NAME
   Module::Extract - Base class for working with Perl distributions

SYNOPSIS
   Creating a Module::Extract subclass.

     package My::Readme;

     # Shows the README file for a module

     use strict;
     use base 'Module::Extract';

     sub show {
         my $self   = shift;
         my $readme = $self->file_path('README');
         if ( -f $readme ) {
             system( "cat $readme" );
         } else {
             print "Dist does not have a README file";
         }
     }

     1;

   A script that uses the module to show the readme file for a distribution
   filename provided by the user.

     #!/usr/bin/perl

     use My::Readme;

     My::Readme->new( dist_file => $ARGV[0] )->show;

     exit(0);

DESCRIPTION
   Module::Extract is a convenience base class for creating module that
   work with Perl distributions.

   Its purpose is to take care of the mechanisms of locating and extracting
   a Perl distribution so that your module can do something specific to the
   distribution.

   This module was originally created to provide an abstraction for the
   extraction logic for both Module::Inspector and Module::P4P and to allow
   additional features to be added in the future without having to modify
   both of them, because the general problem of "locate, download, and
   expand a distribution" is one that is almost ideal for adding additional
   features down the line.

 new
     my $from_file = My::Class->new(
         dist_file => 'tarball.tar.gz',
         );

     my $from_dir = My::Class->new(
         dist_dir  => 'some/dir',
         );

   The "new" constructor takes a "dist_file" and/or a "dist_dir" param,
   locates and (if needed) expands the distribution tarball.

   It takes either a "dist_file" param, which should be the local path to
   the tarball, or a "dist_dir" which should be the path to a directory
   which contains an already-expanded distribution (such as from a
   repository checkout).

   Return a new Module::Extract-subclass object, or dies on error.

 dist_file
   The "dist_file" accessor returns the (absolute) path to the distribution
   tarball. If the inspector was created with "dist_dir" rather than
   "dist_file", this will return "undef".

 dist_type
   The "dist_type" method returns the archive type of the distribution
   tarball. This will be either 'tar.gz', 'tgz', or 'zip'. Other file types
   are not supported at this time.

   If the inspector was created with "dist_dir" rather than "dist_file",
   this will return "undef".

 dist_dir
   The "dist_dir" method returns the (absolute) distribution root
   directory.

   If the inspector was created with "dist_file" rather than "dist_file",
   this method will return the temporary directory created to hold the
   unwrapped tarball.

 file_path
     my $local_path = $inspector->file_path('lib/Foo.pm');

   To simplify implementations, most tools that work with distributions
   identify files in unix-style relative paths.

   The "file_path" method takes a unix-style relative path and returns a
   localised absolute path to the file on disk (either in the actual
   distribution directory, or the temp directory holding the expanded
   tarball.

 dir_path
     my $local_path = $inspector->file_path('lib');

   The "dir_path" method is the matching pair of the "file_path" method.

   As for that method, it takes a unix-style relative directory name, and
   returns a localised absolute path to the directory.

SUPPORT
   This module is stored in an Open Repository at the following address.

   <http://svn.phase-n.com/svn/cpan/trunk/Module-Extract>

   Write access to the repository is made available automatically to any
   published CPAN author, and to most other volunteers on request.

   If you are able to submit your bug report in the form of new (failing)
   unit tests, or can apply your fix directly instead of submitting a
   patch, you are strongly encouraged to do so as the author currently
   maintains over 100 modules and it can take some time to deal with
   non-Critcal bug reports or patches.

   This will guarentee that your issue will be addressed in the next
   release of the module.

   If you cannot provide a direct test or fix, or don't have time to do so,
   then regular bug reports are still accepted and appreciated via the CPAN
   bug tracker.

   <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Module-Extract>

   For other issues, for commercial enhancement or support, or to have your
   write access enabled for the repository, contact the author at the email
   address above.

AUTHORS
   Adam Kennedy <[email protected]>

SEE ALSO
   Module::Inspector, Module::P4P

COPYRIGHT
   Copyright 2006 Adam Kennedy.

   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.