Alien::Base

Section: User Contributed Perl Documentation (3)
Updated: 2019-04-22
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NAME

Alien::Base - Base classes for Alien:: modules

VERSION

version 1.67

SYNOPSIS

 package Alien::MyLibrary;

 use strict;
 use warnings;

 use parent 'Alien::Base';

 1;

(for details on the "Makefile.PL" or "Build.PL" and alienfile that should be bundled with your Alien::Base subclass, please see Alien::Build::Manual::AlienAuthor).

Then a "MyLibrary::XS" can use "Alien::MyLibrary" in its "Makefile.PL":

 use Alien::MyLibrary
 use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
 use Alien::Base::Wrapper qw( Alien::MyLibrary !export );
 use Config;
 
 WriteMakefile(
   ...
   Alien::Base::Wrapper->mm_args,
   ...
 );

Or if you prefer Module::Build, in its "Build.PL":

 use Alien::MyLibrary;
 use Module::Build 0.28; # need at least 0.28
 use Alien::Base::Wrapper qw( Alien::MyLibrary !export );
 
 my $builder = Module::Build->new(
   ...
   Alien::Base::Wrapper->mb_args,
   ...
 );
 
 $builder->create_build_script;

Or if you are using ExtUtils::Depends:

 use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
 use ExtUtils::Depends;
 my $eud = ExtUtils::Depends->new(qw( MyLibrary::XS Alien::MyLibrary ));
 WriteMakefile(
   ...
   $eud->get_makefile_vars
 );

If you are using <Alien:Base::ModuleBuild> instead of the recommended Alien::Build and alienfile, then in your "MyLibrary::XS" module, you may need something like this in your main ".pm" file IF your library uses dynamic libraries:

 package MyLibrary::XS;
 
 use Alien::MyLibrary; # may only be needed if you are using Alien::Base::ModuleBuild
 
 ...

Or you can use it from an FFI module:

 package MyLibrary::FFI;
 
 use Alien::MyLibrary;
 use FFI::Platypus;
 
 my $ffi = FFI::Platypus->new;
 $ffi->lib(Alien::MyLibrary->dynamic_libs);
 
 $ffi->attach( 'my_library_function' => [] => 'void' );

You can even use it with Inline (C and C++ languages are supported):

 package MyLibrary::Inline;
 
 use Alien::MyLibrary;
 # Inline 0.56 or better is required
 use Inline 0.56 with => 'Alien::MyLibrary';
 ...

DESCRIPTION

NOTE: Alien::Base::ModuleBuild is no longer bundled with Alien::Base and has been spun off into a separate distribution. Alien::Build::ModuleBuild will be a prerequisite for Alien::Base until October 1, 2017. If you are using Alien::Base::ModuleBuild you need to make sure it is declared as a "configure_requires" in your "Build.PL". You may want to also consider using Alien::Base and alienfile as a more modern alternative.

Alien::Base comprises base classes to help in the construction of "Alien::" modules. Modules in the Alien namespace are used to locate and install (if necessary) external libraries needed by other Perl modules.

This is the documentation for the Alien::Base module itself. If you are starting out you probably want to do so from one of these documents:

Alien::Build::Manual::AlienUser: For users of an "Alien::libfoo" that is implemented using Alien::Base. (The developer of "Alien::libfoo" should provide the documentation necessary, but if not, this is the place to start).
Alien::Build::Manual::AlienAuthor: If you are writing your own Alien based on Alien::Build and Alien::Base.
Alien::Build::Manual::FAQ: If you have a common question that has already been answered, like "How do I use alienfile with some build system".
Alien::Build::Manual::PluginAuthor: This is for the brave souls who want to write plugins that will work with Alien::Build + alienfile.

