File::Maker 0.05

File::Maker is a Perl module that mimics a make by loading a database and calling targets methods.

SYNOPSIS

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# Subroutine interface
#
use File::Maker qw(load_db);

%data = load_db($pm);

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# Object interface
#
require File::Maker;

$maker = $maker->load_db($pm);

$maker->make_targets(%targets, @targets, %options );
$maker->make_targets(%targets, %options );

$maker = new File::Maker(@options);

Generally, if a subroutine will process a list of options, @options, that subroutine will also process an array reference, @options, [@options], or hash reference, %options, {@options}. If a subroutine will process an array reference, @options, [@options], that subroutine will also process a hash reference, %options, {@options}. See the description for a subroutine for details and exceptions.

When porting low level C code from one architecture to another, makefiles do provide some level of automation and save some time. However, once Perl or another high-level language is up and running, the high-level language usually allows much more efficient use of programmers time; otherwise, whats point of the high-level language. Thus, makes great economically sense to switch from makefiles to high-level language.

The File::Maker program module provides a "make" style interface as shown in the herein above. The @targets contains a list of targets that mimics the targets of a makefile. The targets are subroutines written in Perl in a separate program module from the File::Maker. The separate target program module inherits the methods in the File::Maker program module as follows:

use File::Maker;
use vars qw( @ISA );
@ISA = qw(File::Maker);

The File::Maker methods will then find the target subroutines in the separate target program module.

The File::Maker provides for the loading of a hash from a program module to provide for the capabilities of defines in a makefile. The option pm = $file> tells File::Maker to load a database from the __DATA__ section of a program module that is in the Tie::Form format. The Tie::Form format is a very flexible lenient format that is about as close to a natural language form and still have the precision of being machine readable.

This provides a more flexible alternative to the defines in a makefile. The define hash is in a separate, very flexible form program module. This arrangement allows one target program module that inherits the File::Maker program module to produce as many different outputs as there are Tie::Form program modules.