Chapter 4

a dash. Everything after the dash is the module's abstract.

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 For example, here's the 

section from Data::Counter's module file where the abstract would be extracted:

Data::Counter   Perl extension to count data items.

Finally, the AUTHOR parameter gives the name and e mail address for the author of 

the module.

The Makefile.PL for Data::Counter is in Listing 4 4. This is a simple Makefile.PL;

for more information about Makefile.PL techniques, see the  Exploring the 

Distribution  section later in this chapter.

Listing 4 4. Modified Makefile.PL for Data::Counter

use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;

use 5.006;  # this module requires Perl 5.6.0

WriteMakefile(

    NAME                => "Data::Counter",

    VERSION_FROM        => "Counter.pm",

    ABSTRACT_FROM       => "Counter.pm",

    AUTHOR              =>  Sam Tregar  

);

test.pl   The  Test  Script

h2xs generates a simple test script that you can use to build regression tests for your 

module. A regression test is a test that proves a described feature performs the way 

it is supposed to work. By developing regression tests for your module, you'll be 

sure that your module works the way your documentation says it does. Also, when 

you fix a bug, you can add a regression test to prove that it's fixed after which you 

can be sure that the bug will never be reintroduced into your module. Similarly, 

when you add a new feature, you can add a new test so that you can be sure the 

feature works as advertised.

The generated test script (see Listing 4 5) is a normal Perl script that uses a 

module called Test.

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 The Test module exports a subroutine called plan(), which 

must be called before any tests. In this case, plan() is called inside a BEGIN block 

with a single named parameter, tests, giving the number of tests to be run. When 

you add a test to the script, you'll need to update this number.

11. For the regex literate: /^$package\s \s(.*)/

12. Written by Joshua Nathaniel Pritikin

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