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CPAN::Meta(3)         User Contributed Perl Documentation        CPAN::Meta(3)

NAME
       CPAN::Meta - the distribution metadata for a CPAN dist
VERSION
       version 2.120921
SYNOPSIS
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->load_file('META.json');
         printf "testing requirements for %s version %s\n",
           $meta->name,
           $meta->version;
         my $prereqs = $meta->requirements_for('configure');
         for my $module ($prereqs->required_modules) {
           my $version = get_local_version($module);
           die "missing required module $module" unless defined $version;
           die "version for $module not in range"
             unless $prereqs->accepts_module($module, $version);
         }
DESCRIPTION
       Software distributions released to the CPAN include a META.json or, for
       older distributions, META.yml, which describes the distribution, its
       contents, and the requirements for building and installing the
       distribution.  The data structure stored in the META.json file is
       described in CPAN::Meta::Spec.
       CPAN::Meta provides a simple class to represent this distribution
       metadata (or distmeta), along with some helpful methods for
       interrogating that data.
       The documentation below is only for the methods of the CPAN::Meta
       object.  For information on the meaning of individual fields, consult
       the spec.
METHODS
   new
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->new($distmeta_struct, \%options);
       Returns a valid CPAN::Meta object or dies if the supplied metadata hash
       reference fails to validate.  Older-format metadata will be up-
       converted to version 2 if they validate against the original stated
       specification.
       It takes an optional hashref of options. Valid options include:
       o   lazy_validation -- if true, new will attempt to convert the given
           metadata to version 2 before attempting to validate it.  This means
           than any fixable errors will be handled by CPAN::Meta::Converter
           before validation.  (Note that this might result in invalid
           optional data being silently dropped.)  The default is false.
   create
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->create($distmeta_struct, \%options);
       This is same as "new()", except that "generated_by" and "meta-spec"
       fields will be generated if not provided.  This means the metadata
       structure is assumed to otherwise follow the latest CPAN::Meta::Spec.
   load_file
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->load_file($distmeta_file, \%options);
       Given a pathname to a file containing metadata, this deserializes the
       file according to its file suffix and constructs a new "CPAN::Meta"
       object, just like "new()".  It will die if the deserialized version
       fails to validate against its stated specification version.
       It takes the same options as "new()" but "lazy_validation" defaults to
       true.
   load_yaml_string
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->load_yaml_string($yaml, \%options);
       This method returns a new CPAN::Meta object using the first document in
       the given YAML string.  In other respects it is identical to
       "load_file()".
   load_json_string
         my $meta = CPAN::Meta->load_json_string($json, \%options);
       This method returns a new CPAN::Meta object using the structure
       represented by the given JSON string.  In other respects it is
       identical to "load_file()".
   save
         $meta->save($distmeta_file, \%options);
       Serializes the object as JSON and writes it to the given file.  The
       only valid option is "version", which defaults to '2'. On Perl 5.8.1 or
       later, the file is saved with UTF-8 encoding.
       For "version" 2 (or higher), the filename should end in '.json'.
       JSON::PP is the default JSON backend. Using another JSON backend
       requires JSON 2.5 or later and you must set the $ENV{PERL_JSON_BACKEND}
       to a supported alternate backend like JSON::XS.
       For "version" less than 2, the filename should end in '.yml'.
       CPAN::Meta::Converter is used to generate an older metadata structure,
       which is serialized to YAML.  CPAN::Meta::YAML is the default YAML
       backend.  You may set the $ENV{PERL_YAML_BACKEND} to a supported
       alternative backend, though this is not recommended due to subtle
       incompatibilities between YAML parsers on CPAN.
   meta_spec_version
       This method returns the version part of the "meta_spec" entry in the
       distmeta structure.  It is equivalent to:
         $meta->meta_spec->{version};
   effective_prereqs
         my $prereqs = $meta->effective_prereqs;
         my $prereqs = $meta->effective_prereqs( \@feature_identifiers );
       This method returns a CPAN::Meta::Prereqs object describing all the
       prereqs for the distribution.  If an arrayref of feature identifiers is
       given, the prereqs for the identified features are merged together with
       the distribution's core prereqs before the CPAN::Meta::Prereqs object
       is returned.
   should_index_file
         ... if $meta->should_index_file( $filename );
       This method returns true if the given file should be indexed.  It
       decides this by checking the "file" and "directory" keys in the
       "no_index" property of the distmeta structure.
