NAME

       CPAN::Meta::Converter - Convert CPAN distribution metadata structures

VERSION

       version 2.150010

SYNOPSIS

         my $struct = decode_json_file('META.json');

         my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct );

         my $new_struct = $cmc->convert( version => "2" );

DESCRIPTION

       This module converts CPAN Meta structures from one form to another.  The primary use is to convert older
       structures to the most modern version of the specification, but other transformations may be implemented
       in the future as needed.  (E.g. stripping all custom fields or stripping all optional fields.)

METHODS

   new
         my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct );

       The constructor should be passed a valid metadata structure but invalid structures are accepted.  If no
       meta-spec version is provided, version 1.0 will be assumed.

       Optionally, you can provide a "default_version" argument after $struct:

         my $cmc = CPAN::Meta::Converter->new( $struct, default_version => "1.4" );

       This is only needed when converting a metadata fragment that does not include a "meta-spec" field.

   convert
         my $new_struct = $cmc->convert( version => "2" );

       Returns a new hash reference with the metadata converted to a different form.  "convert" will die if any
       conversion/standardization still results in an invalid structure.

       Valid parameters include:

       •   "version"  --  Indicates  the  desired  specification  version  (e.g.  "1.0",  "1.1" ... "1.4", "2").
           Defaults to the latest version of the CPAN Meta Spec.

       Conversion proceeds through each version in  turn.   For  example,  a  version  1.2  structure  might  be
       converted  to  1.3 then 1.4 then finally to version 2. The conversion process attempts to clean-up simple
       errors and standardize data.  For example, if "author" is given as a scalar,  it  will  converted  to  an
       array  reference  containing  the item. (Converting a structure to its own version will also clean-up and
       standardize.)

       When data are cleaned and standardized, missing or invalid fields will be replaced with sensible defaults
       when possible.  This may be lossy or imprecise.  For example, some badly  structured  META.yml  files  on
       CPAN have prerequisite modules listed as both keys and values:

         requires => { 'Foo::Bar' => 'Bam::Baz' }

       These would be split and each converted to a prerequisite with a minimum version of zero.

       When  some  mandatory  fields  are  missing or invalid, the conversion will attempt to provide a sensible
       default or will fill them with a value of 'unknown'.  For example a  missing  or  unrecognized  "license"
       field will result in a "license" field of 'unknown'.  Fields that may get an 'unknown' include:

       •   abstract

       •   author

       •   license

   upgrade_fragment
         my $new_struct = $cmc->upgrade_fragment;

       Returns a new hash reference with the metadata converted to the latest version of the CPAN Meta Spec.  No
       validation  is  done  on the result -- you must validate after merging fragments into a complete metadata
       document.

       Available since version 2.141170.

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>

       •   Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       This software is copyright (c) 2010 by David Golden, Ricardo Signes, Adam Kennedy and Contributors.

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

perl v5.38.2                                       2025-04-08                       CPAN::Meta::Converter(3perl)