Changes for version 0.27_01

  • Backward-incompatible (but better) changes:
  • When using the 'install_base' option to choose a directory for installing everything, perl modules now go into lib/perl5/ instead of just lib/. It seems this is more consistent with people's expectations, and the way I had it before was a bit peculiar to the way I like things in my own home directory. [Michael Schwern]
  • When the user is using the 'install_base' option, scripts will now be installed by default in $install_base/bin/ rather than $install_base/script/ . [Jan Hudec and Michael Schwern]
  • Major changes:
  • The auto_features mechanism will now re-evaluate dependencies every time feature() is called for an auto-feature, rather than freezing the success/failure value during 'perl Build.PL' and using that value for all eternity (or module update, whichever comes first). This applies to both $build->feature() and FooModule::ConfigData->feature() calls. [Requested by many]
  • Added the meta_add and meta_merge mechanisms, which let the module author add/merge arbitrary entries into the META.yml file.
  • Now reads per-action default options from '$ENV{HOME}/.modulebuildrc' if it exists. Command line options override anything set in the rc file.
  • Extend prerequisite specifications to apply to all actions. It is now a fatal error if 'requires' or 'conflicts' for a given action are not satisfied, except where necessary for backwards compatability. Also, added '--force' options to ignore the fatal errors. (NOTE: this is a somewhat experimental feature, we may morph this around a bit before final release!)
  • The creation of Unix man pages is no longer a strict necessity - it has now been turned into an 'auto-feature' contingent on the presence of Pod::Man and a location specified for man pages to go.
  • A user-specified 'install_path' setting will now take precedence over an 'install_base' setting. This allows the user to use 'install_base' to set the base for all elements in one go, and then use 'install_path' to override specific paths or add paths for additional kinds of targets.
  • Split the main documentation from 'Module/Build.pm' into two sections. The user level documentation and overview remains in 'Module/Build.pm', while a new document, 'Module/Build/Authoring.pod', has been created for module authors.
  • Minor changes:
  • new_from_context() was losing its arguments in some cases (and not because of inadequate training in forensic debate) - we now pass its arguments directly to the Build.PL script rather than merging them in afterwards.
  • Let resume() return an object blessed into the appropriate class if the user has provided a subclass, as specified by the 'build_class' property. This allows current() and new_from_context() to behave more like factory methods returning objects of the correct class based on context. [Ray Zimmerman]
  • Refactored methods relating to parsing perl module files for package, version, and pod data into a new class: Module::Build::ModuleInfo. It should not be considered part of Module::Build's API, because we may split it out entirely as a separate CPAN module that we depend on.
  • Added new method Module::Build::prepare_metadata() for authors to override in order to add custom fields to META.yml.
  • We now use Test::More for our regression tests. If the user doesn't have it installed, we include a copy in t/lib/ that we can use during testing.
  • When copying files in the 'distdir' action, set permissions to match the original files. [Julian Mehnle]
  • When adding files like META.yml to the MANIFEST, we now tell the user we're doing so by printing one of the "Added to MANIFEST: ..." lines. [Ron Savage]
  • Added a runtime_params() method, which lets a module author see which parameters were overridden by the user on the command line (or in whatever paradigm the user originally invoked Module::Build from). [David Wheeler]
  • Added the current_action() method, which, surprisingly, returns the name of the currently running action. [David Wheeler]
  • Added docs for run_perl_script().
  • Added some stuff to the docs about why PREFIX is unsupported, and what to use instead. [Steve Purkis]
  • The simple get/set accessor methods for all the 'parameters' like verbose(), license(), etc. now have auto-generated documentation in Module/Build.pm.
  • Created a Cookbook entry for 'Adding new elements to the install process'
  • We now add META.yml to the MANIFEST when META.yml is created, not when MANIFEST is created. [Spotted by Ron Savage]
  • Added some additional patterns to the suggested MANIFEST.SKIP contents, and changed the docs so that we encourage the user to use the MANIFEST.SKIP. [Ron Savage]
  • Eliminated a redundant recipe from the Cookbook, now that there are some more extensive recipes on how to add stuff to the build/install sequences.
  • Eliminated an undefined-variable warning when testing under perl 5.005
  • When building HTML documentation, 'html_backlink' and 'html_css' properties are now first-class properties, so they can be set from the command line. [Suggested by Sagar R. Shah]
  • Have script_files default to everything in bin. I believe this is the least surprising behavior. [Suggested by Michael Schwern]
  • If script_files is given a directory, consider each file in that directory tree as a script to be installed. This avoids having to remember to add to the script_files list every time you add a program. [Suggested by Michael Schwern]
  • We now only load Pod::Man when we actually need to build man pages.
  • We now make Test::Harness use our carefully-selected path to a perl executable regardless of Test::Harness's version. Previously we let it figure stuff out for itself if it was a reasonably modern version, but it's safer to make sure we're using the same perl everywhere.

Documentation

Authoring Module::Build modules
Query or change configuration of Perl modules

Modules

Build and install Perl modules
Default methods for Module::Build
Compatibility with ExtUtils::MakeMaker
Examples of Module::Build Usage
Gather package and POD information from a perl module files
Perl Package Manager file creation
Builder class for Amiga platforms
Stub class for unknown platforms
Builder class for EBCDIC platforms
Builder class for MPEiX platforms
Builder class for MacOS platforms
Builder class for RiscOS platforms
Builder class for Unix platforms
Builder class for VMS platforms
Builder class for VOS platforms
Builder class for Windows platforms
Builder class for AIX platform
Builder class for Cygwin platform
Builder class for Mac OS X platform
Builder class for OS/2 platform

Provides

in lib/Module/Build/Notes.pm
in lib/Module/Build/PodParser.pm
in lib/Module/Build/Base.pm