NAME
Perl::Critic::Policy::ProhibitUsageSubs - Document the interface once, in POD, and let Pod::Usage print it.
VERSION
version 1.000
Perl::Critic::Policy::ProhibitUsageSubs
A hand-rolled usage() is a second copy of the script's interface, kept in step with the POD and with GetOptions by faith alone:
sub usage {
return "Usage: $0 [--arg NAME] ...\n";
}
die usage() unless $condition;Whichever the reader finds first is the one they believe, and it is reliably the one that stopped being true two commits ago.
Write it in POD, where perldoc and the man page find it too, and let Pod::Usage print that:
=head1 SYNOPSIS
myscript [--name NAME] DOMAIN
=cut
pod2usage( -exitval => 2, -verbose => 1, -input => __FILE__,
-message => q{There's a snake in my boot} ) unless $condition;PROHIBITED
sub usage { ... }
sub _usage { ... }
sub print_usage { ... }
sub usage_message { ... }
sub help { ... }ALLOWED
Anything else, including calls to pod2usage and to a usage imported from elsewhere. It is writing your own that this is about.
CONFIGURATION
sub_names-
Space separated list of subroutine names to complain about. Defaults to
usage _usage print_usage usage_message help.[ProhibitUsageSubs] sub_names = halp what huh kerblammo
CAVEATS
This goes by the name. A sub help_text that does the same job under another name goes unnoticed, and a sub usage that computes something unrelated to the command line gets flagged anyway. The name is the only evidence available in the source.
METHODS
supported_parameters
sub_names, the list of subroutine names to flag.
default_severity
SEVERITY_MEDIUM
default_themes
maintenance, documentation
applies_to
PPI::Statement::Sub
violates
Standard Perl::Critic::Policy interface. Returns a violation for a declaration of one of the configured names, and nothing for a forward declaration, which promises no second copy of anything.
BUGS
Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website https://github.com/teodesian/perl-critic-policy-prohibitusagesubs/issues
When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.
AUTHORS
Current Maintainers:
George S. Baugh <teodesian@gmail.com>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (c) 2026 Troglodyne LLC
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.