1package ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial;
2
3use vars qw($VERSION);
4$VERSION = 0.01;
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 module which loads
64ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the WriteMakefile() function with a few
65simple arguments.
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
89Filepaths 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
94
95=item lib/
96
97This is the directory where your .pm and .pod files you wish to have
98installed go.  They are layed out according to namespace.  So Foo::Bar
99is lib/Foo/Bar.pm.
100
101
102=item t/
103
104Tests for your modules go here.  Each test filename ends with a .t.
105So t/foo.t.  'make test' will run these tests.  The directory is flat,
106you cannot, for example, have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.
107
108Tests are run from the top level of your distribution.  So inside a test
109you would refer to ./lib to enter the lib directory, for example.
110
111
112=item Changes
113
114A log of changes you've made to this module.  The layout is free-form.
115Here's an example:
116
117    1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
118        - thing() does some stuff now
119        - fixed the wiggy bug in withit()
120
121    1.00 Mon Apr  7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
122        - "Rain of Frogs" now supported
123
124
125=item README
126
127A short description of your module, what it does, why someone would use it
128and its limitations.  CPAN automatically pulls your README file out of
129the archive and makes it available to CPAN users, it is the first thing
130they will read to decide if your module is right for them.
131
132
133=item INSTALL
134
135Instructions on how to install your module along with any dependencies.
136Suggested information to include here:
137
138    any extra modules required for use
139    the minimum version of Perl required
140    if only works on certain operating systems
141
142
143=item MANIFEST.SKIP
144
145A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using 'make
146manifest' to generate the MANIFEST.  These regular expressions
147are checked against each filepath found in the distribution (so
148you're matching against "t/foo.t" not "foo.t").
149
150Here's a sample:
151
152    ~$          # ignore emacs and vim backup files
153    .bak$       # ignore manual backups
154    \#          # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files
155
156Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.
157
158MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid things like
159version control directories and backup files.  Specifying your own
160will override this default.
161
162
163=item bin/
164
165
166=back
167
168=head1 SEE ALSO
169
170L<perlmodstyle> gives stylistic help writing a module.
171
172L<perlnewmod> gives more information about how to write a module.
173
174There are modules to help you through the process of writing a module:
175L<ExtUtils::ModuleMaker>, L<Module::Install>, L<PAR>
176
177=cut
178
1791;
180