DOKK / manpages / debian 12 / libmodule-reader-perl / Module::Reader.3pm.en
Module::Reader(3pm) User Contributed Perl Documentation Module::Reader(3pm)

Module::Reader - Find and read perl modules like perl does

  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');

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.

Returns an IO handle for the given module.

Returns the content of a given module.

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.
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.
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.
A boolean controlling if the files found will be opened immediately when found. Defaults to true.
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.
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.

Returns a file object for the given module name. If the module can't be found, an exception will be raised.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Only available as a command line utility. Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
For unloaded modules, inaccurately checks if a module exists.
Same caveats as "Path::ScanINC".
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Inaccurately searches for ".pm" and ".pmc" files in subdirectories of @INC.
Inaccurately searches @INC for files and gives inaccurate information for the files that it finds.
Inaccurately searches @INC for matching files. Attempts to handle hooks, but handles most cases wrong.
Searches for ".pm" and ".pod" files in relatively unpredictable fashion, based usually on the current directory. Optionally, can inaccurately scan @INC.
Primarily designed as a version number extractor. Meant to find files on disk, avoiding the nuance involved in perl's file loading.
Inaccurately gives the first file found on disk in @INC.
Inaccurately searches for modules, ignoring @INC hooks.
Inaccurately searches for files, with confusing output for @INC hooks.
Primarily meant for searching for related documentation. Finds related module files, or sometimes ".pod" files. Unpredictable search path.

haarg - Graham Knop (cpan:HAARG) <haarg@haarg.org>

CONTRIBUTORS

None yet.

Copyright (c) 2013 the Module::Reader "AUTHOR" and "CONTRIBUTORS" as listed above.

This library is free software and may be distributed under the same terms as perl itself.

2022-10-13 perl v5.34.0