# phpman > info > TAP::Parser::Source [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)(3pePerl Programmers Reference [GuTAP::Parser](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/GuTAP%3A%3AParser/markdown)::[Source(3perl)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/Source/3perl/markdown) NAME [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown) - a TAP source & meta data about it VERSION Version 3.43 SYNOPSIS use [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown); my $source = [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)->new; $source->raw( \'reference to raw TAP source' ) ->config( \%config ) ->merge( $boolean ) ->switches( \@switches ) ->test_args( \@args ) ->assemble_meta; do { ... } if $source->meta->{is_file}; # see assemble_meta for a full list of data available DESCRIPTION A TAP source is something that produces a stream of TAP for the parser to consume, such as an executable file, a text file, an archive, an IO handle, a database, etc. "[TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)"s encapsulate these raw sources, and provide some useful meta data about them. They are used by [TAP::Parser::SourceHandlers](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASourceHandlers/markdown), which do whatever is required to produce & capture a stream of TAP from the raw source, and package it up in a [TAP::Parser::Iterator](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3AIterator/markdown) for the parser to consume. Unless you're writing a new [TAP::Parser::SourceHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASourceHandler/markdown), a plugin or subclassing [TAP::Parser](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser/markdown), you probably won't need to use this module directly. METHODS Class Methods "new" my $source = [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)->new; Returns a new "[TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)" object. Instance Methods "raw" my $raw = $source->raw; $source->raw( $some_value ); Chaining getter/setter for the raw TAP source. This is a reference, as it may contain large amounts of data (eg: raw TAP). "meta" my $meta = $source->meta; $source->meta({ %some_value }); Chaining getter/setter for meta data about the source. This defaults to an empty hashref. See "assemble_meta" for more info. "has_meta" True if the source has meta data. "config" my $config = $source->config; $source->config({ %some_value }); Chaining getter/setter for the source's configuration, if any has been provided by the user. How it's used is up to you. This defaults to an empty hashref. See "config_for" for more info. "merge" my $merge = $source->merge; $source->config( $bool ); Chaining getter/setter for the flag that dictates whether STDOUT and STDERR should be merged (where appropriate). Defaults to undef. "switches" my $switches = $source->switches; $source->config([ @switches ]); Chaining getter/setter for the list of command-line switches that should be passed to the source (where appropriate). Defaults to undef. "test_args" my $test_args = $source->test_args; $source->config([ @test_args ]); Chaining getter/setter for the list of command-line arguments that should be passed to the source (where appropriate). Defaults to undef. "assemble_meta" my $meta = $source->assemble_meta; Gathers meta data about the "raw" source, stashes it in "meta" and returns it as a hashref. This is done so that the [TAP::Parser::SourceHandlers](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASourceHandlers/markdown) don't have to repeat common checks. Currently this includes: is_scalar => $bool, is_hash => $bool, is_array => $bool, # for scalars: length => $n has_newlines => $bool # only done if the scalar looks like a filename is_file => $bool, is_dir => $bool, is_symlink => $bool, file => { # only done if the scalar looks like a filename basename => $string, # including ext dir => $string, ext => $string, lc_ext => $string, # system checks exists => $bool, stat => [ ... ], # perldoc -f stat empty => $bool, size => $n, text => $bool, binary => $bool, read => $bool, write => $bool, execute => $bool, setuid => $bool, setgid => $bool, sticky => $bool, is_file => $bool, is_dir => $bool, is_symlink => $bool, # only done if the file's a symlink lstat => [ ... ], # perldoc -f lstat # only done if the file's a readable text file shebang => $first_line, } # for arrays: size => $n, "shebang" Get the shebang line for a script file. my $shebang = [TAP::Parser::Source](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASource/markdown)->shebang( $some_script ); May be called as a class method "config_for" my $config = $source->config_for( $class ); Returns "config" for the $class given. Class names may be fully qualified or abbreviated, eg: # these are equivalent $source->config_for( 'Perl' ); $source->config_for( '[TAP::Parser::SourceHandler::Perl](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASourceHandler%3A%3APerl/markdown)' ); If a fully qualified $class is given, its abbreviated version is checked first. AUTHORS Steve Purkis. SEE ALSO [TAP::Object](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AObject/markdown), [TAP::Parser](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser/markdown), [TAP::Parser::IteratorFactory](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3AIteratorFactory/markdown), [TAP::Parser::SourceHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser%3A%3ASourceHandler/markdown) perl v5.34.0 2025-07-25 [TAP::Parser](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/TAP%3A%3AParser/markdown)::[Source(3perl)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/Source/3perl/markdown)