METHODS

In the example snippets here, "Alien::MyLibrary" represents any subclass of Alien::Base.

dist_dir

 my $dir = Alien::MyLibrary->dist_dir;

Returns the directory that contains the install root for the packaged software, if it was built from install (i.e., if "install_type" is "share").

new

 my $alien = Alien::MyLibrary->new;

Creates an instance of an Alien::Base object. This is typically unnecessary.

cflags

 my $cflags = Alien::MyLibrary->cflags;

 use Text::ParseWords qw( shellwords );
 my @cflags = shellwords( Alien::MyLibrary->cflags );

Returns the C compiler flags necessary to compile an XS module using the alien software. If you need this in list form (for example if you are calling system with a list argument) you can pass this value into "shellwords" from the Perl core Text::ParseWords module.

cflags_static

 my $cflags = Alien::MyLibrary->cflags_static;

Same as "cflags" above, but gets the static compiler flags, if they are different.

libs

 my $libs = Alien::MyLibrary->libs;

 use Text::ParseWords qw( shellwords );
 my @cflags = shellwords( Alien::MyLibrary->libs );

Returns the library linker flags necessary to link an XS module against the alien software. If you need this in list form (for example if you are calling system with a list argument) you can pass this value into "shellwords" from the Perl core Text::ParseWords module.

libs_static

 my $libs = Alien::MyLibrary->libs_static;

Same as "libs" above, but gets the static linker flags, if they are different.

version

 my $version = Alien::MyLibrary->version;

Returns the version of the alienized library or tool that was determined at install time.

atleast_version

exact_version

max_version

 my $ok = Alien::MyLibrary->atleast_version($wanted_version);
 my $ok = Alien::MyLibrary->exact_version($wanted_version);
 my $ok = Alien::MyLibrary->max_version($wanted_version);

Returns true if the version of the alienized library or tool is at least, exactly, or at most the version specified, respectively.

version_cmp

  $cmp = Alien::MyLibrary->version_cmp($x, $y)

Comparison method used by atleast_version, exact_version and max_version. May be useful to implement custom comparisons, or for subclasses to overload to get different version comparison semantics than the default rules, for packages that have some other rules than the pkg-config behaviour.

Should return a number less than, equal to, or greater than zero; similar in behaviour to the "<=>" and "cmp" operators.

install_type

 my $install_type = Alien::MyLibrary->install_type;
 my $bool = Alien::MyLibrary->install_type($install_type);

Returns the install type that was used when "Alien::MyLibrary" was installed. If a type is provided (the second form in the synopsis) returns true if the actual install type matches. Types include:

system: The library was provided by the operating system
share: The library was not available when "Alien::MyLibrary" was installed, so it was built from source code, either downloaded from the Internet or bundled with "Alien::MyLibrary".

config

 my $value = Alien::MyLibrary->config($key);

Returns the configuration data as determined during the install of Alien::MyLibrary. For the appropriate config keys, see Alien::Base::ModuleBuild::API#CONFIG-DATA.

This is not typically used by Alien::Base and alienfile, but a compatible interface will be provided.

dynamic_libs

 my @dlls = Alien::MyLibrary->dynamic_libs;
 my($dll) = Alien::MyLibrary->dynamic_libs;

Returns a list of the dynamic library or shared object files for the alien software.

bin_dir

 my(@dir) = Alien::MyLibrary->bin_dir

Returns a list of directories with executables in them. For a "system" install this will be an empty list. For a "share" install this will be a directory under "dist_dir" named "bin" if it exists. You may wish to override the default behavior if you have executables or scripts that get installed into non-standard locations.

Example usage:

 use Env qw( @PATH );
 
 unshft @PATH, Alien::MyLibrary->bin_dir;

alien_helper

 my $helpers = Alien::MyLibrary->alien_helper;

Returns a hash reference of helpers provided by the Alien module. The keys are helper names and the values are code references. The code references will be executed at command time and the return value will be interpolated into the command before execution. The default implementation returns an empty hash reference, and you are expected to override the method to create your own helpers.

For use with commands specified in and alienfile or in your "Build.Pl" when used with Alien::Base::ModuleBuild.

Helpers allow users of your Alien module to use platform or environment determined logic to compute command names or arguments in your installer logic. Helpers allow you to do this without making your Alien module a requirement when a build from source code is not necessary.

