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ExtUtils::ModuleMaker vs h2xs

ExtUtils::ModuleMaker is a replacement for h2xs. So what's wrong with h2xs anyway and how does ExtUtils::ModuleMaker perform any better?

h2xs -AXn Foo::Bar

My annoyances with h2xs (these are purely personal):

by default: it produces code that isn't backwards compatible [see note] (our instead of use vars, use warnings, and use 5.00?)
you have extra work if you have more than one module in the distribution
you have lots of editing to do before you get started, (unless your name is A. U. Thor)
module code and tests are all dumped into the main directory

On reflection, these seem quite petty -- but I am very lazy.

perl -MExtUtils::ModuleMaker -e "Quick_Module ('Foo::Bar')"

This is more to type, and produces similar results to h2xs. However there are the following improvements:

module files are neatly stored in a "lib" folder
test file is created in "t" subfolder
LICENSE file is included - defaults to perl license (GPL & Artistic)
lib/Foo/Bar.pm is backwards compatible with perl 5.005
useful pod sample for documenting subroutines

Advanced use of ExtUtils::ModuleMaker

The QuickModule() function still leaves A.U. Thor as the author of your work and other defaults and leaves you with only one module in your distribution. Use Generate_Module_Files() for a more complete solution...

Generate_Module_Files()

Specify author details, (fills in the pod, Makefile.PL, etc)
Specify version number to start on
Specify the license that your module is released under (over 20 licenses included - or use custom)
Create module and test files for additional modules

Here is my code using ExtUtils::ModuleMaker that allows me to be extra lazy:

#!/usr/bin/perl5.6.1 -w
use strict;
use Getopt::Long;
use ExtUtils::ModuleMaker;

my %author = 
(
  NAME => 'Simon Flack',
  EMAIL => 'simonflk@example.com',
  CPANID => 'SIMONFLK',
  WEBSITE => 'http://www.simonflack.com',
);

# Set some defaults
my $license = 'perl';
my $version = '0.1';
my $module_name = '';
my $extra_modules = '';
my @extra_modules = ();

GetOptions
(
  'name=s' => \$module_name, 
  'version:f' => \$version, 
  'license:s' => \$license, 
  'extra:s'=> \$extra_modules
);

Usage() unless $module_name;

######################################################################
+#########
# Now make the module
######################################################################
+#########

push @extra_modules, {NAME => $_, ABSTRACT => $_}
    for split /,/, $extra_modules;

Generate_Module_Files
(
 NAME => $module_name,
 ABSTRACT => $module_name,
 AUTHOR => \%author,
 VERSION => $version,
 LICENSE => $license,
 EXTRA_MODULES => \@extra_modules,
);


sub Usage
{
    my ($prog) = $0 =~ /\/([^\/]+)$/;
print <<HELP;
$prog - Simple Module Maker

Usage: $prog <-name ModuleName> [-version=?] [-extra=?,?] [-license=?]

Eg:    $prog -name My::Module
       $prog -name My::Module -version 0.11
                    -extra My::Utils,My::Extra -license perl

HELP
}
[download]

Now I can write: "newmodule -n Foo::Bar -v 1.0 -l gpl" and I can start coding and writing tests straight away...

Note: If you use this, don't forget to change the author info.

Problems with ExtUtils::ModuleMaker

There aren't many.

ExtUtils::ModuleMaker won't be helpful if you are writing XS modules. You should stick to h2xs for this, probably.
The .pm files it creates encourage inline pod for documenting subroutines. I know a lot of people do this, but I prefer putting my pod at the bottom.
The test files are obscurely named, you'll probably want to rename them.

Reference:

See the following docs for more information about writing modules

ExtUtils::ModuleMaker

perlnewmod

perlmod

perlmodlib

Makefile.PL best practices

Matts

How to make a CPAN Module Distribution

tachyon

Simple Module Tutorial

tachyon

Make.pm

ppm install make

update: h2xs compatibility
crazyinsomniac pointed out that h2xs has a backwards compatibility option "-b" I couldn't find this documented and it didn't work when I tried it (my v5.6.0 h2xs is higher up in the PATH than my 5.6.1 h2xs). It seems that is is a new option since perl5.6.1. I'll leave my original statement in here because it will still apply to some people on older perls. Thanks to crazyinsomniac for pointing out this option.

In reply to ExtUtils::ModuleMaker by simonflk

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