phpman > perldoc > Module::Build::API(3pm)

Markdown | JSON | MCP    

NAME
    Module::Build::API - API Reference for Module Authors

DESCRIPTION
    I list here some of the most important methods in "Module::Build". Normally you won't need to
    deal with these methods unless you want to subclass "Module::Build". But since one of the
    reasons I created this module in the first place was so that subclassing is possible (and easy),
    I will certainly write more docs as the interface stabilizes.

  CONSTRUCTORS
    current()
        [version 0.20]

        This method returns a reasonable facsimile of the currently-executing "Module::Build" object
        representing the current build. You can use this object to query its "notes()" method,
        inquire about installed modules, and so on. This is a great way to share information between
        different parts of your build process. For instance, you can ask the user a question during
        "perl Build.PL", then use their answer during a regression test:

          # In Build.PL:
          my $color = $build->prompt("What is your favorite color?");
          $build->notes(color => $color);

          # In t/colortest.t:
          use Module::Build;
          my $build = Module::Build->current;
          my $color = $build->notes('color');
          ...

        The way the "current()" method is currently implemented, there may be slight differences
        between the $build object in Build.PL and the one in "t/colortest.t". It is our goal to
        minimize these differences in future releases of Module::Build, so please report any
        anomalies you find.

        One important caveat: in its current implementation, "current()" will NOT work correctly if
        you have changed out of the directory that "Module::Build" was invoked from.

    new()
        [version 0.03]

        Creates a new Module::Build object. Arguments to the new() method are listed below. Most
        arguments are optional, but you must provide either the "module_name" argument, or
        "dist_name" and one of "dist_version" or "dist_version_from". In other words, you must
        provide enough information to determine both a distribution name and version.

        add_to_cleanup
            [version 0.19]

            An array reference of files to be cleaned up when the "clean" action is performed. See
            also the add_to_cleanup() method.

        allow_pureperl
            [version 0.4005]

            A bool indicating the module is still functional without its xs parts. When an XS module
            is build with --pureperl_only, it will otherwise fail.

        auto_configure_requires
            [version 0.34]

            This parameter determines whether Module::Build will add itself automatically to
            configure_requires (and build_requires) if Module::Build is not already there. The
            required version will be the last 'major' release, as defined by the decimal version
            truncated to two decimal places (e.g. 0.34, instead of 0.3402). The default value is
            true.

        auto_features
            [version 0.26]

            This parameter supports the setting of features (see "feature($name)") automatically
            based on a set of prerequisites. For instance, for a module that could optionally use
            either MySQL or PostgreSQL databases, you might use "auto_features" like this:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 ...other stuff here...
                 auto_features => {
                   pg_support    => {
                                     description => "Interface with Postgres databases",
                                     requires    => { 'DBD::Pg' => 23.3,
                                                      'DateTime::Format::Pg' => 0 },
                                    },
                   mysql_support => {
                                     description => "Interface with MySQL databases",
                                     requires    => { 'DBD::mysql' => 17.9,
                                                      'DateTime::Format::MySQL' => 0 },
                                    },
                 }
                );

            For each feature named, the required prerequisites will be checked, and if there are no
            failures, the feature will be enabled (set to 1). Otherwise the failures will be
            displayed to the user and the feature will be disabled (set to 0).

            See the documentation for "requires" for the details of how requirements can be
            specified.

        autosplit
            [version 0.04]

            An optional "autosplit" argument specifies a file which should be run through the
            AutoSplit::autosplit() function. If multiple files should be split, the argument may be
            given as an array of the files to split.

            In general I don't consider autosplitting a great idea, because it's not always clear
            that autosplitting achieves its intended performance benefits. It may even harm
            performance in environments like mod_perl, where as much as possible of a module's code
            should be loaded during startup.

        build_class
            [version 0.28]

            The Module::Build class or subclass to use in the build script. Defaults to
            "Module::Build" or the class name passed to or created by a call to "subclass()". This
            property is useful if you're writing a custom Module::Build subclass and have a
            bootstrapping problem--that is, your subclass requires modules that may not be installed
            when "perl Build.PL" is executed, but you've listed in "build_requires" so that they
            should be available when "./Build" is executed.

        build_requires
            [version 0.07]

            Modules listed in this section are necessary to build and install the given module, but
            are not necessary for regular usage of it. This is actually an important distinction -
            it allows for tighter control over the body of installed modules, and facilitates
            correct dependency checking on binary/packaged distributions of the module.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        configure_requires
            [version 0.30]

            Modules listed in this section must be installed *before* configuring this distribution
            (i.e. before running the Build.PL script). This might be a specific minimum version of
            "Module::Build" or any other module the Build.PL needs in order to do its stuff. Clients
            like "CPAN.pm" or "CPANPLUS" will be expected to pick "configure_requires" out of the
            META.yml file and install these items before running the "Build.PL".

            Module::Build may automatically add itself to configure_requires. See
            "auto_configure_requires" for details.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        test_requires
            [version 0.4004]

            Modules listed in this section must be installed before testing the distribution.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        create_packlist
            [version 0.28]

            If true, this parameter tells Module::Build to create a .packlist file during the
            "install" action, just like "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" does. The file is created in a
            subdirectory of the "arch" installation location. It is used by some other tools (CPAN,
            CPANPLUS, etc.) for determining what files are part of an install.

            The default value is true. This parameter was introduced in Module::Build version
            0.2609; previously no packlists were ever created by Module::Build.

        c_source
            [version 0.04]

            An optional "c_source" argument specifies a directory which contains C source files that
            the rest of the build may depend on. Any ".c" files in the directory will be compiled to
            object files. The directory will be added to the search path during the compilation and
            linking phases of any C or XS files.

            [version 0.3604]

            A list of directories can be supplied using an anonymous array reference of strings.

        conflicts
            [version 0.07]

            Modules listed in this section conflict in some serious way with the given module.
            "Module::Build" (or some higher-level tool) will refuse to install the given module if
            the given module/version is also installed.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        create_license
            [version 0.31]

            This parameter tells Module::Build to automatically create a LICENSE file at the top
            level of your distribution, containing the full text of the author's chosen license.
            This requires "Software::License" on the author's machine, and further requires that the
            "license" parameter specifies a license that it knows about.

        create_makefile_pl
            [version 0.19]

            This parameter lets you use "Module::Build::Compat" during the "distdir" (or "dist")
            action to automatically create a Makefile.PL for compatibility with
            "ExtUtils::MakeMaker". The parameter's value should be one of the styles named in the
            Module::Build::Compat documentation.

            Use of this parameter is discouraged.

        create_readme
            [version 0.22]

            This parameter tells Module::Build to automatically create a README file at the top
            level of your distribution. Currently it will simply use "Pod::Text" (or "Pod::Readme"
            if it's installed) on the file indicated by "dist_version_from" and put the result in
            the README file. This is by no means the only recommended style for writing a README,
            but it seems to be one common one used on the CPAN.

