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CPAN-Reporter-0.44
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/ CPAN::Reporter

NAME

CPAN::Reporter - Provides Test::Reporter support for CPAN.pm

VERSION

This documentation describes version 0.44.

SYNOPSIS

From the CPAN shell:

cpan> install CPAN::Reporter
cpan> reload cpan
cpan> o conf init test_report

DESCRIPTION

CPAN::Reporter is an add-on for the CPAN.pm module that uses Test::Reporter to send the results of module tests to the CPAN Testers project. Support for CPAN::Reporter is available in CPAN.pm as of version 1.88.

The goal of the CPAN Testers project (http://testers.cpan.org/) is to test as many CPAN packages as possible on as many platforms as possible. This provides valuable feedback to module authors and potential users to identify bugs or platform compatibility issues and improves the overall quality and value of CPAN.

One way individuals can contribute is to send test results for each module that they test or install. Installing CPAN::Reporter gives the option of automatically generating and emailing test reports whenever tests are run via CPAN.pm.

GETTING STARTED

The first step in using CPAN::Reporter is to install it using whatever version of CPAN.pm is already installed. CPAN.pm will be upgraded as a dependency if necessary.

cpan> install CPAN::Reporter

If CPAN.pm was upgraded, it needs to be reloaded.

cpan> reload cpan

If upgrading from a very old version of CPAN.pm, users may be prompted to renew their configuration settings, including the 'test_report' option to enable CPAN::Reporter.

If not prompted automatically, users should manually initialize CPAN::Reporter support. After enabling CPAN::Reporter, CPAN.pm will automatically continue with interactive configuration of CPAN::Reporter options. (Remember to commit the CPAN configuration changes.)

cpan> o conf init test_report
cpan> o conf commit

Once CPAN::Reporter is enabled and configured, test or install modules with CPAN.pm as usual.

For example, to force CPAN to repeat tests for CPAN::Reporter to see how it works:

cpan> force test CPAN::Reporter

UNDERSTANDING TEST GRADES

CPAN::Reporter will assign one of the following grades to the report:

  • pass -- all tests were successful

  • fail -- one or more tests failed, one or more test files died during testing or no test output was seen

  • na -- tests could not be run on this platform or one or more test files died because of missing prerequisites

  • unknown -- no test files could be found (either t/*.t or test.pl) or a result could not be determined from test output

  • default -- this is not an actual grade reported to CPAN Testers, but it is used in action prompt configuration options to indicate a fallback action

In returning results to CPAN.pm, "pass" and "unknown" are considered successful attempts to "make test" or "Build test" and will not prevent installation. "fail" and "na" are considered to be failures and CPAN.pm will not install unless forced.

CONFIG FILE OPTIONS

Default options for CPAN::Reporter are read from a configuration file .cpanreporter/config.ini in the user's home directory (Unix and OS X) or "My Documents" directory (Windows).

The configuration file is in "ini" format, with the option name and value separated by an "=" sign

email_from = "John Doe" <johndoe@nowhere.org>
cc_author = no

Interactive configuration of email address, action prompts and mail server options may be repeated at any time from the CPAN shell.

cpan> o conf init test_report

Interactive configuration will also include any additional, non-standard options that have been added manually to the configuration file.

Available options are described in the following sections.

Email Address (required)

CPAN::Reporter requires users to provide an email address that will be used in the "From" header of the email to cpan-testers@perl.org.

  • email_from = <email address> -- email address of the user sending the test report; it should be a valid address format, e.g.:

user@domain
John Doe <user@domain>
"John Q. Public" <user@domain>

Because cpan-testers uses a mailing list to collect test reports, it is helpful if the email address provided is subscribed to the list. Otherwise, test reports will be held until manually reviewed and approved.

Subscribing an account to the cpan-testers list is as easy as sending a blank email to cpan-testers-subscribe@perl.org and replying to the confirmation email.

Action Prompts

Several steps in the generation of a test report are optional. Configuration options control whether an action should be taken automatically or whether CPAN::Reporter should prompt the user for the action to take. The action to take may be different for each report grade.

