1package ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial;
2
3use vars qw($VERSION);
4$VERSION = 0.02;
5
6
7=head1 NAME
8
9ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with MakeMaker
10
11=head1 SYNOPSIS
12
13    use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
14
15    WriteMakefile(
16        NAME            => 'Your::Module',
17        VERSION_FROM    => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
18    );
19
20=head1 DESCRIPTION
21
22This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with MakeMaker.
23Its really not that hard.
24
25
26=head2 The Mantra
27
28MakeMaker modules are installed using this simple mantra
29
30        perl Makefile.PL
31        make
32        make test
33        make install
34
35There are lots more commands and options, but the above will do it.
36
37
38=head2 The Layout
39
40The basic files in a module look something like this.
41
42        Makefile.PL
43        MANIFEST
44        lib/Your/Module.pm
45
46That's all that's strictly necessary.  There's additional files you might
47want:
48
49        lib/Your/Other/Module.pm
50        t/some_test.t
51        t/some_other_test.t
52        Changes
53        README
54        INSTALL
55        MANIFEST.SKIP
56        bin/some_program
57
58=over 4
59
60=item Makefile.PL
61
62When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile.  That's the whole point of
63MakeMaker.  The Makefile.PL is a simple program which loads
64ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the WriteMakefile() function to generate a
65Makefile.
66
67Here's an example of what you need for a simple module:
68
69    use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
70
71    WriteMakefile(
72        NAME            => 'Your::Module',
73        VERSION_FROM    => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
74    );
75
76NAME is the top-level namespace of your module.  VERSION_FROM is the file
77which contains the $VERSION variable for the entire distribution.  Typically
78this is the same as your top-level module.
79
80
81=item MANIFEST
82
83A simple listing of all the files in your distribution.
84
85        Makefile.PL
86        MANIFEST
87        lib/Your/Module.pm
88
89File paths in a MANIFEST always use Unix conventions (ie. /) even if you're
90not on Unix.
91
92You can write this by hand or generate it with 'make manifest'.
93
94See L<ExtUtils::Manifest> for more details.
95
96
97=item lib/
98
99This is the directory where your .pm and .pod files you wish to have
100installed go.  They are layed out according to namespace.  So Foo::Bar
101is F<lib/Foo/Bar.pm>.
102
103
104=item t/
105
106Tests for your modules go here.  Each test filename ends with a .t.
107So F<t/foo.t>/  'make test' will run these tests.  The directory is flat,
108you cannot, for example, have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.
109
110Tests are run from the top level of your distribution.  So inside a test
111you would refer to ./lib to enter the lib directory, for example.
112
113
114=item Changes
115
116A log of changes you've made to this module.  The layout is free-form.
117Here's an example:
118
119    1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
120        - thing() does some stuff now
121        - fixed the wiggy bug in withit()
122
123    1.00 Mon Apr  7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
124        - "Rain of Frogs" now supported
125
126
127=item README
128
129A short description of your module, what it does, why someone would use it
130and its limitations.  CPAN automatically pulls your README file out of
131the archive and makes it available to CPAN users, it is the first thing
132they will read to decide if your module is right for them.
133
134
135=item INSTALL
136
137Instructions on how to install your module along with any dependencies.
138Suggested information to include here:
139
140    any extra modules required for use
141    the minimum version of Perl required
142    if only works on certain operating systems
143
144
145=item MANIFEST.SKIP
146
147A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using 'make
148manifest' to generate the MANIFEST.  These regular expressions
149are checked against each file path found in the distribution (so
150you're matching against "t/foo.t" not "foo.t").
151
152Here's a sample:
153
154    ~$          # ignore emacs and vim backup files
155    .bak$       # ignore manual backups
156    \#          # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files
157
158Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.
159
160MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid things like
161version control directories and backup files.  Specifying your own
162will override this default.
163
164
165=item bin/
166
167
168=back
169
170=head1 SEE ALSO
171
172L<perlmodstyle> gives stylistic help writing a module.
173
174L<perlnewmod> gives more information about how to write a module.
175
176There are modules to help you through the process of writing a module:
177L<ExtUtils::ModuleMaker>, L<Module::Install>, L<PAR>
178
179=cut
180
1811;
182