            If you generate a README in this way, it's probably a good idea to create a separate
            INSTALL file if that information isn't in the generated README.

        dist_abstract
            [version 0.20]

            This should be a short description of the distribution. This is used when generating
            metadata for META.yml and PPD files. If it is not given then "Module::Build" looks in
            the POD of the module from which it gets the distribution's version. If it finds a POD
            section marked "=head1 NAME", then it looks for the first line matching "\s+-\s+(.+)",
            and uses the captured text as the abstract.

        dist_author
            [version 0.20]

            This should be something like "John Doe <jdoe AT example.com>", or if there are multiple
            authors, an anonymous array of strings may be specified. This is used when generating
            metadata for META.yml and PPD files. If this is not specified, then "Module::Build"
            looks at the module from which it gets the distribution's version. If it finds a POD
            section marked "=head1 AUTHOR", then it uses the contents of this section.

        dist_name
            [version 0.11]

            Specifies the name for this distribution. Most authors won't need to set this directly,
            they can use "module_name" to set "dist_name" to a reasonable default. However, some
            agglomerative distributions like "libwww-perl" or "bioperl" have names that don't
            correspond directly to a module name, so "dist_name" can be set independently.

        dist_suffix
            [version 0.37]

            Specifies an optional suffix to include after the version number in the distribution
            directory (and tarball) name. The only suffix currently recognized by PAUSE is 'TRIAL',
            which indicates that the distribution should not be indexed. For example:

              Foo-Bar-1.23-TRIAL.tar.gz

            This will automatically do the "right thing" depending on "dist_version" and
            "release_status". When "dist_version" does not have an underscore and "release_status"
            is not 'stable', then "dist_suffix" will default to 'TRIAL'. Otherwise it will default
            to the empty string, disabling the suffix.

            In general, authors should only set this if they must override the default behavior for
            some particular purpose.

        dist_version
            [version 0.11]

            Specifies a version number for the distribution. See "module_name" or
            "dist_version_from" for ways to have this set automatically from a $VERSION variable in
            a module. One way or another, a version number needs to be set.

        dist_version_from
            [version 0.11]

            Specifies a file to look for the distribution version in. Most authors won't need to set
            this directly, they can use "module_name" to set it to a reasonable default.

            The version is extracted from the specified file according to the same rules as
            ExtUtils::MakeMaker and "CPAN.pm". It involves finding the first line that matches the
            regular expression

               /([\$*])(([\w\:\']*)\bVERSION)\b.*\=/

            eval()-ing that line, then checking the value of the $VERSION variable. Quite ugly,
            really, but all the modules on CPAN depend on this process, so there's no real
            opportunity to change to something better.

            If the target file of "dist_version_from" contains more than one package declaration,
            the version returned will be the one matching the configured "module_name".

        dynamic_config
            [version 0.07]

            A boolean flag indicating whether the Build.PL file must be executed to determine
            prerequisites, or whether they can be determined solely from consulting its metadata
            file. The main reason to set this to a true value is that your module adds or removes
            prerequisites dynamically in Build.PL. If the flag is omitted, it will be treated as 1
            (true), because this is a safer way to behave.

            Currently "Module::Build" doesn't actually do anything with this flag - it's up to
            higher-level tools like "CPAN.pm" to do something useful with it. It can also be very
            helpful for static analysis. See "dynamic_config" in CPAN::Meta::Spec for details on the
            metadata field.

        extra_compiler_flags
        extra_linker_flags
            [version 0.19]

            These parameters can contain array references (or strings, in which case they will be
            split into arrays) to pass through to the compiler and linker phases when
            compiling/linking C code. For example, to tell the compiler that your code is C++, you
            might do:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 module_name          => 'Foo::Bar',
                 extra_compiler_flags => ['-x', 'c++'],
                );

            To link your XS code against glib you might write something like:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 module_name          => 'Foo::Bar',
                 dynamic_config       => 1,
                 extra_compiler_flags => scalar `glib-config --cflags`,
                 extra_linker_flags   => scalar `glib-config --libs`,
                );

        extra_manify_args
            [version 0.4006]

            Any extra arguments to pass to "Pod::Man->new()" when building man pages. One common
            choice might be "utf8 => 1" to get Unicode support.

        get_options
            [version 0.26]

            You can pass arbitrary command line options to Build.PL or Build, and they will be
            stored in the Module::Build object and can be accessed via the "args()" method. However,
            sometimes you want more flexibility out of your argument processing than this allows. In
            such cases, use the "get_options" parameter to pass in a hash reference of argument
            specifications, and the list of arguments to Build.PL or Build will be processed
            according to those specifications before they're passed on to "Module::Build"'s own
            argument processing.

            The supported option specification hash keys are:

            type
                The type of option. The types are those supported by Getopt::Long; consult its
                documentation for a complete list. Typical types are "=s" for strings, "+" for
                additive options, and "!" for negatable options. If the type is not specified, it
                will be considered a boolean, i.e. no argument is taken and a value of 1 will be
                assigned when the option is encountered.

            store
                A reference to a scalar in which to store the value passed to the option. If not
                specified, the value will be stored under the option name in the hash returned by
                the "args()" method.

            default
                A default value for the option. If no default value is specified and no option is
                passed, then the option key will not exist in the hash returned by "args()".

            You can combine references to your own variables or subroutines with unreferenced
            specifications, for which the result will also be stored in the hash returned by
            "args()". For example:

              my $loud = 0;
              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
                 get_options => {
                                 Loud =>     { store => \$loud },
                                 Dbd  =>     { type  => '=s'   },
                                 Quantity => { type  => '+'    },
                                }
                );

              print STDERR "HEY, ARE YOU LISTENING??\n" if $loud;
              print "We'll use the ", $build->args('Dbd'), " DBI driver\n";
              print "Are you sure you want that many?\n"
                if $build->args('Quantity') > 2;

            The arguments for such a specification can be called like so:

              perl Build.PL --Loud --Dbd=DBD::pg --Quantity --Quantity --Quantity

            WARNING: Any option specifications that conflict with Module::Build's own options
            (defined by its properties) will throw an exception. Use capitalized option names to
            avoid unintended conflicts with future Module::Build options.

            Consult the Getopt::Long documentation for details on its usage.

        include_dirs
            [version 0.24]

            Specifies any additional directories in which to search for C header files. May be given
            as a string indicating a single directory, or as a list reference indicating multiple
            directories.

        install_path
            [version 0.19]

            You can set paths for individual installable elements by using the "install_path"
            parameter:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 ...other stuff here...
                 install_path => {
                                  lib  => '/foo/lib',
                                  arch => '/foo/lib/arch',
                                 }
                );

        installdirs
            [version 0.19]

            Determines where files are installed within the normal perl hierarchy as determined by
            Config.pm. Valid values are: "core", "site", "vendor". The default is "site". See
            "INSTALL PATHS" in Module::Build

        license
            [version 0.07]

            Specifies the licensing terms of your distribution.

            As of Module::Build version 0.36_14, you may use a Software::License subclass name (e.g.
            'Apache_2_0') instead of one of the keys below.

