/ 
CPAN-Reporter-0.99_03
River stage two • 11 direct dependents • 16 total dependents
/ CPAN::Reporter

NAME

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

VERSION

This documentation describes version 0.99_03.

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. Partial support for CPAN::Reporter is available in CPAN.pm as of version 1.88; full support is available in CPAN.pm as of version 1.91_53.

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

Installation

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

Configuration

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.

cpan> o conf init test_report

Users will need to enter an email address in one of the following formats:

johndoe@example.com
John Doe <johndoe@example.com>
"John Q. Public" <johnqpublic@example.com>

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.

Users will also be prompted to enter the name of an outbound email server. It is recommended to use an email server provided by the user's ISP or company. Alternatively, leave this blank to attempt to send email directly to perl.org.

Users that are new to CPAN::Reporter should accept the recommended values for other configuration options.

After completing interactive configuration, be sure to commit (save) the CPAN configuration changes.

cpan> o conf commit

See CPAN::Reporter::Config for advanced configuration settings.

Using CPAN::Reporter

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

When distribution tests fail, users will be prompted to edit the report to add addition information.

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 version of perl

  • unknown -- no test files could be found (either t/*.t or test.pl) or a result could not be determined from test output (e.g tests may have hung and been interrupted)

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.

If prerequisites specified in Makefile.PL or Build.PL are not available, no report will be generated and a failure will be signaled to CPAN.pm.

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.

SEE ALSO

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.