o Prerequisites - what else you may need to have.

       o How to build it - possible changes to Makefile.PL etc.

       o How to install it.

       o Recent changes in this release, especially
                     incompatibilities

       o Changes / enhancements you plan to make in the future.

                     If the README file seems to be getting too
                     large you may wish to split out some of the
                     sections into separate files: INSTALL,
                     Copying, ToDo etc.

       Adding a Copyright Notice.
               How you choose to license your work is a personal
               decision.  The general mechanism is to assert your
               Copyright and then make a declaration of how
               others may copy/use/modify your work.

               Perl, for example, is supplied with two types of
               licence: The GNU GPL and The Artistic Licence (see
               the files README, Copying, and 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:

                Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
                This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
                modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

               This statement should at least appear in the
               README file. You may also wish to include it in a
               Copying file and your source files.  Remember to
               include the other words in addition to the
               Copyright.

       Give the module a version/issue/release number.
               To be fully compatible with the Exporter and
               MakeMaker modules you should store your module's
               version number in a non-my package variable called
               $VERSION.  This should be a floating point number
               with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e.,
               hundredths, e.g, $VERSION = "0.01").  Don't use a



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               "1.3.2" style version.  See Exporter.pm in
               Perl5.001m or later 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
               releasing the module (ModuleName-1.02.tar.Z).  See
               perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker.pm for details.

       How to release and distribute a module.
               It's good idea to post an announcement of the
               availability of your module (or the module itself
               if small) to the comp.lang.perl.announce 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 include details of its
               location in your announcement.

               Some notes about ftp archives: Please use a long
               descriptive file 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
               deleted automatically. Allow time for the file to
               be processed and/or check the file has been
               processed before announcing its location.

               FTP Archives for Perl Modules:

               Follow the instructions and links on

                  http://franz.ww.tu-berlin.de/modulelist

               or upload to one of these sites:

                  ftp://franz.ww.tu-berlin.de/incoming
                  ftp://ftp.cis.ufl.edu/incoming

               and notify <upload@franz.ww.tu-berlin.de>.

               By using the WWW interface you can ask the Upload
               Server to mirror your modules from your ftp or WWW
               site into your own directory on CPAN!

               Please remember to send me an updated entry for
               the Module list!

       Take care when changing a released module.
               Always strive to remain compatible with previous
               released versions.  Otherwise try to add a



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               mechanism to revert to the old behaviour if people
               rely on it. Document incompatible changes.

       Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into
       Modules


       There is no requirement to convert anything.
           If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Perl 4 library
           scripts should continue to work with no problems. You
           may need to make some minor changes (like escaping
           non-array @'s in double quoted strings) but there is
           no need to convert a .pl file into a Module for just
           that.

       Consider the implications.
           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?

       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.

       The pl2pm utility will get you started.
           This utility will read *.pl files (given as
           parameters) and write corresponding *.pm files. The
           pl2pm utilities does the following:

       o Adds the standard Module prologue lines

       o Converts package specifiers from ' to ::

       o Converts die(...) to croak(...)

       o Several other minor changes

                     Being a mechanical process pl2pm is not
                     bullet proof. The converted code will need
                     careful checking, especially any package
                     statements.  Don't delete the original .pl
                     file till the new .pm one works!

       Guidelines for Reusing Application Code


       Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module
           Library.

       Many applications contain some Perl code that could be
           reused.



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           Help save the world! Share your code in a form that
           makes it easy to reuse.

       Break-out the reusable code into one or more separate
           module files.

       Take the opportunity to reconsider and redesign the
           interfaces.

       In some cases the 'application' can then be reduced to a
           small
           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)' ...
           or
                % perl -mModule::Name ...    (in perl5.002 or higher)


NOTE
       Perl does not enforce private and public parts of its
       modules as you may have been used to in other languages
       like C++, Ada, or Modula-17.  Perl doesn't have an
       infatuation with enforced privacy.  It would prefer that
       you stayed out of its living room because you weren't
       invited, not because it has a shotgun.

       The module and its user have a contract, part of which is
       common law, and part of which is "written".  Part of the
       common law contract is that a module doesn't pollute any
       namespace it wasn't asked to.  The written contract for
       the module (A.K.A. documentation) may make other
       provisions.  But then you know when you use
       RedefineTheWorld that you're redefining the world and
       willing to take the consequences.






















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