            The legacy list of valid license values include:

            apache
                The distribution is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0
                (<http://apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>).

            apache_1_1
                The distribution is licensed under the Apache Software License, Version 1.1
                (<http://apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-1.1>).

            artistic
                The distribution is licensed under the Artistic License, as specified by the
                Artistic file in the standard Perl distribution.

            artistic_2
                The distribution is licensed under the Artistic 2.0 License
                (<http://opensource.org/licenses/artistic-license-2.0.php>.)

            bsd The distribution is licensed under the BSD License
                (<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php>).

            gpl The distribution is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License
                (<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php>).

            lgpl
                The distribution is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
                License (<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.php>).

            mit The distribution is licensed under the MIT License
                (<http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php>).

            mozilla
                The distribution is licensed under the Mozilla Public License.
                (<http://opensource.org/licenses/mozilla1.0.php> or
                <http://opensource.org/licenses/mozilla1.1.php>)

            open_source
                The distribution is licensed under some other Open Source Initiative-approved
                license listed at <http://www.opensource.org/licenses/>.

            perl
                The distribution may be copied and redistributed under the same terms as Perl itself
                (this is by far the most common licensing option for modules on CPAN). This is a
                dual license, in which the user may choose between either the GPL or the Artistic
                license.

            restrictive
                The distribution may not be redistributed without special permission from the author
                and/or copyright holder.

            unrestricted
                The distribution is licensed under a license that is not approved by
                www.opensource.org but that allows distribution without restrictions.

            Note that you must still include the terms of your license in your code and
            documentation - this field only sets the information that is included in distribution
            metadata to let automated tools figure out your licensing restrictions. Humans still
            need something to read. If you choose to provide this field, you should make sure that
            you keep it in sync with your written documentation if you ever change your licensing
            terms.

            You may also use a license type of "unknown" if you don't wish to specify your terms in
            the metadata.

            Also see the "create_license" parameter.

        meta_add
            [version 0.28]

            A hash of key/value pairs that should be added to the META.yml file during the
            "distmeta" action. Any existing entries with the same names will be overridden.

            See the "MODULE METADATA" section for details.

        meta_merge
            [version 0.28]

            A hash of key/value pairs that should be merged into the META.yml file during the
            "distmeta" action. Any existing entries with the same names will be overridden.

            The only difference between "meta_add" and "meta_merge" is their behavior on hash-valued
            and array-valued entries: "meta_add" will completely blow away the existing hash or
            array value, but "meta_merge" will merge the supplied data into the existing hash or
            array value.

            See the "MODULE METADATA" section for details.

        module_name
            [version 0.03]

            The "module_name" is a shortcut for setting default values of "dist_name" and
            "dist_version_from", reflecting the fact that the majority of CPAN distributions are
            centered around one "main" module. For instance, if you set "module_name" to "Foo::Bar",
            then "dist_name" will default to "Foo-Bar" and "dist_version_from" will default to
            "lib/Foo/Bar.pm". "dist_version_from" will in turn be used to set "dist_version".

            Setting "module_name" won't override a "dist_*" parameter you specify explicitly.

        needs_compiler
            [version 0.36]

            The "needs_compiler" parameter indicates whether a compiler is required to build the
            distribution. The default is false, unless XS files are found or the "c_source"
            parameter is set, in which case it is true. If true, ExtUtils::CBuilder is automatically
            added to "build_requires" if needed.

            For a distribution where a compiler is *optional*, e.g. a dual XS/pure-Perl
            distribution, "needs_compiler" should explicitly be set to a false value.

        PL_files
            [version 0.06]

            An optional parameter specifying a set of ".PL" files in your distribution. These will
            be run as Perl scripts prior to processing the rest of the files in your distribution
            with the name of the file they're generating as an argument. They are usually used as
            templates for creating other files dynamically, so that a file like "lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL"
            might create the file "lib/Foo/Bar.pm".

            The files are specified with the ".PL" files as hash keys, and the file(s) they generate
            as hash values, like so:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
                 ...
                 PL_files => { 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm' },
                );

            Note that the path specifications are *always* given in Unix-like format, not in the
            style of the local system.

            If your ".PL" scripts don't create any files, or if they create files with unexpected
            names, or even if they create multiple files, you can indicate that so that
            Module::Build can properly handle these created files:

              PL_files => {
                           'lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm',
                           'lib/something.PL'  => ['/lib/something', '/lib/else'],
                           'lib/funny.PL'      => [],
                          }

            Here's an example of a simple PL file.

                my $output_file = shift;
                open my $fh, ">", $output_file or die "Can't open $output_file: $!";

                print $fh <<'END';
                #!/usr/bin/perl

                print "Hello, world!\n";
                END

            PL files are not installed by default, so its safe to put them in lib/ and bin/.

        pm_files
            [version 0.19]

            An optional parameter specifying the set of ".pm" files in this distribution, specified
            as a hash reference whose keys are the files' locations in the distributions, and whose
            values are their logical locations based on their package name, i.e. where they would be
            found in a "normal" Module::Build-style distribution. This parameter is mainly intended
            to support alternative layouts of files.

            For instance, if you have an old-style "MakeMaker" distribution for a module called
            "Foo::Bar" and a Bar.pm file at the top level of the distribution, you could specify
            your layout in your "Build.PL" like this:

              my $build = Module::Build->new
                (
                 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
                 ...
                 pm_files => { 'Bar.pm' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm' },
                );

            Note that the values should include "lib/", because this is where they would be found in
            a "normal" Module::Build-style distribution.

            Note also that the path specifications are *always* given in Unix-like format, not in
            the style of the local system.

        pod_files
            [version 0.19]

            Just like "pm_files", but used for specifying the set of ".pod" files in your
            distribution.

        recommends
            [version 0.08]

            This is just like the "requires" argument, except that modules listed in this section
            aren't essential, just a good idea. We'll just print a friendly warning if one of these
            modules aren't found, but we'll continue running.

            If a module is recommended but not required, all tests should still pass if the module
            isn't installed. This may mean that some tests may be skipped if recommended
            dependencies aren't present.

            Automated tools like CPAN.pm should inform the user when recommended modules aren't
            installed, and it should offer to install them if it wants to be helpful.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        recursive_test_files
            [version 0.28]

            Normally, "Module::Build" does not search subdirectories when looking for tests to run.
            When this options is set it will search recursively in all subdirectories of the
            standard 't' test directory.

        release_status
            [version 0.37]

            The CPAN Meta Spec version 2 adds "release_status" to allow authors to specify how a
            distribution should be indexed. Consistent with the spec, this parameter can only have
            one three values: 'stable', 'testing' or 'unstable'.

            Unless explicitly set by the author, "release_status" will default to 'stable' unless
            "dist_version" contains an underscore, in which case it will default to 'testing'.

            It is an error to specify a "release_status" of 'stable' when "dist_version" contains an
            underscore character.

        requires
            [version 0.07]

            An optional "requires" argument specifies any module prerequisites that the current
            module depends on.

            One note: currently "Module::Build" doesn't actually *require* the user to have
            dependencies installed, it just strongly urges. In the future we may require it. There's
            also a "recommends" section for things that aren't absolutely required.

            Automated tools like CPAN.pm should refuse to install a module if one of its
            dependencies isn't satisfied, unless a "force" command is given by the user. If the
            tools are helpful, they should also offer to install the dependencies.

            A synonym for "requires" is "prereq", to help succour people transitioning from
            "ExtUtils::MakeMaker". The "requires" term is preferred, but the "prereq" term will
            remain valid in future distributions.

            See the documentation for "PREREQUISITES" in Module::Build::Authoring for the details of
            how requirements can be specified.

        script_files
            [version 0.18]

            An optional parameter specifying a set of files that should be installed as executable
            Perl scripts when the module is installed. May be given as an array reference of the
            files, as a hash reference whose keys are the files (and whose values will currently be
            ignored), as a string giving the name of a directory in which to find scripts, or as a
            string giving the name of a single script file.

