CPAN::...nverter(3perl) Perl Programmers Reference GuideCPAN::...nverter(3perl)
NAME
CPAN::Meta::Converter - Convert CPAN distribution metadata structures
VERSION
version 2.150010
SYNOPSIS
my $struct = decode_json_file('META.json');
my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct );
my $new_struct = $cmc->convert( version => "2" );
DESCRIPTION
This module converts CPAN Meta structures from one form to another. The
primary use is to convert older structures to the most modern version of
the specification, but other transformations may be implemented in the
future as needed. (E.g. stripping all custom fields or stripping all
optional fields.)
METHODS
new
my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct );
The constructor should be passed a valid metadata structure but invalid
structures are accepted. If no meta-spec version is provided, version
1.0 will be assumed.
Optionally, you can provide a "default_version" argument after $struct:
my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct, default_version => "1.4" );
This is only needed when converting a metadata fragment that does not
include a "meta-spec" field.
convert
my $new_struct = $cmc->convert( version => "2" );
Returns a new hash reference with the metadata converted to a different
form. "convert" will die if any conversion/standardization still
results in an invalid structure.
Valid parameters include:
• "version" -- Indicates the desired specification version (e.g.
"1.0", "1.1" ... "1.4", "2"). Defaults to the latest version of the
CPAN Meta Spec.
Conversion proceeds through each version in turn. For example, a
version 1.2 structure might be converted to 1.3 then 1.4 then finally to
version 2. The conversion process attempts to clean-up simple errors and
standardize data. For example, if "author" is given as a scalar, it
will converted to an array reference containing the item. (Converting a
structure to its own version will also clean-up and standardize.)
When data are cleaned and standardized, missing or invalid fields will
be replaced with sensible defaults when possible. This may be lossy or
imprecise. For example, some badly structured META.yml files on CPAN
have prerequisite modules listed as both keys and values:
requires => { 'Foo::Bar' => 'Bam::Baz' }
These would be split and each converted to a prerequisite with a minimum
version of zero.
When some mandatory fields are missing or invalid, the conversion will
attempt to provide a sensible default or will fill them with a value of
'unknown'. For example a missing or unrecognized "license" field will
result in a "license" field of 'unknown'. Fields that may get an
'unknown' include:
• abstract
• author
• license
upgrade_fragment
my $new_struct = $cmc->upgrade_fragment;
Returns a new hash reference with the metadata converted to the latest
version of the CPAN Meta Spec. No validation is done on the result --
you must validate after merging fragments into a complete metadata
document.
Available since version 2.141170.
BUGS
Please report any bugs or feature using the CPAN Request Tracker. Bugs
can be submitted through the web interface at
<http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=CPAN-Meta>
When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch
to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.
AUTHORS
• David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>
• Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>
• Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2010 by David Golden, Ricardo Signes,
Adam Kennedy and Contributors.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
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