On Tue, 16 Oct 2001, Autrijus Tang wrote: > While updateing my OurNet-BBS CPAN dist's Makefile.PL, I run > into the need of several configure features related to > determining PREREQ_PM's value by default: > > - letting user enable/disable optional dependencies. > - support sane defaults by probing for the machine's capability > - use CPAN.pm to download them on demand, whether inside a cpan > install or not. > - enable/disable the associated tests automatically. > - request for specific dist versions instead of the newest. > > Since I noticed several existing perl application shares similiar > functionalities (gbarr's modules springs to mind), I wonder if > it's possible to collect such features into a simple interface. > > Hence, I wrote ExtUtils::AutoInstall as a proof-of-concept, and > released OurNet::BBS along with it (there's a newer version at > http://www.autrijus.org/AutoInstall.pm). But it makes little > sense to release it as a CPAN package, since it must be installed > *before* the execution of Makefile.PL, which is beyond my knowledge > of the CPAN shell's functionality. > > However, supplying it with each and every module, like the case > with Test::More a while ago, would be very inconvenient. > > So I turn to this list for advices. :) Is this simply a bad idea, > or are there better options that I overlooked?
If Ken Williams (cc'd) has his way, ExtUtils::MakeMaker will be replaced with his new project Module::Build. And I really hope Ken has his way cause I really dislike EU::MM. You might want to look at Module::Build and see if your could integrate with it. Hopefully once Module::Build becomes really useful it will be the new Perl standard. I myself could use something like what you describe for Alzabo, which has quite a long Makefile.PL. We could probably also use it for Mason. -dave /*================== www.urth.org We await the New Sun ==================*/