            The default is to install any scripts found in a bin directory at the top level of the
            distribution, minus any keys of PL_files.

            For backward compatibility, you may use the parameter "scripts" instead of
            "script_files". Please consider this usage deprecated, though it will continue to exist
            for several version releases.

        share_dir
            [version 0.36]

            An optional parameter specifying directories of static data files to be installed as
            read-only files for use with File::ShareDir. The "share_dir" property supports both
            distribution-level and module-level share files.

            The simplest use of "share_dir" is to set it to a directory name or an arrayref of
            directory names containing files to be installed in the distribution-level share
            directory.

              share_dir => 'share'

            Alternatively, if "share_dir" is a hashref, it may have "dist" or "module" keys
            providing full flexibility in defining how share directories should be installed.

              share_dir => {
                dist => [ 'examples', 'more_examples' ],
                module => {
                  Foo::Templates => ['share/html', 'share/text'],
                  Foo::Config    => 'share/config',
                }
              }

            If "share_dir" is set, then File::ShareDir will automatically be added to the "requires"
            hash.

        sign
            [version 0.16]

            If a true value is specified for this parameter, Module::Signature will be used (via the
            'distsign' action) to create a SIGNATURE file for your distribution during the 'distdir'
            action, and to add the SIGNATURE file to the MANIFEST (therefore, don't add it
            yourself).

            The default value is false. In the future, the default may change to true if you have
            "Module::Signature" installed on your system.

        tap_harness_args
            [version 0.2808_03]

            An optional parameter specifying parameters to be passed to TAP::Harness when running
            tests. Must be given as a hash reference of parameters; see the TAP::Harness
            documentation for details. Note that specifying this parameter will implicitly set
            "use_tap_harness" to a true value. You must therefore be sure to add TAP::Harness as a
            requirement for your module in "build_requires".

        test_files
            [version 0.23]

            An optional parameter specifying a set of files that should be used as
            "Test::Harness"-style regression tests to be run during the "test" action. May be given
            as an array reference of the files, or as a hash reference whose keys are the files (and
            whose values will currently be ignored). If the argument is given as a single string
            (not in an array reference), that string will be treated as a "glob()" pattern
            specifying the files to use.

            The default is to look for a test.pl script in the top-level directory of the
            distribution, and any files matching the glob pattern "*.t" in the t/ subdirectory. If
            the "recursive_test_files" property is true, then the "t/" directory will be scanned
            recursively for "*.t" files.

        use_tap_harness
            [version 0.2808_03]

            An optional parameter indicating whether or not to use TAP::Harness for testing rather
            than Test::Harness. Defaults to false. If set to true, you must therefore be sure to add
            TAP::Harness as a requirement for your module in "build_requires". Implicitly set to a
            true value if "tap_harness_args" is specified.

        xs_files
            [version 0.19]

            Just like "pm_files", but used for specifying the set of ".xs" files in your
            distribution.

    new_from_context(%args)
        [version 0.28]

        When called from a directory containing a Build.PL script (in other words, the base
        directory of a distribution), this method will run the Build.PL and call "resume()" to
        return the resulting "Module::Build" object to the caller. Any key-value arguments given to
        "new_from_context()" are essentially like command line arguments given to the Build.PL
        script, so for example you could pass "verbose => 1" to this method to turn on verbosity.

    resume()
        [version 0.03]

        You'll probably never call this method directly, it's only called from the auto-generated
        "Build" script (and the "new_from_context" method). The "new()" method is only called once,
        when the user runs "perl Build.PL". Thereafter, when the user runs "Build test" or another
        action, the "Module::Build" object is created using the "resume()" method to re-instantiate
        with the settings given earlier to "new()".

    subclass()
        [version 0.06]

        This creates a new "Module::Build" subclass on the fly, as described in the "SUBCLASSING" in
        Module::Build::Authoring section. The caller must provide either a "class" or "code"
        parameter, or both. The "class" parameter indicates the name to use for the new subclass,
        and defaults to "MyModuleBuilder". The "code" parameter specifies Perl code to use as the
        body of the subclass.

    add_property
        [version 0.31]

          package 'My::Build';
          use base 'Module::Build';
          __PACKAGE__->add_property( 'pedantic' );
          __PACKAGE__->add_property( answer => 42 );
          __PACKAGE__->add_property(
             'epoch',
              default => sub { time },
              check   => sub {
                  return 1 if /^\d+$/;
                  shift->property_error( "'$_' is not an epoch time" );
                  return 0;
              },
          );

        Adds a property to a Module::Build class. Properties are those attributes of a Module::Build
        object which can be passed to the constructor and which have accessors to get and set them.
        All of the core properties, such as "module_name" and "license", are defined using this
        class method.

        The first argument to "add_property()" is always the name of the property. The second
        argument can be either a default value for the property, or a list of key/value pairs. The
        supported keys are:

        "default"
            The default value. May optionally be specified as a code reference, in which case the
            return value from the execution of the code reference will be used. If you need the
            default to be a code reference, just use a code reference to return it, e.g.:

                  default => sub { sub { ... } },

        "check"
            A code reference that checks that a value specified for the property is valid. During
            the execution of the code reference, the new value will be included in the $_ variable.
            If the value is correct, the "check" code reference should return true. If the value is
            not correct, it sends an error message to "property_error()" and returns false.

        When this method is called, a new property will be installed in the Module::Build class, and
        an accessor will be built to allow the property to be get or set on the build object.

          print $build->pedantic, $/;
          $build->pedantic(0);

        If the default value is a hash reference, this generates a special-case accessor method,
        wherein individual key/value pairs may be set or fetched:

          print "stuff{foo} is: ", $build->stuff( 'foo' ), $/;
          $build->stuff( foo => 'bar' );
          print $build->stuff( 'foo' ), $/; # Outputs "bar"

        Of course, you can still set the entire hash reference at once, as well:

          $build->stuff( { foo => 'bar', baz => 'yo' } );

        In either case, if a "check" has been specified for the property, it will be applied to the
        entire hash. So the check code reference should look something like:

              check => sub {
                    return 1 if defined $_ && exists $_->{foo};
                    shift->property_error(qq{Property "stuff" needs "foo"});
                    return 0;
              },

    property_error
        [version 0.31]

  METHODS
    add_build_element($type)
        [version 0.26]

        Adds a new type of entry to the build process. Accepts a single string specifying its
        type-name. There must also be a method defined to process things of that type, e.g. if you
        add a build element called 'foo', then you must also define a method called
        "process_foo_files()".

        See also "Adding new file types to the build process" in Module::Build::Cookbook.

    add_to_cleanup(@files)
        [version 0.03]

        You may call "$self->add_to_cleanup(@patterns)" to tell "Module::Build" that certain files
        should be removed when the user performs the "Build clean" action. The arguments to the
        method are patterns suitable for passing to Perl's "glob()" function, specified in either
        Unix format or the current machine's native format. It's usually convenient to use Unix
        format when you hard-code the filenames (e.g. in Build.PL) and the native format when the
        names are programmatically generated (e.g. in a testing script).

