config_data(1)

NAME

       config_data - Query or change configuration of Perl modules

SYNOPSIS

         # Get config/feature values
         config_data --module Foo::Bar --feature bazzable
         config_data --module Foo::Bar --config magic_number

         # Set config/feature values
         config_data --module Foo::Bar --set_feature bazzable=1
         config_data --module Foo::Bar --set_config magic_number=42

         # Print a usage message
         config_data --help

DESCRIPTION

       The "config_data" tool provides a command-line interface to the config-
       uration of Perl modules.  By "configuration", we mean something akin to
       "user preferences" or "local settings".  This is a formalization and
       abstraction of the systems that people like Andreas Koenig ("CPAN::Con-
       fig"), Jon Swartz ("HTML::Mason::Config"), Andy Wardley ("Tem-
       plate::Config"), and Larry Wall (perl's own Config.pm) have developed
       independently.

       The configuration system emplyed here was developed in the context of
       "Module::Build".  Under this system, configuration information for a
       module "Foo", for example, is stored in a module called "Foo::Config-
       Data") (I would have called it "Foo::Config", but that was taken by all
       those other systems mentioned in the previous paragraph...).  These
       "...::ConfigData" modules contain the configuration data, as well as
       publically accessible methods for querying and setting (yes, actually
       re-writing) the configuration data.  The "config_data" script (whose
       docs you are currently reading) is merely a front-end for those meth-
       ods.  If you wish, you may create alternate front-ends.

       The two types of data that may be stored are called "config" values and
       "feature" values.  A "config" value may be any perl scalar, including
       references to complex data structures.  It must, however, be serializ-
       able using "Data::Dumper".  A "feature" is a boolean (1 or 0) value.

USAGE

       This script functions as a basic getter/setter wrapper around the con-
       figuration of a single module.  On the command line, specify which mod-
       ule's configuration you're interested in, and pass options to get or
       set "config" or "feature" values.  The following options are supported:

       module
           Specifies the name of the module to configure (required).

       feature
           When passed the name of a "feature", shows its value.  The value
           will be 1 if the feature is enabled, 0 if the feature is not
           enabled, or empty if the feature is unknown.  When no feature name
           is supplied, the names and values of all known features will be
           shown.

       config
           When passed the name of a "config" entry, shows its value.  The
           value will be displayed using "Data::Dumper" (or similar) as perl
           code.  When no config name is supplied, the names and values of all
           known config entries will be shown.

       set_feature
           Sets the given "feature" to the given boolean value.  Specify the
           value as either 1 or 0.

       set_config
           Sets the given "config" entry to the given value.

       eval
           If the "--eval" option is used, the values in "set_config" will be
           evaluated as perl code before being stored.  This allows moderately
           complicated data structures to be stored.  For really complicated
           structures, you probably shouldn't use this command-line interface,
           just use the Perl API instead.

       help
           Prints a help message, including a few examples, and exits.

AUTHOR

       Ken Williams, kwilliams@cpan.org

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 1999, Ken Williams.  All rights reserved.

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

SEE ALSO

       Module::Build(3), perl(1).

perl v5.8.8                       2006-06-22                    CONFIG_DATA(1)