Module::Runtime(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation Module::Runtime(3)NAMEModule::Runtime - runtime module handling
SYNOPSIS
use Module::Runtime qw(
$module_name_rx is_module_name check_module_name
module_notional_filename require_module
);
if($module_name =~ /\A$module_name_rx\z/o) { ...
if(is_module_name($module_name)) { ...
check_module_name($module_name);
$notional_filename = module_notional_filename($module_name);
require_module($module_name);
use Module::Runtime qw(use_module use_package_optimistically);
$bi = use_module("Math::BigInt", 1.31)->new("1_234");
$widget = use_package_optimistically("Local::Widget")->new;
use Module::Runtime qw(
$top_module_spec_rx $sub_module_spec_rx
is_module_spec check_module_spec
compose_module_name
);
if($spec =~ /\A$top_module_spec_rx\z/o) { ...
if($spec =~ /\A$sub_module_spec_rx\z/o) { ...
if(is_module_spec("Standard::Prefix", $spec)) { ...
check_module_spec("Standard::Prefix", $spec);
$module_name =
compose_module_name("Standard::Prefix", $spec);
DESCRIPTION
The functions exported by this module deal with runtime handling of
Perl modules, which are normally handled at compile time. This module
avoids using any other modules, so that it can be used in low-level
infrastructure.
The parts of this module that work with module names apply the same
syntax that is used for barewords in Perl source. In principle this
syntax can vary between versions of Perl, and this module applies the
syntax of the Perl on which it is running. In practice the usable
syntax hasn't changed yet, but there's a good chance of it changing in
Perl 5.18.
The functions of this module whose purpose is to load modules include
workarounds for three old Perl core bugs regarding "require". These
workarounds are applied on any Perl version where the bugs exist,
except for a case where one of the bugs cannot be adequately worked
around in pure Perl.
Module name syntax
The usable module name syntax has not changed from Perl 5.000 up to
Perl 5.15.7. The syntax is composed entirely of ASCII characters.
From Perl 5.6 onwards there has been some attempt to allow the use of
non-ASCII Unicode characters in Perl source, but it was fundamentally
broken (like the entirety of Perl 5.6's Unicode handling) and remained
pretty much entirely unusable until it got some attention in the Perl
5.15 series. Although Unicode is now consistently accepted by the
parser in some places, it remains broken for module names.
Furthermore, there has not yet been any work on how to map Unicode
module names into filenames, so in that respect also Unicode module
names are unusable. This may finally be addressed in the Perl 5.17
series.
The module name syntax is, precisely: the string must consist of one or
more segments separated by "::"; each segment must consist of one or
more identifier characters (ASCII alphanumerics plus "_"); the first
character of the string must not be a digit. Thus ""IO::File"",
""warnings"", and ""foo::123::x_0"" are all valid module names, whereas
""IO::"" and ""1foo::bar"" are not. "'" separators are not permitted
by this module, though they remain usable in Perl source, being
translated to "::" in the parser.
Core bugs worked around
The first bug worked around is core bug [perl #68590], which causes
lexical state in one file to leak into another that is
"require"d/"use"d from it. This bug is present from Perl 5.6 up to
Perl 5.10, and is fixed in Perl 5.11.0. From Perl 5.9.4 up to Perl
5.10.0 no satisfactory workaround is possible in pure Perl. The
workaround means that modules loaded via this module don't suffer this
pollution of their lexical state. Modules loaded in other ways, or via
this module on the Perl versions where the pure Perl workaround is
impossible, remain vulnerable. The module Lexical::SealRequireHints
provides a complete workaround for this bug.
The second bug worked around causes some kinds of failure in module
loading, principally compilation errors in the loaded module, to be
recorded in %INC as if they were successful, so later attempts to load
the same module immediately indicate success. This bug is present up
to Perl 5.8.9, and is fixed in Perl 5.9.0. The workaround means that a
compilation error in a module loaded via this module won't be cached as
a success. Modules loaded in other ways remain liable to produce bogus
%INC entries, and if a bogus entry exists then it will mislead this
module if it is used to re-attempt loading.
The third bug worked around causes the wrong context to be seen at file
scope of a loaded module, if "require" is invoked in a location that
inherits context from a higher scope. This bug is present up to Perl
5.11.2, and is fixed in Perl 5.11.3. The workaround means that a
module loaded via this module will always see the correct context.
Modules loaded in other ways remain vulnerable.
REGULAR EXPRESSIONS
These regular expressions do not include any anchors, so to check
whether an entire string matches a syntax item you must supply the
anchors yourself.
$module_name_rx
Matches a valid Perl module name in bareword syntax.
$top_module_spec_rx
Matches a module specification for use with "compose_module_name",
where no prefix is being used.