As a concrete example, consider Alien::gmake, which provides the helper "gmake":

 package Alien::gmake;
 
 ...
 
 sub alien_helper {
   my($class) = @_;
   return {
     gmake => sub {
       # return the executable name for GNU make,
       # usually either make or gmake depending on
       # the platform and environment
       $class->exe;
     }
   },
 }

Now consider Alien::nasm. "nasm" requires GNU Make to build from source code, but if the system "nasm" package is installed we don't need it. From the alienfile of "Alien::nasm":

 use alienfile;
 
 plugin 'Probe::CommandLine' => (
   command => 'nasm',
   args    => ['-v'],
   match   => qr/NASM version/,
 );
 
 share {
   ...
   plugin 'Extract' => 'tar.gz';
   plugin 'Build::MSYS';
   
   build [
     'sh configure --prefix=%{alien.install.prefix}',
     '%{gmake}',
     '%{gmake} install',
   ];
 };
 
 ...

inline_auto_include

 my(@headers) = Alien::MyLibrary->inline_auto_include;

List of header files to automatically include in inline C and C++ code when using Inline::C or Inline::CPP. This is provided as a public interface primarily so that it can be overridden at run time. This can also be specified in your "Build.PL" with Alien::Base::ModuleBuild using the "alien_inline_auto_include" property.

runtime_prop

 my $hashref = Alien::MyLibrary->runtime_prop;

Returns a hash reference of the runtime properties computed by Alien::Build during its install process. If the Alien::Base based Alien was not built using Alien::Build, then this will return undef.

alt

 my $new_alien = Alien::MyLibrary->alt($alt_name);
 my $new_alien = $old_alien->alt($alt_name);

Returns an Alien::Base instance with the alternate configuration.

Some packages come with multiple libraries, and multiple ".pc" files to use with them. This method can be used with "pkg-config" plugins to access different configurations. (It could also be used with non-pkg-config based packages too, though there are not as of this writing any build time plugins that take advantage of this feature).

From your alienfile

 use alienfile;
 
 plugin 'PkgConfig' => (
   pkg_name => [ 'libfoo', 'libbar', ],
 );

Then in your base class:

 package Alien::MyLibrary;
 
 use base qw( Alien::Base );
 use Role::Tiny::With qw( with );
 
 with 'Alien::Role::Alt';
 
 1;

Then you can use it:

 use Alien::MyLibrary;
 
 my $cflags = Alien::MyLibrary->alt('foo1')->cflags;
 my $libs   = Alien::MyLibrary->alt('foo1')->libs;

alt_names

 my @alt_names = Alien::MyLibrary->alt_names

Returns the list of all available alternative configuration names.

alt_exists

 my $bool = Alien::MyLibrary->alt_exists($alt_name)

Returns true if the given alternative configuration exists.

SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTING

First check the Alien::Build::Manual::FAQ for questions that have already been answered.

IRC: #native on irc.perl.org

(click for instant chatroom login) <http://chat.mibbit.com/#native@irc.perl.org>

If you find a bug, please report it on the projects issue tracker on GitHub:

<https://github.com/Perl5-Alien/Alien-Base/issues>

Development is discussed on the projects google groups. This is also a reasonable place to post a question if you don't want to open an issue in GitHub.

<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/perl5-alien>

If you have implemented a new feature or fixed a bug, please open a pull request.

<https://github.com/Perl5-Alien/Alien-Base/pulls>

THANKS

Special thanks for the early development of "Alien::Base" go to:

Christian Walde (Mithaldu): For productive conversations about component interoperability.
kmx: For writing Alien::Tidyp from which I drew many of my initial ideas.
David Mertens (run4flat): For productive conversations about implementation.
Mark Nunberg (mordy, mnunberg): For graciously teaching me about rpath and dynamic loading,

AUTHOR

Author: Graham Ollis <plicease@cpan.org>

Contributors:

Diab Jerius (DJERIUS)

Roy Storey

Ilya Pavlov

David Mertens (run4flat)

Mark Nunberg (mordy, mnunberg)

Christian Walde (Mithaldu)

Brian Wightman (MidLifeXis)

Zaki Mughal (zmughal)

mohawk (mohawk2, ETJ)

Vikas N Kumar (vikasnkumar)

Flavio Poletti (polettix)

Salvador Fandiño (salva)

Gianni Ceccarelli (dakkar)

Pavel Shaydo (zwon, trinitum)

Kang-min Liu (劉康民, gugod)

Nicholas Shipp (nshp)

Juan Julián Merelo Guervós (JJ)

Joel Berger (JBERGER)

Petr Pisar (ppisar)

Lance Wicks (LANCEW)

Ahmad Fatoum (a3f, ATHREEF)

José Joaquín Atria (JJATRIA)

Duke Leto (LETO)

Shoichi Kaji (SKAJI)

Shawn Laffan (SLAFFAN)

Paul Evans (leonerd, PEVANS)

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.