# Data::OptList - phpMan

## NAME
    [Data::OptList] - parse and validate simple name/value option pairs

## VERSION
    version 0.112

## SYNOPSIS
      use [Data::OptList];

      my $options = [Data::OptList::mkopt]([
        qw(key1 key2 key3 key4),
        key5 => { ... },
        key6 => [ ... ],
        key7 => sub { ... },
        key8 => { ... },
        key8 => [ ... ],
      ]);

    ...is the same thing, more or less, as:

      my $options = [
        [ key1 => undef,        ],
        [ key2 => undef,        ],
        [ key3 => undef,        ],
        [ key4 => undef,        ],
        [ key5 => { ... },      ],
        [ key6 => [ ... ],      ],
        [ key7 => sub { ... },  ],
        [ key8 => { ... },      ],
        [ key8 => [ ... ],      ],
      ]);

## DESCRIPTION
    Hashes are great for storing named data, but if you want more than one
    entry for a name, you have to use a list of pairs. Even then, this is
    really boring to write:

      $values = [
        foo => undef,
        bar => undef,
        baz => undef,
        xyz => { ... },
      ];

    Just look at all those undefs! Don't worry, we can get rid of those:

      $values = [
        map { $_ => undef } qw(foo bar baz),
        xyz => { ... },
      ];

    Aaaauuugh! We've saved a little typing, but now it requires thought to
    read, and thinking is even worse than typing... and it's got a bug! It
    looked right, didn't it? Well, the "xyz => { ... }" gets consumed by the
    map, and we don't get the data we wanted.

    With [Data::OptList], you can do this instead:

      $values = [Data::OptList::mkopt]([
        qw(foo bar baz),
        xyz => { ... },
      ]);

    This works by assuming that any defined scalar is a name and any
    reference following a name is its value.

## PERL VERSION SUPPORT
    This module has a long-term perl support period. That means it will not
    require a version of perl released fewer than five years ago.

    Although it may work on older versions of perl, no guarantee is made
    that the minimum required version will not be increased. The version may
    be increased for any reason, and there is no promise that patches will
    be accepted to lower the minimum required perl.

## FUNCTIONS
  mkopt
      my $opt_list = [Data::OptList::mkopt]($input, \%arg);

    Valid arguments are:

      moniker        - a word used in errors to describe the opt list; encouraged
      require_unique - if true, no name may appear more than once
      must_be        - types to which opt list values are limited (described below)
      name_test      - a coderef used to test whether a value can be a name
                       (described below, but you probably don't want this)

    This produces an array of arrays; the inner arrays are name/value pairs.
    Values will be either "undef" or a reference.

    Positional parameters may be used for compatibility with the old "mkopt"
    interface:

      my $opt_list = [Data::OptList::mkopt]($input, $moniker, $req_uni, $must_be);

    Valid values for $input:

     undef    -> []
     hashref  -> [ [ key1 => value1 ] ... ] # non-ref values become undef
     arrayref -> every name followed by a non-name becomes a pair: [ name => ref ]
                 every name followed by undef becomes a pair: [ name => undef ]
                 otherwise, it becomes [ name => undef ] like so:
                 [ "a", "b", [ 1, 2 ] ] -> [ [ a => undef ], [ b => [ 1, 2 ] ] ]

    By default, a *name* is any defined non-reference. The "name_test"
    parameter can be a code ref that tests whether the argument passed it is
    a name or not. This should be used rarely. Interactions between
    "require_unique" and "name_test" are not yet particularly elegant, as
    "require_unique" just tests string equality. This may change.

    The "must_be" parameter is either a scalar or array of scalars; it
    defines what kind(s) of refs may be values. If an invalid value is
    found, an exception is thrown. If no value is passed for this argument,
    any reference is valid. If "must_be" specifies that values must be CODE,
    HASH, ARRAY, or SCALAR, then [Params::Util] is used to check whether the
    given value can provide that interface. Otherwise, it checks that the
    given value is an object of the kind.

    In other words:

      [ qw(SCALAR HASH [Object::Known]) ]

    Means:

      _SCALAR0($value) or _HASH($value) or _INSTANCE($value, '[Object::Known]')

  mkopt_hash
      my $opt_hash = [Data::OptList::mkopt_hash]($input, $moniker, $must_be);

    Given valid "mkopt" input, this routine returns a reference to a hash.
    It will throw an exception if any name has more than one value.

## EXPORTS
    Both "mkopt" and "mkopt_hash" may be exported on request.

## AUTHOR
    Ricardo Signes <<rjbs@semiotic.systems>>

## CONTRIBUTOR
    Olivier Mengué <<dolmen@cpan.org>>

## COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    This software is copyright (c) 2006 by Ricardo Signes.

    This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
    the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.