$sub_module_spec_rx
Matches a module specification for use with "compose_module_name",
where a prefix is being used.
FUNCTIONS
Basic module handling
is_module_name(ARG)
Returns a truth value indicating whether ARG is a plain string
satisfying Perl module name syntax as described for
"$module_name_rx".
is_valid_module_name(ARG)
Deprecated alias for "is_module_name".
check_module_name(ARG)
Check whether ARG is a plain string satisfying Perl module name
syntax as described for "$module_name_rx". Return normally if it
is, or "die" if it is not.
module_notional_filename(NAME)
Generates a notional relative filename for a module, which is used
in some Perl core interfaces. The NAME is a string, which should
be a valid module name (one or more "::"-separated segments). If
it is not a valid name, the function "die"s.
The notional filename for the named module is generated and
returned. This filename is always in Unix style, with "/"
directory separators and a ".pm" suffix. This kind of filename can
be used as an argument to "require", and is the key that appears in
%INC to identify a module, regardless of actual local filename
syntax.
require_module(NAME)
This is essentially the bareword form of "require", in runtime
form. The NAME is a string, which should be a valid module name
(one or more "::"-separated segments). If it is not a valid name,
the function "die"s.
The module specified by NAME is loaded, if it hasn't been already,
in the manner of the bareword form of "require". That means that a
search through @INC is performed, and a byte-compiled form of the
module will be used if available.
The return value is as for "require". That is, it is the value
returned by the module itself if the module is loaded anew, or 1 if
the module was already loaded.
Structured module use
use_module(NAME[, VERSION])
This is essentially "use" in runtime form, but without the
importing feature (which is fundamentally a compile-time thing).
The NAME is handled just like in "require_module" above: it must be
a module name, and the named module is loaded as if by the bareword
form of "require".
If a VERSION is specified, the "VERSION" method of the loaded
module is called with the specified VERSION as an argument. This
normally serves to ensure that the version loaded is at least the
version required. This is the same functionality provided by the
VERSION parameter of "use".
On success, the name of the module is returned. This is unlike
"require_module", and is done so that the entire call to
"use_module" can be used as a class name to call a constructor, as
in the example in the synopsis.
use_package_optimistically(NAME[, VERSION])
This is an analogue of "use_module" for the situation where there
is uncertainty as to whether a package/class is defined in its own
module or by some other means. It attempts to arrange for the
named package to be available, either by loading a module or by
doing nothing and hoping.
An attempt is made to load the named module (as if by the bareword
form of "require"). If the module cannot be found then it is
assumed that the package was actually already loaded by other
means, and no error is signalled. That's the optimistic bit.
This is mostly the same operation that is performed by the base
pragma to ensure that the specified base classes are available.
The behaviour of base was simplified in version 2.18, and this
function changed to match.
If a VERSION is specified, the "VERSION" method of the loaded
package is called with the specified VERSION as an argument. This
normally serves to ensure that the version loaded is at least the
version required. On success, the name of the package is returned.
These aspects of the function work just like "use_module".
Module name composition
is_module_spec(PREFIX, SPEC)
Returns a truth value indicating whether SPEC is valid input for
"compose_module_name". See below for what that entails. Whether a
PREFIX is supplied affects the validity of SPEC, but the exact
value of the prefix is unimportant, so this function treats PREFIX
as a truth value.
is_valid_module_spec(PREFIX, SPEC)
Deprecated alias for "is_module_spec".
check_module_spec(PREFIX, SPEC)
Check whether SPEC is valid input for "compose_module_name".
Return normally if it is, or "die" if it is not.
compose_module_name(PREFIX, SPEC)
This function is intended to make it more convenient for a user to
specify a Perl module name at runtime. Users have greater need for
abbreviations and context-sensitivity than programmers, and Perl
module names get a little unwieldy. SPEC is what the user
specifies, and this function translates it into a module name in
standard form, which it returns.
SPEC has syntax approximately that of a standard module name: it
should consist of one or more name segments, each of which consists
of one or more identifier characters. However, "/" is permitted as
a separator, in addition to the standard "::". The two separators
are entirely interchangeable.
Additionally, if PREFIX is not "undef" then it must be a module
name in standard form, and it is prefixed to the user-specified
name. The user can inhibit the prefix addition by starting SPEC
with a separator (either "/" or "::").
SEE ALSO
Lexical::SealRequireHints, base, "require" in perlfunc, "use" in
perlfunc
AUTHOR
Andrew Main (Zefram) <zefram@fysh.org>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Andrew Main
(Zefram) <zefram@fysh.org>
LICENSE
This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
perl v5.18.1 2013-10-18 Module::Runtime(3)
