BrowserUk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Is there an easy way to get a full list of CPAN?

I've looked at the Metadata file in my cpan directory, but I do not understand the format? Or whether it is a full listing?


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Re: Full CPAN listing?
by Anonymous Monk on May 22, 2009 at 02:03 UTC
      I think Metadata is a Storable file.

      Indeed it is. And it provides the information I want in a very convenient form, and gets updated by cpan reload index. All of which makes it perfect for my purposes. Many thanks.


      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
Re: Full CPAN listing?
by ig (Vicar) on May 22, 2009 at 02:01 UTC

    Have a look at the 02packages.details.txt.gz and 03modlist.data.gz files in .cpan/sources/modules. I think they contain "complete" lists of packages and modules available for download.

    update: You might find PackageDetails helpful for dealing with the packages file.

    update: The modules list may be registered modules only.

Re: Full CPAN listing?
by salva (Canon) on May 22, 2009 at 08:26 UTC