       $filename should be given in unix format.
   should_index_package
         ... if $meta->should_index_package( $package );
       This method returns true if the given package should be indexed.  It
       decides this by checking the "package" and "namespace" keys in the
       "no_index" property of the distmeta structure.
   features
         my @feature_objects = $meta->features;
       This method returns a list of CPAN::Meta::Feature objects, one for each
       optional feature described by the distribution's metadata.
   feature
         my $feature_object = $meta->feature( $identifier );
       This method returns a CPAN::Meta::Feature object for the optional
       feature with the given identifier.  If no feature with that identifier
       exists, an exception will be raised.
   as_struct
         my $copy = $meta->as_struct( \%options );
       This method returns a deep copy of the object's metadata as an
       unblessed has reference.  It takes an optional hashref of options.  If
       the hashref contains a "version" argument, the copied metadata will be
       converted to the version of the specification and returned.  For
       example:
         my $old_spec = $meta->as_struct( {version => "1.4"} );
   as_string
         my $string = $meta->as_string( \%options );
       This method returns a serialized copy of the object's metadata as a
       character string.  (The strings are not UTF-8 encoded.)  It takes an
       optional hashref of options.  If the hashref contains a "version"
       argument, the copied metadata will be converted to the version of the
       specification and returned.  For example:
         my $string = $meta->as_struct( {version => "1.4"} );
       For "version" greater than or equal to 2, the string will be serialized
       as JSON.  For "version" less than 2, the string will be serialized as
       YAML.  In both cases, the same rules are followed as in the "save()"
       method for choosing a serialization backend.
STRING DATA
       The following methods return a single value, which is the value for the
       corresponding entry in the distmeta structure.  Values should be either
       undef or strings.
       o   abstract
       o   description
       o   dynamic_config
       o   generated_by
       o   name
       o   release_status
       o   version
LIST DATA
       These methods return lists of string values, which might be represented
       in the distmeta structure as arrayrefs or scalars:
       o   authors
       o   keywords
       o   licenses
       The "authors" and "licenses" methods may also be called as "author" and
       "license", respectively, to match the field name in the distmeta
       structure.
MAP DATA
       These readers return hashrefs of arbitrary unblessed data structures,
       each described more fully in the specification:
       o   meta_spec
       o   resources
       o   provides
       o   no_index
       o   prereqs
       o   optional_features
CUSTOM DATA
       A list of custom keys are available from the "custom_keys" method and
       particular keys may be retrieved with the "custom" method.
         say $meta->custom($_) for $meta->custom_keys;
       If a custom key refers to a data structure, a deep clone is returned.
BUGS
       Please report any bugs or feature using the CPAN Request Tracker.  Bugs
       can be submitted through the web interface at
       <http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=CPAN-Meta>;
       When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch
       to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.
SEE ALSO
       o   CPAN::Meta::Converter
       o   CPAN::Meta::Validator
SUPPORT
   Bugs / Feature Requests
       Please report any bugs or feature requests through the issue tracker at
       <http://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=CPAN-Meta>;.  You will
       be notified automatically of any progress on your issue.
   Source Code
       This is open source software.  The code repository is available for
       public review and contribution under the terms of the license.
       <http://github.com/dagolden/cpan-meta>;
         git clone git://github.com/dagolden/cpan-meta.git
AUTHORS
       o   David Golden <dagolden AT cpan.org>
       o   Ricardo Signes <rjbs AT cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
       This software is copyright (c) 2010 by David Golden and 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.

perl v5.16.3                      2012-04-01                     CPAN::Meta(3)