NAME
    Class::MakeMethods::ReadMe - About This Module

SYNOPSIS
      # Follow your standard download, test and install sequence
      perl -MCPAN -e 'install Class::MakeMethods'
  
      # Generates methods for your object when you "use" it.
      package MyObject;
      use Class::MakeMethods::Standard::Hash (
        'new'     => [ 'new' ],
        'scalar'  => [ 'foo', 'bar' ]
      );
  
      # The resulting methods can be called exactly as normal ones
      package main;   
      my $obj = MyObject->new( foo => "Foozle", bar => "Bozzle" );
      print $obj->foo();
      $obj->bar("Barbados");

MOTIVATION
      "Make easy things easier."

    This module addresses a problem encountered in object-oriented
    development wherein numerous methods are defined which differ only
    slightly from each other.

    A common example is accessor methods for hash-based object attributes,
    which allow you to get and set the value $self->{'foo'} by calling a
    method $self->foo().

    These methods are generally quite simple, requiring only a couple of
    lines of Perl, but in sufficient bulk, they can cut down on the
    maintainability of large classes.

    Class::MakeMethods allows you to simply declare those methods to be of a
    predefined type, and it generates and installs the necessary methods in
    your package at compile-time.

DESCRIPTION
    The Class::MakeMethods framework allows Perl class developers to quickly
    define common types of methods. When a module "use"s a subclass of
    Class::MakeMethods, it can select from the supported method types, and
    specify a name for each method desired. The methods are dynamically
    generated and installed in the calling package.

    Construction of the individual methods is handled by subclasses. This
    delegation approach allows for a wide variety of method-generation
    techniques to be supported, each by a different subclass. Subclasses can
    also be added to provide support for new types of methods.

    Over a dozen subclasses are available, including implementations of a
    variety of different method-generation techniques. Each subclass
    generates several types of methods, with some supporting their own
    open-eneded extension syntax, for hundreds of possible combinations of
    method types.

RELATED MODULES
    Class::MakeMethods is based on Class::MethodMaker, but has been
    substantially revised in order to provide a range of new features.
    Although earlier versions of this module were posted for review as a
    possible "version 2" of MethodMaker, the maintainer of that module
    subsequently indicated that that he had different goals for future
    development and suggested a fork. (Full backward compatibility is
    provided by an emulator, described below.)

    There are a variety of related modules on CPAN; I've included a quick
    review of several of these in the Class::MakeMethods::RelatedModules
    manpage. In comparison, this module aims to be quite general purpose and
    extensible while retaining acceptable performance characteristics.

  Emulation Adaptors

    In several cases, Class::MakeMethods provides functionality closely
    equivalent to that of an existing module, and it is simple to map the
    existing module's interface to that of Class::MakeMethods.

    Class::MakeMethods::Emulator is available as a separate distribution
    from CPAN. See the Class::MakeMethods::Emulator manpage for more
    information. Emulators are included for Class::MethodMaker,
    Class::Accessor::Fast, Class::Data::Inheritable, Class::Singleton, and
    Class::Struct, each of which passes the original module's test suite,
    usually requiring only a single-line change.

INSTALLATION
    You should be able to install this module using the CPAN shell
    interface:

      perl -MCPAN -e 'install Class::MakeMethods'

    If this module has not yet been posted to your local CPAN mirror, you
    may also retrieve the current distribution from the below address and
    follow the normal "gunzip", "tar xf", "cd", "perl Makefile.PL && make
    test && sudo make install" procedure or your local equivalent:

      http://www.evoscript.org/Class-MakeMethods/

  Getting Started

    If this is your first exposure to Class::MakeMethods, you may want to
    jump to the documentation for a few of the included subclasses, perhaps
    starting with the Class::MakeMethods::Standard::Hash manpage and the
    Class::MakeMethods::Standard::Universal manpage, before returning to the
    details presented below.

  Prerequisites

    In general, this module should work with Perl 5.003 or later, without
    requring any modules beyond the core Perl distribution.

    Certain features may be available only on some platforms, as noted
    below:

    *   Class::MakeMethods::Attribute

        The ":MakeMethod" subroutine attribute requires Perl version 5.6 and
        the Attribute::Handlers module (CPAN).

  Tested Platforms

    This release has been tested succesfully on the following platforms:

      5.6.1 on darwin

    Earlier releases have also tested on the following platforms:

      5.005_02 on Rhapsody
      5.005_03 on sun4-solaris: PASS as of 1.0.13
      v5.6.0 on sun4-solaris: PASS as of 1.0.13
      v5.6.1 on WinNT: PASS as of 1.0.14.a (was TEST FAILURE as of 1.0.13)
      v5.6.? on RedHat 7.1 i386: TEST FAILURE as of 1.0.13
      v5.6.1 on ppc-linux-64all: FAIL as of 1.0.12
      5.004 on MacOS (MacPerl 520r4): PASS as of 1.0.6
      5.005 on WinNT (ActivePerl 618): PASS as of 1.0.6

    You may also review the current test results from CPAN-Testers:

      http://testers.cpan.org/search?request=dist&dist=Class-MakeMethods

VERSION
    This is version 1.004 of Class::MakeMethods.

  Distribution Summary

    This module's summary in the CPAN DSLIP is intended to read:

      Name            DSLIP  Description
      --------------  -----  ---------------------------------------------
      Class::
      ::MakeMethods   bdpOp  Generate common types of methods

  Beta Release

    While numerous additional features have been outlined for future
    development, the intent is support these by adding more options to the
    declaration interface, while maintaining backward compatibility.

  Discussion and Support

    There is not currently any offical discussion and support forum for this
    pacakage.

    If you have questions or feedback about this module, please feel free to
    contact the author at the below address.

    I would be particularly interested in any suggestions towards improving
    the documentation, correcting any Perl-version or platform dependencies,
    as well as general feedback and suggested additions.

SEE ALSO
    For an overview of this package, see the Class::MakeMethods manpage.

    If you're just getting started, see the Class::MakeMethods::Standard
    manpage for a listing of common method generators.

    If you need a bit more flexibility, see the
    Class::MakeMethods::Composite manpage for method generators which offer
    more customization options.

    For the largest collection of methods and options, see the
    Class::MakeMethods::Template manpage, available as a separate
    distribution on CPAN.

    If you have used Class::MethodMaker, you will note numerous
    similarities. Backward compatibility and conversion documentation is
    provded in the Class::MakeMethods::Emulator::MethodMaker manpage,
    available in a separate distribution on CPAN.

CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT
  Developed By

      M. Simon Cavalletto, simonm@cavalletto.org
      Evolution Softworks, www.evoscript.org

  Source Material

    Inspiration, cool tricks, and blocks of useful code for this module were
    extracted from the following CPAN modules:

      Class::MethodMaker, by Peter Seibel.
      Class::Accessor, by Michael G Schwern 
      Class::Contract, by Damian Conway
      Class::SelfMethods, by Toby Everett

  Feedback and Suggestions

    Thanks to:

      Martyn J. Pearce
      Scott R. Godin
      Ron Savage
      Jay Lawrence
      Adam Spiers
      Terrence Brannon

  Copyright

    Copyright 2002 Matthew Simon Cavalletto.

    Portions copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Evolution Online Systems, Inc.

    Portions copyright 1996 Organic Online.

    Portions copyright 2000 Martyn J. Pearce.

  License

    You may use, modify, and distribute this software under the same terms
    as Perl.