        I decided to provide a dynamic method of the $build object, rather than just use a static
        list of files named in the Build.PL, because these static lists can get difficult to manage.
        I usually prefer to keep the responsibility for registering temporary files close to the
        code that creates them.

    args()
        [version 0.26]

          my $args_href = $build->args;
          my %args = $build->args;
          my $arg_value = $build->args($key);
          $build->args($key, $value);

        This method is the preferred interface for retrieving the arguments passed via command line
        options to Build.PL or Build, minus the Module-Build specific options.

        When called in a scalar context with no arguments, this method returns a reference to the
        hash storing all of the arguments; in an array context, it returns the hash itself. When
        passed a single argument, it returns the value stored in the args hash for that option key.
        When called with two arguments, the second argument is assigned to the args hash under the
        key passed as the first argument.

    autosplit_file($from, $to)
        [version 0.28]

        Invokes the AutoSplit module on the $from file, sending the output to the "lib/auto"
        directory inside $to. $to is typically the "blib/" directory.

    base_dir()
        [version 0.14]

        Returns a string containing the root-level directory of this build, i.e. where the
        "Build.PL" script and the "lib" directory can be found. This is usually the same as the
        current working directory, because the "Build" script will "chdir()" into this directory as
        soon as it begins execution.

    build_requires()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns a hash reference indicating the "build_requires" prerequisites that were passed to
        the "new()" method.

    can_action( $action )
        Returns a reference to the method that defines $action, or false otherwise. This is handy
        for actions defined (or maybe not!) in subclasses.

        [version 0.32_xx]

    cbuilder()
        [version 0.2809]

        Returns the internal ExtUtils::CBuilder object that can be used for compiling & linking C
        code. If no such object is available (e.g. if the system has no compiler installed) an
        exception will be thrown.

    check_installed_status($module, $version)
        [version 0.11]

        This method returns a hash reference indicating whether a version dependency on a certain
        module is satisfied. The $module argument is given as a string like "Data::Dumper" or
        "perl", and the $version argument can take any of the forms described in "requires" above.
        This allows very fine-grained version checking.

        The returned hash reference has the following structure:

          {
           ok => $whether_the_dependency_is_satisfied,
           have => $version_already_installed,
           need => $version_requested, # Same as incoming $version argument
           message => $informative_error_message,
          }

        If no version of $module is currently installed, the "have" value will be the string
        "<none>". Otherwise the "have" value will simply be the version of the installed module.
        Note that this means that if $module is installed but doesn't define a version number, the
        "have" value will be "undef" - this is why we don't use "undef" for the case when $module
        isn't installed at all.

        This method may be called either as an object method
        ("$build->check_installed_status($module, $version)") or as a class method
        ("Module::Build->check_installed_status($module, $version)").

    check_installed_version($module, $version)
        [version 0.05]

        Like check_installed_status(), but simply returns true or false depending on whether module
        $module satisfies the dependency $version.

        If the check succeeds, the return value is the actual version of $module installed on the
        system. This allows you to do the following:

          my $installed = $build->check_installed_version('DBI', '1.15');
          if ($installed) {
            print "Congratulations, version $installed of DBI is installed.\n";
          } else {
            die "Sorry, you must install DBI.\n";
          }

        If the check fails, we return false and set $@ to an informative error message.

        If $version is any non-true value (notably zero) and any version of $module is installed, we
        return true. In this case, if $module doesn't define a version, or if its version is zero,
        we return the special value "0 but true", which is numerically zero, but logically true.

        In general you might prefer to use "check_installed_status" if you need detailed
        information, or this method if you just need a yes/no answer.

    compare_versions($v1, $op, $v2)
        [version 0.28]

        Compares two module versions $v1 and $v2 using the operator $op, which should be one of
        Perl's numeric operators like "!=" or ">=" or the like. We do at least a halfway-decent job
        of handling versions that aren't strictly numeric, like "0.27_02", but exotic stuff will
        likely cause problems.

        In the future, the guts of this method might be replaced with a call out to "version.pm".

    config($key)
    config($key, $value)
    config() [deprecated]
        [version 0.22]

        With a single argument $key, returns the value associated with that key in the "Config.pm"
        hash, including any changes the author or user has specified.

        With $key and $value arguments, sets the value for future callers of "config($key)".

        With no arguments, returns a hash reference containing all such key-value pairs. This usage
        is deprecated, though, because it's a resource hog and violates encapsulation.

    config_data($name)
    config_data($name => $value)
        [version 0.26]

        With a single argument, returns the value of the configuration variable $name. With two
        arguments, sets the given configuration variable to the given value. The value may be any
        Perl scalar that's serializable with "Data::Dumper". For instance, if you write a module
        that can use a MySQL or PostgreSQL back-end, you might create configuration variables called
        "mysql_connect" and "postgres_connect", and set each to an array of connection parameters
        for "DBI->connect()".

        Configuration values set in this way using the Module::Build object will be available for
        querying during the build/test process and after installation via the generated
        "...::ConfigData" module, as "...::ConfigData->config($name)".

        The feature() and "config_data()" methods represent Module::Build's main support for
        configuration of installed modules. See also "SAVING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION" in
        Module::Build::Authoring.

    conflicts()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns a hash reference indicating the "conflicts" prerequisites that were passed to the
        "new()" method.

    contains_pod($file) [deprecated]
        [version 0.20]

        [Deprecated] Please see Module::Metadata instead.

        Returns true if the given file appears to contain POD documentation. Currently this checks
        whether the file has a line beginning with '=pod', '=head', or '=item', but the exact
        semantics may change in the future.

    copy_if_modified(%parameters)
        [version 0.19]

        Takes the file in the "from" parameter and copies it to the file in the "to" parameter, or
        the directory in the "to_dir" parameter, if the file has changed since it was last copied
        (or if it doesn't exist in the new location). By default the entire directory structure of
        "from" will be copied into "to_dir"; an optional "flatten" parameter will copy into "to_dir"
        without doing so.

        Returns the path to the destination file, or "undef" if nothing needed to be copied.

        Any directories that need to be created in order to perform the copying will be
        automatically created.

        The destination file is set to read-only. If the source file has the executable bit set,
        then the destination file will be made executable.

    create_build_script()
        [version 0.05]

        Creates an executable script called "Build" in the current directory that will be used to
        execute further user actions. This script is roughly analogous (in function, not in form) to
        the Makefile created by "ExtUtils::MakeMaker". This method also creates some temporary data
        in a directory called "_build/". Both of these will be removed when the "realclean" action
        is performed.

        Among the files created in "_build/" is a _build/prereqs file containing the set of
        prerequisites for this distribution, as a hash of hashes. This file may be "eval()"-ed to
        obtain the authoritative set of prerequisites, which might be different from the contents of
        META.yml (because Build.PL might have set them dynamically). But fancy developers take heed:
        do not put any fancy custom runtime code in the _build/prereqs file, leave it as a static
        declaration containing only strings and numbers. Similarly, do not alter the structure of
        the internal "$self->{properties}{requires}" (etc.) data members, because that's where this
        data comes from.

    current_action()
        [version 0.28]

        Returns the name of the currently-running action, such as "build" or "test". This action is
        not necessarily the action that was originally invoked by the user. For example, if the user
        invoked the "test" action, current_action() would initially return "test". However, action
        "test" depends on action "code", so current_action() will return "code" while that
        dependency is being executed. Once that action has completed, current_action() will again
        return "test".

