- NAME
- VERSION
- DESCRIPTION
- METHODS
  - new
  - requirements_for
  - with_merged_prereqs
  - merged_requirements
  - as_string_hash
  - is_finalized
  - finalize
  - clone
- BUGS
- AUTHORS
- COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

# NAME

CPAN::Meta::Prereqs - a set of distribution prerequisites by phase and type

# VERSION

version 2.150005

# DESCRIPTION

A CPAN::Meta::Prereqs object represents the prerequisites for a CPAN distribution or one of its optional features. Each set of prereqs is organized by phase and type, as described in CPAN::Meta::Prereqs.

# METHODS

## new

      my $prereq = CPAN::Meta::Prereqs->new( \%prereq_spec );

This method returns a new set of Prereqs. The input should look like the contents of the `prereqs` field described in CPAN::Meta::Spec, meaning something more or less like this:

      my $prereq = CPAN::Meta::Prereqs->new({
        runtime => {
          requires => {
            'Some::Module' => '1.234',
            ...,
          },
          ...,
        },
        ...,
      });

You can also construct an empty set of prereqs with:

      my $prereqs = CPAN::Meta::Prereqs->new;

This empty set of prereqs is useful for accumulating new prereqs before finally dumping the whole set into a structure or string.

## requirements_for

      my $requirements = $prereqs->requirements_for( $phase, $type );

This method returns a CPAN::Meta::Requirements object for the given phase/type combination. If no prerequisites are registered for that combination, a new CPAN::Meta::Requirements object will be returned, and it may be added to as needed.

If `$phase` or `$type` are undefined or otherwise invalid, an exception will be raised.

## with_merged_prereqs

      my $new_prereqs = $prereqs->with_merged_prereqs( $other_prereqs );

      my $new_prereqs = $prereqs->with_merged_prereqs( \@other_prereqs );

This method returns a new CPAN::Meta::Prereqs objects in which all the other prerequisites given are merged into the current set. This is primarily provided for combining a distribution's core prereqs with the prereqs of one of its optional features.

The new prereqs object has no ties to the originals, and altering it further will not alter them.

## merged_requirements

        my $new_reqs = $prereqs->merged_requirements( \@phases, \@types );
        my $new_reqs = $prereqs->merged_requirements( \@phases );
        my $new_reqs = $prereqs->merged_requirements();

This method joins together all requirements across a number of phases and types into a new CPAN::Meta::Requirements object. If arguments are omitted, it defaults to "runtime", "build" and "test" for phases and "requires" and "recommends" for types.

## as_string_hash

This method returns a hashref containing structures suitable for dumping into a distmeta data structure. It is made up of hashes and strings, only; there will be no Prereqs, CPAN::Meta::Requirements, or `version` objects inside it.

## is_finalized

This method returns true if the set of prereqs has been marked "finalized," and cannot be altered.

## finalize

Calling `finalize` on a Prereqs object will close it for further modification. Attempting to make any changes that would actually alter the prereqs will result in an exception being thrown.

## clone

      my $cloned_prereqs = $prereqs->clone;

This method returns a Prereqs object that is identical to the original object, but can be altered without affecting the original object. Finalization does not survive cloning, meaning that you may clone a finalized set of prereqs and then modify the clone.

# BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature using the CPAN Request Tracker. Bugs can be submitted through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=CPAN-Meta

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.

# AUTHORS

- David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>

- Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>

# COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is copyright (c) 2010 by David Golden and Ricardo Signes.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.