What is ignore.txt

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

I am trying to 'properly' build AI::Embedding and publish the next development version to CPAN. So, as kcott suggested, I have turned on RELEASE_TESTING and I am running the tests using prove. My user tests are now passing but I am stuck on the author tests.

Attempting to prove -vb t/manifest.t I get the following error:

not ok 1# The following files are not named in the MANIFEST file: C:\U
+sers\user\Perl\AI-Embedding\AI-Embedding\ignore.txt, C:\Users\user\Pe
+rl\AI-Embedding\AI-Embedding\t\01-openai.t, C:\Users\user\Perl\AI-Emb
+edding\AI-Embedding\xt\boilerplate.t
[download]

All these files were created by Module::Starter.

What is ignore.txt used for and does it need to be added to the manifest file?

What is a xt directory for? Can I ignore or delete it?

For slightly later, once I've built the module, should I delete the blib directory before make dist?

Also, because I have AI::Embedding v0.1_1 installed, I had to add use lib 'lib'; to the test files to make the tests use the right version of the module. Will this create difficulties if it is left in when the module gets uploaded to CPAN?

Comment on What is ignore.txt Select or Download Code

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Re: What is ignore.txt by hippo (Archbishop) on Jun 08, 2023 at 18:05 UTC
What is a `xt` directory for? Can I ignore or delete it? xt is for eXtra Tests - tests which are not run as a matter of course can go in here. You may well not have any so you can happily either ignore or delete. It's easy to re-create if you decide you want it later on. For slightly later, once I've built the module, should I delete the `blib` directory before `make dist`? `make clean` should take care of that for you - no need to do it by hand. I had to add `use lib 'lib';` to the test files to make the tests use the right version of the module. How are you running the tests? `make test` should use this lib path (actually `blib/lib`) by default. `prove` has a `-l` option which takes care of that for you also. PS. to answer the question in the title, ignore.txt is a generic version control ignore list. This is detailed in the POD for Module::Starter. 🦛	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: What is ignore.txt by Bod (Parson) on Jun 08, 2023 at 18:32 UTC
Thanks you hippo - that's got me much further :) `ignore.txt` is a generic version control ignore list. This is detailed in the POD for Module::Starter Well...it only seems to say it creates it by default. That doesn't help with the error I'm getting `# The following files are not named in the MANIFEST file: C:\Users\use +r\Perl\AI-Embedding\AI-Embedding\ignore.txt` [download] As I'm not using any kind of version control (I don't think I am), should I get rid of the file or do I need to add it to the manifest file?	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: What is ignore.txt by GrandFather (Saint) on Jun 08, 2023 at 21:28 UTC
I strongly second hippo's recommendation that you version control your code. It seems a bit over the top for a lone shark developer to do that, but if you commit frequently it can save you from brain farts, cats, dogs and small children interacting with your keyboard in unfortunate ways, acts of nature, hard drive failures, ... Really, spin up a git repo somewhere in the cloud and git committing. Not tomorrow, or the day after -today is the day to do it! (Says he who has been bitten more than once!) Optimising for fewest key strokes only makes sense transmitting to Pluto or beyond	[reply]
Re^4: What is ignore.txt by cavac (Prior) on Jun 13, 2023 at 08:23 UTC
Re^4: What is ignore.txt by Bod (Parson) on Jun 13, 2023 at 21:25 UTC
Re^5: What is ignore.txt by GrandFather (Saint) on Jun 14, 2023 at 08:45 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^3: What is ignore.txt by Corion (Patriarch) on Jun 08, 2023 at 19:07 UTC
You can also add the file to `MANIFEST.SKIP`, which is the ignore list. Every file or directory in your development directory should be either in `MANIFEST` (and be shipped) or in `MANIFEST.SKIP`.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: What is ignore.txt by hippo (Archbishop) on Jun 08, 2023 at 21:00 UTC
If you are not using it, just get rid of it. I would never ship any file relating to version control in the dist so would not add it to the MANIFEST. The only files needed in the dist are those which a user requires in order to build, test and install the dist. That said, it will be worth your while to look into using version control sooner or later. You've started using git for other tasks so maybe you could think about putting this code into a git repo also? 🦛	[reply]
Re: What is ignore.txt by kcott (Archbishop) on Jun 08, 2023 at 21:27 UTC
G'day Bod, Scrolling through the answers you've received so far, it looks like all of your questions have been covered. Here's some additional documentation: ExtUtils::Manifest has MANIFEST and MANIFEST.SKIP sections. ExtUtils::MakeMaker::FAQ has these questions: What's this META.yml thing and how did it get in my MANIFEST?! How do I delete everything not in my MANIFEST? — Ken	[reply]
Re: What is ignore.txt by Discipulus (Canon) on Jun 09, 2023 at 10:01 UTC
Hello Bod, from my step-by-step-tutorial-on-perl-module-creation-with-tests-and-git > Let's examine the remaining two files. What is ignore.txt? It was created as default ignore list by module-starter and it contains many lines of regexes. If we want module-starter to create MANIFEST.SKIP instead, next time we'll use it specify --ignores='manifest' For the moment we can delete it. Also What are the files in a CPAN distribution? L* There are no rules, there are no thumbs.. Reinvent the wheel, then learn The Wheel; may be one day you reinvent one of THE WHEELS.	[reply] [d/l]