Valid actions, and their associated meaning, are as follows:

  • yes -- automatic yes

  • no -- automatic no

  • ask/no or just ask -- ask each time, but default to no

  • ask/yes -- ask each time, but default to yes

For "ask" prompts, the default will be used if return is pressed immediately at the prompt or if the PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT environment variable is set to a true value.

Action prompt options take one or more space-separated "grade:action" pairs, which are processed left to right.

edit_report = fail:ask/yes pass:no

An action by itself is taken as a default to be used for any grade which does not have a grade-specific action. A default action may also be set by using the word "default" in place of a grade.

edit_report = ask/no
edit_report = default:ask/no

A grade by itself is taken to have the action "yes" for that grade.

edit_report = default:no fail

Multiple grades may be specified together by separating them with a slash.

edit_report = pass:no fail/na/unknown:ask/yes

The action prompt options are:

  • cc_author = <grade:action> ... -- should module authors should be sent a copy of the test report at their author@cpan.org address? (default:yes pass:no)

  • edit_report = <grade:action> ... -- edit the test report before sending? (default:ask/no pass:no)

  • send_report = <grade:action> ... -- should test reports be sent at all? (default:ask/yes pass:yes na:no)

  • send_duplicates = <grade:action> ... -- should duplicates of previous reports be sent, regardless of send_report? (default:no)

These options are included in the starter config file created automatically the first time CPAN::Reporter is configured interactively.

Note that if send_report is set to "no", CPAN::Reporter will still go through the motions of preparing a report, but will discard it rather than send it. This is the default for an "na" report -- users may still edit the report to see which prerequisites failed, but no report will be sent.

A better way to disable CPAN::Reporter temporarily is with the CPAN option test_report:

cpan> o conf test_report 0

Mail Server

By default, Test::Reporter attempts to send mail directly to perl.org mail servers. This may fail if a user's computer is behind a network firewall that blocks outbound email. In this case, the following option should be set to the outbound mail server (i.e., SMTP server) as provided by the user's Internet service provider (ISP):

  • smtp_server = <server list> -- one or more alternate outbound mail servers if the default perl.org mail servers cannot be reached; multiple servers may be given, separated with a space (none by default)

In at least one reported case, an ISP's outbound mail servers also refused to forward mail unless the email_from was from the ISP-given email address.

This option is also included in the starter config file.

Additional Options

These additional options are only necessary in special cases, such as for testing, debugging or if a default editor cannot be found.

  • email_to = <email address> -- alternate destination for reports instead of cpan-testers@perl.org; used for testing

  • editor = <editor> -- editor to use to edit the test report; if not set, Test::Reporter will use environment variables VISUAL, EDITOR or EDIT (in that order) to find an editor

  • debug = <boolean> -- turns debugging on/off

FUNCTIONS

CPAN::Reporter provides only two public function for use within CPAN.pm. They are not imported during use. Ordinary users will never need them.

configure()

CPAN::Reporter::configure();

Prompts the user to edit configuration settings stored in the CPAN::Reporter config.ini file. It will create the configuration file if it does not exist. It is automatically called by CPAN.pm when initializing the 'test_report' option, e.g.:

cpan> o conf init test_report

test()

CPAN::Reporter::test( $cpan_dist, $system_command );

Given a CPAN::Distribution object and a system command to run distribution tests (e.g. "make test"), test() executes the command via system() while teeing the output to a file. Based on the output captured in the file, test() generates and sends a Test::Reporter report. It returns true if the test grade is "pass" or "unknown" and returns false, otherwise.

PRIVACY WARNING

CPAN::Reporter includes information in the test report about environment variables and special Perl variables that could be affecting test results in order to help module authors interpret the results of the tests. This includes information about paths, terminal, locale, user/group ID, installed toolchain modules (e.g. ExtUtils::MakeMaker) and so on.

These have been intentionally limited to items that should not cause harmful personal information to be revealed -- it does not include your entire environment. Nevertheless, please do not use CPAN::Reporter if you are concerned about the disclosure of this information as part of your test report.

Users wishing to review this information may choose to edit the report prior to sending it.

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature using the CPAN Request Tracker. Bugs can be submitted through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=CPAN-Reporter

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.

AUTHOR

David A. Golden (DAGOLDEN)

dagolden@cpan.org

http://www.dagolden.org/

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2006, 2007 by David A. Golden

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.