


ExtUtils::MakeMakPerlTProgrammerExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3p)


NAME
       ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with
       MakeMaker

SYNOPSIS
           use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;

           WriteMakefile(
               NAME            => 'Your::Module',
               VERSION_FROM    => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
           );

DESCRIPTION
       This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with
       MakeMaker.  Its really not that hard.

   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.

   The Layout
       The basic files in a module look something like this.

               Makefile.PL
               MANIFEST
               lib/Your/Module.pm

       That's all that's strictly necessary.  There's additional
       files you might want:

               lib/Your/Other/Module.pm
               t/some_test.t
               t/some_other_test.t
               Changes
               README
               INSTALL
               MANIFEST.SKIP
               bin/some_program

       Makefile.PL
           When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile.  That's
           the whole point of MakeMaker.  The Makefile.PL is a
           simple program which loads ExtUtils::MakeMaker and
           runs the WriteMakefile() function to generate a
           Makefile.

           Here's an example of what you need for a simple



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ExtUtils::MakeMakPerlTProgrammerExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3p)


           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.

       MANIFEST
           A simple listing of all the files in your
           distribution.

                   Makefile.PL
                   MANIFEST
                   lib/Your/Module.pm

           File paths 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'.

           See ExtUtils::Manifest for more details.

       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.

       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.

       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



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ExtUtils::MakeMakPerlTProgrammerExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3p)


                   - "Rain of Frogs" now supported

       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.

       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

       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 file path
           found in the distribution (so you're matching against
           "t/foo.t" not "foo.t").

           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.

       bin/

SEE ALSO
       perlmodstyle gives stylistic help writing a module.

       perlnewmod gives more information about how to write a
       module.

       There are modules to help you through the process of
       writing a module: ExtUtils::ModuleMaker, Module::Install,
       PAR







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