        If you need to know the name of the original action invoked by the user, see
        "invoked_action()" below.

    depends_on(@actions)
        [version 0.28]

        Invokes the named action or list of actions in sequence. Using this method is preferred to
        calling the action explicitly because it performs some internal record-keeping, and it
        ensures that the same action is not invoked multiple times (note: in future versions of
        Module::Build it's conceivable that this run-only-once mechanism will be changed to
        something more intelligent).

        Note that the name of this method is something of a misnomer; it should really be called
        something like "invoke_actions_unless_already_invoked()" or something, but for better or
        worse (perhaps better!) we were still thinking in "make"-like dependency terms when we
        created this method.

        See also dispatch(). The main distinction between the two is that "depends_on()" is meant to
        call an action from inside another action, whereas "dispatch()" is meant to set the very top
        action in motion.

    dir_contains($first_dir, $second_dir)
        [version 0.28]

        Returns true if the first directory logically contains the second directory. This is just a
        convenience function because "File::Spec" doesn't really provide an easy way to figure this
        out (but "Path::Class" does...).

    dispatch($action, %args)
        [version 0.03]

        Invokes the build action $action. Optionally, a list of options and their values can be
        passed in. This is equivalent to invoking an action at the command line, passing in a list
        of options.

        Custom options that have not been registered must be passed in as a hash reference in a key
        named "args":

          $build->dispatch('foo', verbose => 1, args => { my_option => 'value' });

        This method is intended to be used to programmatically invoke build actions, e.g. by
        applications controlling Module::Build-based builds rather than by subclasses.

        See also depends_on(). The main distinction between the two is that "depends_on()" is meant
        to call an action from inside another action, whereas "dispatch()" is meant to set the very
        top action in motion.

    dist_dir()
        [version 0.28]

        Returns the name of the directory that will be created during the "dist" action. The name is
        derived from the "dist_name" and "dist_version" properties.

    dist_name()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns the name of the current distribution, as passed to the "new()" method in a
        "dist_name" or modified "module_name" parameter.

    dist_version()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns the version of the current distribution, as determined by the "new()" method from a
        "dist_version", "dist_version_from", or "module_name" parameter.

    do_system($cmd, @args)
        [version 0.21]

        This is a fairly simple wrapper around Perl's "system()" built-in command. Given a command
        and an array of optional arguments, this method will print the command to "STDOUT", and then
        execute it using Perl's "system()". It returns true or false to indicate success or failure
        (the opposite of how "system()" works, but more intuitive).

        Note that if you supply a single argument to "do_system()", it will/may be processed by the
        system's shell, and any special characters will do their special things. If you supply
        multiple arguments, no shell will get involved and the command will be executed directly.

    extra_compiler_flags()
    extra_compiler_flags(@flags)
        [version 0.25]

        Set or retrieve the extra compiler flags. Returns an arrayref of flags.

    extra_linker_flags()
    extra_linker_flags(@flags)
        [version 0.25]

        Set or retrieve the extra linker flags. Returns an arrayref of flags.

    feature($name)
    feature($name => $value)
        [version 0.26]

        With a single argument, returns true if the given feature is set. With two arguments, sets
        the given feature to the given boolean value. In this context, a "feature" is any optional
        functionality of an installed module. For instance, if you write a module that could
        optionally support a MySQL or PostgreSQL backend, you might create features called
        "mysql_support" and "postgres_support", and set them to true/false depending on whether the
        user has the proper databases installed and configured.

        Features set in this way using the Module::Build object will be available for querying
        during the build/test process and after installation via the generated "...::ConfigData"
        module, as "...::ConfigData->feature($name)".

        The "feature()" and "config_data()" methods represent Module::Build's main support for
        configuration of installed modules. See also "SAVING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION" in
        Module::Build::Authoring.

    fix_shebang_line(@files)
        [version 0.??]

        Modify any "shebang" line in the specified files to use the path to the perl executable
        being used for the current build. Files are modified in-place. The existing shebang line
        must have a command that contains ""perl""; arguments to the command do not count. In
        particular, this means that the use of "#!/usr/bin/env perl" will not be changed.

        For an explanation of shebang lines, see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_%28Unix%29>.

    have_c_compiler()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns true if the current system seems to have a working C compiler. We currently
        determine this by attempting to compile a simple C source file and reporting whether the
        attempt was successful.

    install_base_relpaths()
    install_base_relpaths($type)
    install_base_relpaths($type => $path)
        [version 0.28]

        Set or retrieve the relative paths that are appended to "install_base" for any installable
        element. This is useful if you want to set the relative install path for custom build
        elements.

        With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all elements and their
        respective values. This hash should not be modified directly; use the multiple argument
        below form to change values.

        The single argument form returns the value associated with the element $type.

        The multiple argument form allows you to set the paths for element types. $value must be a
        relative path using Unix-like paths. (A series of directories separated by slashes, e.g.
        "foo/bar".) The return value is a localized path based on $value.

        Assigning the value "undef" to an element causes it to be removed.

    install_destination($type)
        [version 0.28]

        Returns the directory in which items of type $type (e.g. "lib", "arch", "bin", or anything
        else returned by the "install_types()" method) will be installed during the "install"
        action. Any settings for "install_path", "install_base", and "prefix" are taken into account
        when determining the return value.

    install_path()
    install_path($type)
    install_path($type => $path)
        [version 0.28]

        Set or retrieve paths for specific installable elements. This is useful when you want to
        examine any explicit install paths specified by the user on the command line, or if you want
        to set the install path for a specific installable element based on another attribute like
        "install_base()".

        With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all elements and their
        respective values. This hash should not be modified directly; use the multiple argument
        below form to change values.

        The single argument form returns the value associated with the element $type.

        The multiple argument form allows you to set the paths for element types. The supplied $path
        should be an absolute path to install elements of $type. The return value is $path.

        Assigning the value "undef" to an element causes it to be removed.

    install_types()
        [version 0.28]

        Returns a list of installable types that this build knows about. These types each correspond
        to the name of a directory in blib/, and the list usually includes items such as "lib",
        "arch", "bin", "script", "libdoc", "bindoc", and if HTML documentation is to be built,
        "libhtml" and "binhtml". Other user-defined types may also exist.

    invoked_action()
        [version 0.28]

        This is the name of the original action invoked by the user. This value is set when the user
        invokes Build.PL, the Build script, or programmatically through the dispatch() method. It
        does not change as sub-actions are executed as dependencies are evaluated.

        To get the name of the currently executing dependency, see "current_action()" above.

    notes()
    notes($key)
    notes($key => $value)
        [version 0.20]

        The "notes()" value allows you to store your own persistent information about the build, and
        to share that information among different entities involved in the build. See the example in
        the "current()" method.

        The "notes()" method is essentially a glorified hash access. With no arguments, "notes()"
        returns the entire hash of notes. With one argument, "notes($key)" returns the value
        associated with the given key. With two arguments, "notes($key, $value)" sets the value
        associated with the given key to $value and returns the new value.

