ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3)			User Contributed Perl Documentation			  ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3)

NAME

       ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with MakeMaker

SYNOPSIS

	   use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;

	   WriteMakefile(
	       NAME	       => 'Your::Module',
	       VERSION_FROM    => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
	   );

DESCRIPTION

       This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with MakeMaker.  It's really not that hard.

   The Mantra
       MakeMaker modules are installed using this simple mantra

	       perl Makefile.PL
	       make
	       make test
	       make install

       There are lots more commands and options, but the above will do it.

   The Layout
       The basic files in a module look something like this.

	       Makefile.PL
	       MANIFEST
	       lib/Your/Module.pm

       That's all that's strictly necessary.  There's additional files you might want:

	       lib/Your/Other/Module.pm
	       t/some_test.t
	       t/some_other_test.t
	       Changes
	       README
	       INSTALL
	       MANIFEST.SKIP
	       bin/some_program

       Makefile.PL
	   When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile.  That's the whole point of MakeMaker.  The Makefile.PL is a simple program which loads
	   ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the WriteMakefile() function to generate a Makefile.

	   Here's an example of what you need for a simple module:

	       use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;

	       WriteMakefile(
		   NAME 	   => 'Your::Module',
		   VERSION_FROM    => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
	       );

	   NAME is the top-level namespace of your module.  VERSION_FROM is the file which contains the $VERSION variable for the entire
	   distribution.  Typically this is the same as your top-level module.

       MANIFEST
	   A simple listing of all the files in your distribution.

		   Makefile.PL
		   MANIFEST
		   lib/Your/Module.pm

	   File paths in a MANIFEST always use Unix conventions (ie. /) even if you're not on Unix.

	   You can write this by hand or generate it with 'make manifest'.

	   See ExtUtils::Manifest for more details.

       lib/
	   This is the directory where the .pm and .pod files you wish to have installed go.  They are laid out according to namespace.  So
	   Foo::Bar is lib/Foo/Bar.pm.

       t/  Tests for your modules go here.  Each test filename ends with a .t.	So t/foo.t/  'make test' will run these tests.	The directory is
	   flat, you cannot, for example, have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.

	   Tests are run from the top level of your distribution.  So inside a test you would refer to ./lib to enter the lib directory, for
	   example.

       Changes
	   A log of changes you've made to this module.  The layout is free-form.  Here's an example:

	       1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
		   - thing() does some stuff now
		   - fixed the wiggy bug in withit()

	       1.00 Mon Apr  7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
		   - "Rain of Frogs" now supported

       README
	   A short description of your module, what it does, why someone would use it and its limitations.  CPAN automatically pulls your README
	   file out of the archive and makes it available to CPAN users, it is the first thing they will read to decide if your module is right
	   for them.

       INSTALL
	   Instructions on how to install your module along with any dependencies.  Suggested information to include here:

	       any extra modules required for use
	       the minimum version of Perl required
	       if only works on certain operating systems

       MANIFEST.SKIP
	   A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using 'make manifest' to generate the MANIFEST.  These regular expressions are
	   checked against each file path found in the distribution (so you're matching against "t/foo.t" not "foo.t").

	   Here's a sample:

	       ~$	   # ignore emacs and vim backup files
	       .bak$	   # ignore manual backups
	       #	   # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files

	   Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.

	   MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid things like version control directories and backup files.  Specifying your own
	   will override this default.

       bin/

SEE ALSO

       perlmodstyle gives stylistic help writing a module.

       perlnewmod gives more information about how to write a module.

       There are modules to help you through the process of writing a module: ExtUtils::ModuleMaker, Module::Install, PAR

perl v5.16.3							    2013-06-14					  ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3)