/ 
Git-CPAN-Hook-0.01
River stage one • 1 direct dependent • 1 total dependent
/ Git::CPAN::Hook

NAME

Git::CPAN::Hook - Commit each install done by CPAN.pm in a Git repository

SYNOPSIS

# put your local::lib under Git control
$ cd ~/perl5
$ git init

# ignore some files
$ perl -le 'print for qw( .packlist perllocal.pod )' > .gitignore
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "initial commit"
[master (root-commit) a2bf011] initial commit
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .gitignore
 create mode 100644 .modulebuildrc

# allow Git::CPAN::Hook to commit in this repository
$ echo > .git/cpan-hook

# install the hooks in CPAN.pm
$ perl -MGit::CPAN::Hook -e install

# use CPAN.pm / cpan as usual
# every install will create a commit in the current branch

# uninstall the hooks from CPAN.pm's config
$ perl -MGit::CPAN::Hook -e uninstall

DESCRIPTION

Git::CPAN::Hook adds Git awareness to the CPAN.pm module installer. Once the hooks are installed in CPAN.pm's configuration, each and every module installation will result in a commit being done in the installation directory/repository.

This module is a proof of concept.

Then I want to experiment with a repository of installed stuff, especially several versions of the same distribution. And then start doing fancy things like uninstalling a single distribution, testing my modules against different branches (each test environment only a 'git checkout' away!), creating a full install from scratch by applying "install patches", etc.

If this proves useful in any way, it shouldn't be too hard to port to CPAN clients that support hooks and plugins. It might be a little more difficult to use the terminate and stay resident approach I used on CPAN.pm on other clients, as they probably have a san^Hfer configuration file format.

AUTHOR

Philippe Bruhat (BooK), <book at cpan.org>

HISTORY AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The initial idea for this module comes from a conversation between Andy Armstrong, Tatsuhiko Miyagawa, brian d foy and myself (each having his own goal in mind) at the Perl QA Hackathon 2010 in Vienna.

My own idea was that it would be neat to install/uninstall distributions using Git to store the files, so that I could later develop some tools to try all kinds of crazy combinations of modules versions and installations. I already saw myself bisecting on a branch with all versions of a given dependency...

To do that and more, I needed a module to control Git from within Perl. So I got distracted into writing Git::Repository.

At the Perl QA Hackathon 2011 in Amsterdam, the discussion came up again with only Andy Armstrong and myself, this time. He gently motivated me into "just doing it", and after a day of experimenting, I was able to force CPAN.pm to create a commit after each individual installation.

TODO

Here are some of the items on my list:

  • Make it possible for other CPAN installers that have the ability to use hooks to use Git::CPAN::Hook.

  • Some command-line tool for easy manipulation of installed distributions.

  • It would be great to say: "go forth on BackPAN and install all versions of distribution XYZ, with all its dependencies, and make me a branch with all these, so that I can bisect my own module to find which is the oldest version that works with it".

    Or something like that.

  • Turn any installed distribution into a tagged parentless commit that can be simply "applied" onto any branch (i.e. find a way to create a minimal tree object for it).

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-git-cpan-hook at rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=GIT-CPAN-Hook. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc Git::CPAN::Hook

You can also look for information at:

COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2011 Philippe Bruhat (BooK).

LICENSE

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License.

See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.