        The lifetime of the "notes" data is for "a build" - that is, the "notes" hash is created
        when "perl Build.PL" is run (or when the "new()" method is run, if the Module::Build Perl
        API is being used instead of called from a shell), and lasts until "perl Build.PL" is run
        again or the "clean" action is run.

    orig_dir()
        [version 0.28]

        Returns a string containing the working directory that was in effect before the Build script
        chdir()-ed into the "base_dir". This might be useful for writing wrapper tools that might
        need to chdir() back out.

    os_type()
        [version 0.04]

        If you're subclassing Module::Build and some code needs to alter its behavior based on the
        current platform, you may only need to know whether you're running on Windows, Unix, MacOS,
        VMS, etc., and not the fine-grained value of Perl's $^O variable. The "os_type()" method
        will return a string like "Windows", "Unix", "MacOS", "VMS", or whatever is appropriate. If
        you're running on an unknown platform, it will return "undef" - there shouldn't be many
        unknown platforms though.

    is_vmsish()
    is_windowsish()
    is_unixish()
        Convenience functions that return a boolean value indicating whether this platform behaves
        respectively like VMS, Windows, or Unix. For arbitrary reasons other platforms don't get
        their own such functions, at least not yet.

    prefix_relpaths()
    prefix_relpaths($installdirs)
    prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type)
    prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type => $path)
        [version 0.28]

        Set or retrieve the relative paths that are appended to "prefix" for any installable
        element. This is useful if you want to set the relative install path for custom build
        elements.

        With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all elements and their
        respective values as defined by the current "installdirs" setting.

        With a single argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all elements and their
        respective values as defined by $installdirs.

        The hash returned by the above calls should not be modified directly; use the three-argument
        below form to change values.

        The two argument form returns the value associated with the element $type.

        The multiple argument form allows you to set the paths for element types. $value must be a
        relative path using Unix-like paths. (A series of directories separated by slashes, e.g.
        "foo/bar".) The return value is a localized path based on $value.

        Assigning the value "undef" to an element causes it to be removed.

    get_metadata()
        [version 0.36]

        This method returns a hash reference of metadata that can be used to create a YAML
        datastream. It is provided for authors to override or customize the fields of META.yml. E.g.

          package My::Builder;
          use base 'Module::Build';

          sub get_metadata {
            my $self, @args = @_;
            my $data = $self->SUPER::get_metadata(@args);
            $data->{custom_field} = 'foo';
            return $data;
          }

        Valid arguments include:

        *   "fatal" -- indicates whether missing required metadata fields should be a fatal error or
            not. For META creation, it generally should, but for MYMETA creation for end-users, it
            should not be fatal.

        *   "auto" -- indicates whether any necessary configure_requires should be automatically
            added. This is used in META creation.

        This method is a wrapper around the old prepare_metadata API now that we no longer use
        YAML::Node to hold metadata.

    prepare_metadata() [deprecated]
        [version 0.36]

        [Deprecated] As of 0.36, authors should use "get_metadata" instead. This method is preserved
        for backwards compatibility only.

        It takes three positional arguments: a hashref (to which metadata will be added), an
        optional arrayref (to which metadata keys will be added in order if the arrayref exists),
        and a hashref of arguments (as provided to get_metadata). The latter argument is new as of
        0.36. Earlier versions are always fatal on errors.

        Prior to version 0.36, this method took a YAML::Node as an argument to hold assembled
        metadata.

    prereq_failures()
        [version 0.11]

        Returns a data structure containing information about any failed prerequisites (of any of
        the types described above), or "undef" if all prerequisites are met.

        The data structure returned is a hash reference. The top level keys are the type of
        prerequisite failed, one of "requires", "build_requires", "conflicts", or "recommends". The
        associated values are hash references whose keys are the names of required (or conflicting)
        modules. The associated values of those are hash references indicating some information
        about the failure. For example:

          {
           have => '0.42',
           need => '0.59',
           message => 'Version 0.42 is installed, but we need version 0.59',
          }

        or

          {
           have => '<none>',
           need => '0.59',
           message => 'Prerequisite Foo isn't installed',
          }

        This hash has the same structure as the hash returned by the "check_installed_status()"
        method, except that in the case of "conflicts" dependencies we change the "need" key to
        "conflicts" and construct a proper message.

        Examples:

          # Check a required dependency on Foo::Bar
          if ( $build->prereq_failures->{requires}{Foo::Bar} ) { ...

          # Check whether there were any failures
          if ( $build->prereq_failures ) { ...

          # Show messages for all failures
          my $failures = $build->prereq_failures;
          while (my ($type, $list) = each %$failures) {
            while (my ($name, $hash) = each %$list) {
              print "Failure for $name: $hash->{message}\n";
            }
          }

    prereq_data()
        [version 0.32]

        Returns a reference to a hash describing all prerequisites. The keys of the hash will be the
        various prerequisite types ('requires', 'build_requires', 'test_requires',
        'configure_requires', 'recommends', or 'conflicts') and the values will be references to
        hashes of module names and version numbers. Only prerequisites types that are defined will
        be included. The "prereq_data" action is just a thin wrapper around the "prereq_data()"
        method and dumps the hash as a string that can be loaded using "eval()".

    prereq_report()
        [version 0.28]

        Returns a human-readable (table-form) string showing all prerequisites, the versions
        required, and the versions actually installed. This can be useful for reviewing the
        configuration of your system prior to a build, or when compiling data to send for a bug
        report. The "prereq_report" action is just a thin wrapper around the "prereq_report()"
        method.

    prompt($message, $default)
        [version 0.12]

        Asks the user a question and returns their response as a string. The first argument
        specifies the message to display to the user (for example, "Where do you keep your money?").
        The second argument, which is optional, specifies a default answer (for example, "wallet").
        The user will be asked the question once.

        If "prompt()" detects that it is not running interactively and there is nothing on STDIN or
        if the PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT environment variable is set to true, the $default will be used
        without prompting.

        To prevent automated processes from blocking, the user must either set PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT
        or attach something to STDIN (this can be a pipe/file containing a scripted set of answers
        or /dev/null.)

        If no $default is provided an empty string will be used instead. In non-interactive mode,
        the absence of $default is an error (though explicitly passing "undef()" as the default is
        valid as of 0.27.)

        This method may be called as a class or object method.

    recommends()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns a hash reference indicating the "recommends" prerequisites that were passed to the
        "new()" method.

    requires()
        [version 0.21]

        Returns a hash reference indicating the "requires" prerequisites that were passed to the
        "new()" method.

    rscan_dir($dir, $pattern)
        [version 0.28]

        Uses "File::Find" to traverse the directory $dir, returning a reference to an array of
        entries matching $pattern. $pattern may either be a regular expression (using "qr//" or just
        a plain string), or a reference to a subroutine that will return true for wanted entries. If
        $pattern is not given, all entries will be returned.

        Examples:

         # All the *.pm files in lib/
         $m->rscan_dir('lib', qr/\.pm$/)

         # All the files in blib/ that aren't *.html files
         $m->rscan_dir('blib', sub {-f $_ and not /\.html$/});

         # All the files in t/
         $m->rscan_dir('t');

    runtime_params()
    runtime_params($key)
        [version 0.28]

        The "runtime_params()" method stores the values passed on the command line for valid
        properties (that is, any command line options for which "valid_property()" returns a true
        value). The value on the command line may override the default value for a property, as well
        as any value specified in a call to "new()". This allows you to programmatically tell if
        "perl Build.PL" or any execution of "./Build" had command line options specified that
        override valid properties.

