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Perl-CodeMap-0.3.1
/ docs/USER_GUIDE.md

User guide

Installation paths

Run directly from the checkout with perl bin/perl-codemap, or install with perl Makefile.PL && make && make test && make install to get the perl-codemap command. Perl 5.20+ is supported. PPI is strongly recommended:

cpanm PPI

The auto parser uses PPI when installed, otherwise the lite parser. To require PPI explicitly, pass --parser ppi; the command fails clearly if unavailable.

CLI reference

| Option | Description | Default | |---|---|---| | --root DIR | Source directory; with --from-json can hydrate source | current directory | | -o, --output FILE | Self-contained HTML output | perl-code-map.html | | --json FILE | Optional JSON export | none | | --from-json FILE | Render a previously generated CodeMap JSON | none | | --parser auto\|ppi\|lite | Static parser | auto | | --embed-source | Include source in HTML/JSON | enabled | | --no-embed-source | Omit embedded sources | disabled | | --max-source-bytes N | Maximum bytes to embed per source file | 2000000 | | --include-tests | Scan .t tests and t/, xt/, tests/ directories | off | | --source-base URL | Repository URL prefix for relative paths | GitHub auto-detection when possible | | --name TITLE | Report name | scanned root basename | | --version | Print version | — | | --help | Display usage | — |

A report contains all discovered internal package dependencies; standard library and CPAN packages are not drawn as graph nodes unless they exist in the scanned tree.

Source browsing

Selecting a package shows its files and functions. Selecting a function or view code opens a source viewer with line numbers and Perl syntax highlighting. The viewer embeds Prism's Perl grammar within the HTML, so it also works with airplane mode and local file:// URLs.

The source viewer renders 160 lines at a time, with Previous/Next controls, Go to line, and deep-link hashes (#source=...&line=...). The target line is highlighted. This bounds DOM usage for large source files.

Linking to source on GitHub or GitLab

Add --source-base when scanning a subdirectory (for example lib/) and supply the URL of that subdirectory, ending in /:

perl-codemap --root ./lib \
  --source-base 'https://gitlab.example.org/team/project/-/blob/COMMIT/lib/' \
  --output architecture.html

Each file's relative path and line anchor (#L123) will be appended. This is an example placeholder; substitute the correct repository and immutable commit SHA. GitHub origin remotes are auto-detected for a matching local checkout.

Large trees

The top-level graph groups namespaces when the set would exceed 32 nodes. Click a namespace to drill down, then select a package to see a focused set of its direct dependencies and dependents. Use the page controls to see other groups in a large scope. Search remains global even when the graph shows a limited view.

CI integration

The HTML can be uploaded as an ordinary build artifact. For a private repository, keep the artifact private, set a short retention period, and avoid public Pages publishing:

perl-codemap:
  image: perl:5.40
  script:
    - cpanm --notest PPI
    - perl bin/perl-codemap --parser ppi --root . --output map.html --json map.json
  artifacts:
    paths: [map.html, map.json]
    expire_in: 7 days

This example assumes CodeMap is committed or available in the build workspace.

Troubleshooting

Blank report: Check that JavaScript is enabled and review the browser console. The bundled report has no network dependencies. A malformed report or unsupported browser may still prevent rendering.

Missing source: The JSON was generated with --no-embed-source, the original file was over the embedding limit, or the file is absent. Rescan or rehydrate it with --from-json … --root ORIGINAL_SOURCE.

No packages: Verify --root points to the actual Perl source tree. Only .pm, .pl, .psgi, optional .t, and extensionless Perl-shebang files are scanned. Hidden, vendor, and build directories are skipped.

Unexpected graph edges: Dependency detection is intentionally static and limited to recognized package imports and inheritance. Use --parser ppi for higher-quality declarations, but not for complete runtime call graphs.