NAME

Module::Manifest - Parse and examine a Perl distribution MANIFEST file

$Id: README 4995 2009-01-19 21:05:38Z FREQUENCY@cpan.org $

SYNOPSIS

Module::Manifest is a simple utility module created originally for use in
Module::Inspector.

It can load a MANIFEST file that comes in a Perl distribution tarball, examine
the contents, and perform some simple tasks. It can also load the
MANIFEST.SKIP file and check that.

Granted, the functionality needed to do this is quite simple, but the Perl
distribution MANIFEST specification contains a couple of little
idiosyncracies, such as line comments and space-seperated inline comments.

The use of this module means that any little nigglies are dealt with behind
the scenes, and you can concentrate the main task at hand.

Comparison to ExtUtil::Manifest

This module is quite similar to ExtUtils::Manifest, or is at least similar in
scope. However, there is a general difference in approach.

ExtUtils::Manifest is imperative, requires the existance of the actual
MANIFEST file on disk, and requires that your current directory remains the
same.

Module::Manifest treats the MANIFEST file as an object, can load a the file
from anywhere on disk, and can run some of the same functionality without
having to change your current directory context.

That said, note that Module::Manifest is aimed at reading and checking
existing MANFIFEST files, rather than creating new ones.

COMPATIBILITY

This module should be compatible with Perl 5.5 and above. However, it has only
been rigorously tested under Perl 5.10.0 on Linux.

If you encounter any problems on a different version or architecture, please
contact the maintainer.

LIMITATIONS
* The directory returned by the "dir" method is overwritten whenever "open" is
  called. This means that, if MANIFEST and MANIFEST.SKIP are not in the same
  directory, the module may get a bit confused.

SUPPORT
This module is stored in an Open Repository at the following address:

<http://svn.ali.as/cpan/trunk/Module-Manifest>

Write access to the repository is made available automatically to any
published CPAN author, and to most other volunteers on request.

If you are able to submit your bug report in the form of new (failing) unit
tests, or can apply your fix directly instead of submitting a patch, you are
strongly encouraged to do so. The author currently maintains over 100 modules
and it may take some time to deal with non-critical bug reports or patches.

This will guarentee that your issue will be addressed in the next release of
the module.

If you cannot provide a direct test or fix, or don't have time to do so, then
regular bug reports are still accepted and appreciated via the CPAN bug
tracker.

<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Module-Manifest>

For other issues, for commercial enhancement and support, or to have your
write access enabled for the repository, contact the author at the email
address above.

CONTRIBUTORS

Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
Jonathan Yu <frequency@cpan.org>

SEE ALSO

ExtUtils::Manifest

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2006-2008 Adam Kennedy, et al.

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

The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with
this module.
