h2xs for dummies

[ferrency]

Using h2xs to create XS extensions for perl might be difficult; I don't know, I've never done it before.

However, using h2xs to create empty module templates for modules you'll be writing is extremely easy.

Example:

% h2xs -X -n This::Is::A::Test

This creates a directory tree for module This::Is::A::Test under This/. Directory This/Is/A/Test contains Test.pm, Makefile.PL, MANIFEST, Changes, and test.pl (a test script, unrelated to the naming of Test.pm). Next, edit Test.pm to make it do what you want. To do a complete build and install, do the following in the Test directory:

perl Makefile.PL; make; make test; make install

For more information on this, please check out perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker. This gives lots of information about tweaking a Makefile.PL file created by h2xs, as well as how to start from scratch if you really want to.

The .pm file created by h2xs starts out with a standard pod template, Autoloader, and Exporter. If you have the most recent h2xs, it'll build a .pm file which follows the most recent recommendations on the use of Exporter and Autoloader.

I use this technique so regularly now, that I don't know what I ever did without it.

Alan