Module::Build::Compat(3pm)				 Perl Programmers Reference Guide				Module::Build::Compat(3pm)

NAME

       Module::Build::Compat - Compatibility with ExtUtils::MakeMaker

SYNOPSIS

	 # In a Build.PL :
	 use Module::Build;
	 my $build = Module::Build->new
	   ( module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
	     license	 => 'perl',
	     create_makefile_pl => 'traditional' );
	 ...

DESCRIPTION

       Because "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" has been the standard way to distribute modules for a long time, many tools (CPAN.pm, or your system
       administrator) may expect to find a working Makefile.PL in every distribution they download from CPAN.  If you want to throw them a bone,
       you can use "Module::Build::Compat" to automatically generate a Makefile.PL for you, in one of several different styles.

       "Module::Build::Compat" also provides some code that helps out the Makefile.PL at runtime.

METHODS

       create_makefile_pl($style, $build)
	   Creates a Makefile.PL in the current directory in one of several styles, based on the supplied "Module::Build" object $build.  This is
	   typically controlled by passing the desired style as the "create_makefile_pl" parameter to "Module::Build"'s "new()" method; the
	   Makefile.PL will then be automatically created during the "distdir" action.

	   The currently supported styles are:

	   traditional
	       A Makefile.PL will be created in the "traditional" style, i.e. it will use "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" and won't rely on "Module::Build"
	       at all.	In order to create the Makefile.PL, we'll include the "requires" and "build_requires" dependencies as the "PREREQ_PM"
	       parameter.

	       You don't want to use this style if during the "perl Build.PL" stage you ask the user questions, or do some auto-sensing about the
	       user's environment, or if you subclass "Module::Build" to do some customization, because the vanilla Makefile.PL won't do any of
	       that.

	   small
	       A small Makefile.PL will be created that passes all functionality through to the Build.PL script in the same directory.	The user
	       must already have "Module::Build" installed in order to use this, or else they'll get a module-not-found error.

	   passthrough (DEPRECATED)
	       This is just like the "small" option above, but if "Module::Build" is not already installed on the user's system, the script will
	       offer to use "CPAN.pm" to download it and install it before continuing with the build.

	       This option has been deprecated and may be removed in a future version of Module::Build.  Modern CPAN.pm and CPANPLUS will
	       recognize the "configure_requires" metadata property and install Module::Build before running Build.PL if Module::Build is listed
	       and Module::Build now adds itself to configure_requires by default.

	       Perl 5.10.1 includes "configure_requires" support.  In the future, when "configure_requires" support is deemed sufficiently
	       widespread, the "passthrough" style will be removed.

       run_build_pl(args => @ARGV)
	   This method runs the Build.PL script, passing it any arguments the user may have supplied to the "perl Makefile.PL" command.  Because
	   "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" and "Module::Build" accept different arguments, this method also performs some translation between the two.

	   "run_build_pl()" accepts the following named parameters:

	   args
	       The "args" parameter specifies the parameters that would usually appear on the command line of the "perl Makefile.PL" command -
	       typically you'll just pass a reference to @ARGV.

	   script
	       This is the filename of the script to run - it defaults to "Build.PL".

       write_makefile()
	   This method writes a 'dummy' Makefile that will pass all commands through to the corresponding "Module::Build" actions.

	   "write_makefile()" accepts the following named parameters:

	   makefile
	       The name of the file to write - defaults to the string "Makefile".

SCENARIOS

       So, some common scenarios are:

       1.  Just include a Build.PL script (without a Makefile.PL script), and give installation directions in a README or INSTALL document
	   explaining how to install the module.  In particular, explain that the user must install "Module::Build" before installing your module.

	   Note that if you do this, you may make things easier for yourself, but harder for people with older versions of CPAN or CPANPLUS on
	   their system, because those tools generally only understand the Makefile.PL/"ExtUtils::MakeMaker" way of doing things.

       2.  Include a Build.PL script and a "traditional" Makefile.PL, created either manually or with "create_makefile_pl()".  Users won't ever
	   have to install "Module::Build" if they use the Makefile.PL, but they won't get to take advantage of "Module::Build"'s extra features
	   either.

	   For good measure, of course, test both the Makefile.PL and the Build.PL before shipping.

       3.  Include a Build.PL script and a "pass-through" Makefile.PL built using "Module::Build::Compat".  This will mean that people can
	   continue to use the "old" installation commands, and they may never notice that it's actually doing something else behind the scenes.
	   It will also mean that your installation process is compatible with older versions of tools like CPAN and CPANPLUS.

AUTHOR

       Ken Williams <kwilliams@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Ken Williams.  All rights reserved.

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

SEE ALSO

       Module::Build(3), ExtUtils::MakeMaker(3)

perl v5.12.1							    2010-04-26						Module::Build::Compat(3pm)