Dist::Zilla::Plugin::OptionalFeature - Specify prerequisites for optional features in your distribution
version 0.014
In your dist.ini:
[OptionalFeature / XS_Support] -description = XS implementation (faster, requires a compiler) Foo::Bar::XS = 1.002
This plugin provides a mechanism for specifying prerequisites for optional features in metadata, which should cause CPAN clients to interactively prompt you regarding these features at install time (assuming interactivity is turned on: e.g. cpanm --interactive Foo::Bar).
cpanm --interactive Foo::Bar
The feature name and description are required. The name can be extracted from the plugin name.
You can specify requirements for different phases and relationships with:
[OptionalFeature / Feature_name] -description = description -phase = test -relationship = requires Fitz::Fotz = 1.23 Text::SoundEx = 3
If not provided, -phase defaults to runtime, and -relationship to requires.
-phase
runtime
-relationship
requires
To specify feature requirements for multiple phases, provide them as separate plugin configurations (keeping the feature name and description constant):
[OptionalFeature / Feature_name] -description = description -phase = runtime Foo::Bar = 0 [OptionalFeature / Feature_name] -description = description -phase = test Foo::Baz = 0
It is possible that future versions of this plugin may allow a more compact way of providing sophisticated prerequisite specifications.
If the plugin name is the CamelCase concatenation of a phase and relationship (or just a relationship), it will set those parameters implicitly. If you use a custom name, but it does not specify the relationship, and you didn't specify either or both of -phase or -relationship, these values default to runtime and requires respectively.
The example below is equivalent to the synopsis example above, except for the name of the resulting plugin:
[OptionalFeature] -name = XS_Support -description = XS implementation (faster, requires a compiler) -phase = runtime -relationship = requires Foo::Bar::XS = 1.002
NOTE: It is advised that you only specify one prerequisite for a given feature -- and if necessary, create a separate distribution to encapsulate the code needed to make that feature work (along with all of its dependencies). This allows external projects to declare a prerequisite not just on your distribution, but also a particular feature of that distribution.
This is mostly a restating of the information above.
-name
The name of the optional feature, to be presented to the user. Can also be extracted from the plugin name.
-description
The description of the optional feature, to be presented to the user. Defaults to the feature name, if not provided.
-always_recommend
If set with a true value, the prerequisites are added to the distribution's metadata as recommended prerequisites (e.g. cpanminus will install recommendations with --with-recommends, even when running non-interactively). Defaults to false, but I recommend you turn this on.
--with-recommends
-require_develop
If set with a true value, the prerequisites are added to the distribution's metadata as develop requires prerequisites (e.g. cpanminus will install recommendations with --with-develop, even when running non-interactively). Defaults to true.
--with-develop
-default
If set with a true value, compliant CPAN clients will behave as if the user opted to install the feature's prerequisites when running non-interactively (when there is no opportunity to prompt the user).
Note that at the time of this feature's creation (September 2013), there is no compliant CPAN client yet, as it invents a new x_default field in metadata under optional_feature (thanks, miyagawa!)
x_default
optional_feature
The phase of the prequisite(s). Should be one of: build, test, runtime, or develop.
-relationship (or -type)
-type
The relationship of the prequisite(s). Should be one of: requires, recommends, suggests, or conflicts.
Bugs may be submitted through the RT bug tracker (or bug-Dist-Zilla-Plugin-OptionalFeature@rt.cpan.org). I am also usually active on irc, as 'ether' at irc.perl.org.
irc.perl.org
"optional_features" in CPAN::Meta::Spec
"features, feature (Module::Install::Metadata)" in Module::Install::API
Karen Etheridge <ether@cpan.org>
This software is copyright (c) 2013 by Karen Etheridge.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
To install Dist::Zilla::Plugin::OptionalFeature, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm
cpanm Dist::Zilla::Plugin::OptionalFeature
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell install Dist::Zilla::Plugin::OptionalFeature
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.