NAME
Module::Reader - Find and read perl modules like perl does
SYNOPSIS
use Module::Reader;
my $reader = Module::Reader->new;
my $module = $reader->module("My::Module");
my $filename = $module->found_file;
my $content = $module->content;
my $file_handle = $module->handle;
# search options
my $other_reader = Module::Reader->new(inc => ["/some/lib/dir", "/another/lib/dir"]);
my $other_reader2 = Module::Reader->new(found => { 'My/Module.pm' => '/a_location.pm' });
# Functional Interface
use Module::Reader qw(module_handle module_content);
my $io = module_handle('My::Module');
my $content = module_content('My::Module');
DESCRIPTION
This module finds modules in @INC using the same algorithm perl does.
From that, it will give you the source content of a module, the file
name (where available), and how it was found. Searches (and content) are
based on the same internal rules that perl uses for
require|perlfunc/require and do|perlfunc/do.
EXPORTS
module_handle ( $module_name, @search_directories )
Returns an IO handle for the given module.
module_content ( $module_name, @search_directories )
Returns the content of a given module.
ATTRIBUTES
inc An array reference containing a list of directories or hooks to
search for modules or files. This will be used in the same manner
that require uses @INC. If not provided, @INC itself will be used.
found
A hash reference of module filenames (of "My/Module.pm" format>) to
files that exist on disk, working the same as %INC. The values can
optionally be an @INC hook. This option can also be 1, in which case
%INC will be used instead.
pmc A boolean controlling if ".pmc" files should be found in preference
to ".pm" files. If not specified, the same behavior perl was
compiled with will be used.
open
A boolean controlling if the files found will be opened immediately
when found. Defaults to true.
abort_on_eacces
A boolean controlling if an error should be thrown or if the path
should be skipped when encountering "EACCES" (access denied) errors.
Defaults to true on perl 5.18 and above, matching the behavior of
require.
check_hooks_for_nonsearchable
For non-searchable paths (absolute paths and those starting with
"./" or "../") attempt to check the hook items (and not the
directories) in @INC if the file cannot be found directly. This
matches the behavior of perl. Defaults to true.
METHODS
module
Returns a file object for the given module name. If the module can't be
found, an exception will be raised.
file
Returns a file object for the given file name. If the file can't be
found, an exception will be raised. For absolute paths, or files
starting with "./" or "../" (and ".\" or "..\" on Windows), no directory
search will be performed.
modules
Returns an array of file objects for a given module name. This will give
every file that could be loaded based on the "inc" options.
files
Returns an array of file objects for a given file name. This will give
every file that could be loaded based on the "inc" options.
FILE OBJECTS
The file objects returned represent an entry that could be found in
@INC. While they will generally be files that exist on the file system
somewhere, they may also represent files that only exist only in memory
or have arbitrary filters applied.
FILE METHODS
filename
The filename that was searched for.
module
If a module was searched for, or a file of the matching form
("My/Module.pm"), this will be the module searched for.
found_file
The path to the file found by require.
This may not represent an actual file that exists, but the file name
that perl will use for the file for things like caller or __FILE__.
For ".pmc" files, this will be the ".pm" form of the file.
For @INC hooks this will be a file name of the form
"/loader/0x123456abcdef/My/Module.pm", matching how perl treats them
internally.
disk_file
The path to the file that exists on disk. When the file is found via an
@INC hook, this will be undef.
content
The content of the found file.
handle
A file handle to the found file's content.
is_pmc
A boolean value representing if the file found was ".pmc" variant of the
file requested.
inc_entry
The directory or hook that was used to find the given file or module. If
"found" is used, this may be undef.
RAW HOOK DATA
File objects also have methods for the raw file handle and read
callbacks used to read a file. Interacting with the handle or callback
can impact the return values of "content" and "handle", and vice versa.
It should generally be avoided unless you are introspecting the @INC
hooks|perlfunc/require.
raw_filehandle
The raw file handle to the file found. This will be either a file handle
to a file found on disk, or something returned by an @INC
hook|perlfunc/require. The hook callback, if it exists, will not be
taken into account by this method.
read_callback
A callback used to read content, or modify a file handle from an @INC
hook.
read_callback_options
An array reference of arguments to send to the read callback whem
reading or modifying content from a file handle. Will contain either
zero or one entries.
SEE ALSO
Numerous other modules attempt to do @INC searches similar to this
module, but no other module accurately represents how perl itself uses
@INC. Most don't match perl's behavior regarding character and block
devices, directories, or permissions. Often, ".pmc" files are not taken
into account.
Some of these modules have other use cases. The following comments are
primarily related to their ability to search @INC.
App::moduleswhere
Only available as a command line utility. Inaccurately gives the
first file found on disk in @INC.
App::whichpm
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Class::Inspector
For unloaded modules, inaccurately checks if a module exists.
Module::Data
Same caveats as "Path::ScanINC".
Module::Filename
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Module::Finder
Inaccurately searches for ".pm" and ".pmc" files in subdirectories
of @INC.
Module::Info
Inaccurately searches @INC for files and gives inaccurate
information for the files that it finds.
Module::Locate
Inaccurately searches @INC for matching files. Attempts to handle
hooks, but handles most cases wrong.
Module::Mapper
Searches for ".pm" and ".pod" files in relatively unpredictable
fashion, based usually on the current directory. Optionally, can
inaccurately scan @INC.
Module::Metadata
Primarily designed as a version number extractor. Meant to find
files on disk, avoiding the nuance involved in perl's file loading.
Module::Path
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Module::Util
Inaccurately searches for modules, ignoring @INC hooks.
Path::ScanINC
Inaccurately searches for files, with confusing output for @INC
hooks.
Pod::Perldoc
Primarily meant for searching for related documentation. Finds
related module files, or sometimes ".pod" files. Unpredictable
search path.
AUTHOR
haarg - Graham Knop (cpan:HAARG) <haarg@haarg.org>
CONTRIBUTORS
None yet.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2013 the Module::Reader "AUTHOR" and "CONTRIBUTORS" as
listed above.
LICENSE
This library is free software and may be distributed under the same
terms as perl itself.