NAME CPAN::Reporter - Provides Test::Reporter support for CPAN.pm VERSION This documentation describes version 0.25. SYNOPSIS From the CPAN shell: cpan> install CPAN::Reporter cpan> reload cpan cpan> o conf init test_report DESCRIPTION CPAN::Reporter is an add-on for the CPAN.pm module that uses Test::Reporter to send the results of module tests to the CPAN Testers project. Support for CPAN::Reporter is available in CPAN.pm as of version 1.88. The goal of the CPAN Testers project ( ) is to test as many CPAN packages as possible on as many platforms as possible. This provides valuable feedback to module authors and potential users to identify bugs or platform compatibility issues and improves the overall quality and value of CPAN. One way individuals can contribute is to send test results for each module that they test or install. Installing CPAN::Reporter gives the option of automatically generating and emailing test reports whenever tests are run via CPAN.pm. GETTING STARTED The first step in using CPAN::Reporter is to install it using whatever version of CPAN.pm is already installed. CPAN.pm will be upgraded as a dependency if necessary. cpan> install CPAN::Reporter If CPAN.pm was upgraded, it needs to be reloaded. cpan> reload cpan If upgrading from a very old version of CPAN.pm, users may be prompted to renew their configuration settings, including the 'test_report' option to enable CPAN::Reporter. If not prompted automatically, users should manually initialize CPAN::Reporter support. After enabling CPAN::Reporter, CPAN.pm will automatically continue with interactive configuration of CPAN::Reporter options. cpan> o conf init test_report Once CPAN::Reporter is enabled and configured, test or install modules with CPAN.pm as usual. UNDERSTANDING TEST GRADES CPAN::Reporter will assign one of the following grades to the report: * "pass" -- all tests were successful * "fail" -- one or more tests failed, one or more test files died during testing or no test output was seen * "na" -- tests could not be run on this platform or one or more test files died because of missing prerequisites * "unknown" -- no test files could be found (either t/*.t or test.pl) or a result could not be determined from test output In returning results to CPAN.pm, "pass" and "unknown" are considered successful attempts to "make test" or "Build test" and will not prevent installation. "fail" and "na" are considered to be failures and CPAN.pm will not install unless forced. CONFIG FILE OPTIONS Default options for CPAN::Reporter are read from a configuration file ".cpanreporter/config.ini" in the user's home directory (Unix), "My Documents" directory (Windows) or "~/Documents" directory (OS X). (See File::HomeDir and the "my_documents" method for config folder location on other operating systems.) The configuration file is in "ini" format, with the option name and value separated by an "=" sign email_from = "John Doe" cc_author = no Options shown below as taking "yes/no/fail/ask" should be set to one of five values; the result of each is as follows: * "yes" -- automatic yes * "no" -- automatic no * "fail" -- yes if the test result was failure/unknown; no otherwise * "ask/no" or just "ask" -- prompt each time, but default to no * "ask/yes" -- prompt each time, but default to yes For prompts, the default will be used if return is pressed immediately at the prompt or if the "PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT" environment variable is set to a true value. Interactive configuration of required and standard options may be repeated at any time from the CPAN shell. Interactive configuration will also includes any additional options that already exist within the configuration file. cpan> o conf init test_report Descriptions for each option follow. Email Address (required) CPAN::Reporter requires users to provide an email address that will be used in the "From" header of the email to cpan-testers@perl.org. * "email_from = " -- email address of the user sending the test report; it should be a valid address format, e.g.: user@domain John Doe "John Q. Public" Because "cpan-testers" uses a mailing list to collect test reports, it is helpful if the email address provided is subscribed to the list. Otherwise, test reports will be held until manually reviewed and approved. Subscribing an account to the cpan-testers list is as easy as sending a blank email to cpan-testers-subscribe@perl.org and replying to the confirmation email. Standard Options These options are included in the standard config file template that is automatically created. * "cc_author = yes/no/fail/ask" -- should module authors should be sent a copy of the test report at their "author@cpan.org" address (default: fail) * "edit_report = yes/no/fail/ask" -- edit the test report before sending (default: ask/no) * "send_report = yes/no/fail/ask" -- should test reports be sent at all (default: ask/yes) * "smtp_server = " -- one or more alternate outbound mail servers if the default perl.org mail servers cannot be reached (e.g. users behind a firewall); multiple servers may be given, separated with a space (default: none) Note that if "send_report" is set to "no", CPAN::Reporter will still go through the motions of preparing a report, but will discard it rather than send it. This is used for testing CPAN::Reporter. A better way to disable CPAN::Reporter temporarily is with the CPAN option "test_report": cpan> o conf test_report 0 Additional Options These additional options are only necessary in special cases, such as for testing, debugging or if a default editor cannot be found. * "email_to = " -- alternate destination for reports instead of "cpan-testers@perl.org"; used for testing (default: none) * "editor = " -- editor to use to edit the test report; if not set, Test::Reporter will use environment variables "VISUAL", "EDITOR" or "EDIT" (in that order) to find an editor (default: none) * "debug = " -- turns debugging on/off (default: off) FUNCTIONS CPAN::Reporter provides only two public function for use within CPAN.pm. They are not imported during "use". Ordinary users will never need them. "configure()" CPAN::Reporter::configure(); Prompts the user to edit configuration settings stored in the CPAN::Reporter "config.ini" file. It will create the configuration file if it does not exist. It is automatically called by CPAN.pm when initializing the 'test_report' option, e.g.: cpan> o conf init test_report "test()" CPAN::Reporter::test( $cpan_dist, $system_command ); Given a CPAN::Distribution object and a system command to run distribution tests (e.g. "make test"), "test()" executes the command via "system()" while teeing the output to a file. Based on the output captured in the file, "test()" generates and sends a Test::Reporter report. It returns true if the test grade is "pass" or "unknown" and returns false, otherwise. BUGS Please report any bugs or feature using the CPAN Request Tracker. Bugs can be submitted by email to bug-CPAN-Reporter@rt.cpan.org or through the web interface at When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature. AUTHOR David A. Golden (DAGOLDEN) dagolden@cpan.org http://www.dagolden.org/ COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright (c) 2006 by David A. Golden This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. 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