        The "runtime_params()" method is essentially a glorified read-only hash. With no arguments,
        "runtime_params()" returns the entire hash of properties specified on the command line. With
        one argument, "runtime_params($key)" returns the value associated with the given key.

        The lifetime of the "runtime_params" data is for "a build" - that is, the "runtime_params"
        hash is created when "perl Build.PL" is run (or when the "new()" method is called, if the
        Module::Build Perl API is being used instead of called from a shell), and lasts until "perl
        Build.PL" is run again or the "clean" action is run.

    script_files()
        [version 0.18]

        Returns a hash reference whose keys are the perl script files to be installed, if any. This
        corresponds to the "script_files" parameter to the "new()" method. With an optional
        argument, this parameter may be set dynamically.

        For backward compatibility, the "scripts()" method does exactly the same thing as
        "script_files()". "scripts()" is deprecated, but it will stay around for several versions to
        give people time to transition.

    up_to_date($source_file, $derived_file)
    up_to_date(\@source_files, \@derived_files)
        [version 0.20]

        This method can be used to compare a set of source files to a set of derived files. If any
        of the source files are newer than any of the derived files, it returns false. Additionally,
        if any of the derived files do not exist, it returns false. Otherwise it returns true.

        The arguments may be either a scalar or an array reference of file names.

    y_n($message, $default)
        [version 0.12]

        Asks the user a yes/no question using "prompt()" and returns true or false accordingly. The
        user will be asked the question repeatedly until they give an answer that looks like "yes"
        or "no".

        The first argument specifies the message to display to the user (for example, "Shall I
        invest your money for you?"), and the second argument specifies the default answer (for
        example, "y").

        Note that the default is specified as a string like "y" or "n", and the return value is a
        Perl boolean value like 1 or 0. I thought about this for a while and this seemed like the
        most useful way to do it.

        This method may be called as a class or object method.

  Autogenerated Accessors
    In addition to the aforementioned methods, there are also some get/set accessor methods for the
    following properties:

    PL_files()
    allow_mb_mismatch()
    allow_pureperl()
    auto_configure_requires()
    autosplit()
    base_dir()
    bindoc_dirs()
    blib()
    build_bat()
    build_class()
    build_elements()
    build_requires()
    build_script()
    bundle_inc()
    bundle_inc_preload()
    c_source()
    config_dir()
    configure_requires()
    conflicts()
    cover()
    cpan_client()
    create_license()
    create_makefile_pl()
    create_packlist()
    create_readme()
    debug()
    debugger()
    destdir()
    dynamic_config()
    extra_manify_args()
    get_options()
    html_css()
    include_dirs()
    install_base()
    installdirs()
    libdoc_dirs()
    license()
    magic_number()
    mb_version()
    meta_add()
    meta_merge()
    metafile()
    metafile2()
    module_name()
    mymetafile()
    mymetafile2()
    needs_compiler()
    orig_dir()
    perl()
    pm_files()
    pod_files()
    pollute()
    prefix()
    prereq_action_types()
    program_name()
    pureperl_only()
    quiet()
    recommends()
    recurse_into()
    recursive_test_files()
    requires()
    scripts()
    sign()
    tap_harness_args()
    test_file_exts()
    test_requires()
    use_rcfile()
    use_tap_harness()
    verbose()
    xs_files()

MODULE METADATA
    If you would like to add other useful metadata, "Module::Build" supports this with the
    "meta_add" and "meta_merge" arguments to "new()". The authoritative list of supported metadata
    can be found at CPAN::Meta::Spec but for convenience - here are a few of the more useful ones:

    keywords
        For describing the distribution using keyword (or "tags") in order to make CPAN.org indexing
        and search more efficient and useful.

    resources
        A list of additional resources available for users of the distribution. This can include
        links to a homepage on the web, a bug tracker, the repository location, and even a
        subscription page for the distribution mailing list.

AUTHOR
    Ken Williams <kwilliams AT 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
    perl(1), Module::Build(3), Module::Build::Authoring(3), Module::Build::Cookbook(3),
    ExtUtils::MakeMaker(3)

    META.yml Specification: CPAN::Meta::Spec

Module::Build::API(3pm)
NAME DESCRIPTION
current() new() new_from_context(%args) resume() subclass() add_build_element($type) add_to_cleanup(@files) args() autosplit_file($from, $to) base_dir() build_requires() can_action( $action ) cbuilder() check_installed_status($module, $version) check_installed_version($module, $version) compare_versions($v1, $op, $v2) config($key) config($key, $value) config() [deprecated] config_data($name) config_data($name => $value) conflicts() contains_pod($file) [deprecated] copy_if_modified(%parameters) create_build_script() current_action() depends_on(@actions) dir_contains($first_dir, $second_dir) dispatch($action, %args) dist_dir() dist_name() dist_version() do_system($cmd, @args) extra_compiler_flags() extra_compiler_flags(@flags) extra_linker_flags() extra_linker_flags(@flags) feature($name) feature($name => $value) fix_shebang_line(@files) have_c_compiler() install_base_relpaths() install_base_relpaths($type) install_base_relpaths($type => $path) install_destination($type) install_path() install_path($type) install_path($type => $path) install_types() invoked_action() notes() notes($key) notes($key => $value) orig_dir() os_type() is_vmsish() is_windowsish() is_unixish() prefix_relpaths() prefix_relpaths($installdirs) prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type) prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type => $path) get_metadata() prepare_metadata() [deprecated] prereq_failures() prereq_data() prereq_report() prompt($message, $default) recommends() requires() rscan_dir($dir, $pattern) runtime_params() runtime_params($key) script_files() up_to_date($source_file, $derived_file) up_to_date(\@source_files, \@derived_files) y_n($message, $default) Autogenerated Accessors allow_mb_mismatch() allow_pureperl() auto_configure_requires() autosplit() base_dir() bindoc_dirs() blib() build_bat() build_class() build_elements() build_requires() build_script() bundle_inc() bundle_inc_preload() c_source() config_dir() configure_requires() conflicts() cover() cpan_client() create_license() create_makefile_pl() create_packlist() create_readme() debug() debugger() destdir() dynamic_config() extra_manify_args() get_options() html_css() include_dirs() install_base() installdirs() libdoc_dirs() license() magic_number() mb_version() meta_add() meta_merge() metafile() metafile2() module_name() mymetafile() mymetafile2() needs_compiler() orig_dir() perl() pm_files() pod_files() pollute() prefix() prereq_action_types() program_name() pureperl_only() quiet() recommends() recurse_into() recursive_test_files() requires() scripts() sign() tap_harness_args() test_file_exts() test_requires() use_rcfile() use_tap_harness() verbose() xs_files()
MODULE METADATA AUTHOR COPYRIGHT SEE ALSO
perl(1), Module::Build(3), Module::Build::Authoring(3), Module::Build::Cookbook(3),

Generated by phpman v3.7.12 Author: Che Dong Under GNU General Public License
2026-06-13 14:39 @216.73.216.28
CrawledBy Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
Valid XHTML 1.0 TransitionalValid CSS!

^_back to top