MetaCPAN::Client(3)

NAME
MetaCPAN::Client - A comprehensive, DWIM-featured client to the MetaCPAN API

VERSION
version 2.039000

SYNOPSIS
    # simple usage
    my $mcpan  = MetaCPAN::Client->new();
    my $author = $mcpan->author('XSAWYERX');
    my $dist   = $mcpan->distribution('MetaCPAN-Client');

    # advanced usage with cache (contributed by Kent Fredric)
    use CHI;
    use WWW::Mechanize::Cached;
    use HTTP::Tiny::Mech;
    use MetaCPAN::Client;

    my $mcpan = MetaCPAN::Client->new(
      ua => HTTP::Tiny::Mech->new(
        mechua => WWW::Mechanize::Cached->new(
          cache => CHI->new(
            driver   => 'File',
            root_dir => '/tmp/metacpan-cache',
          ),
        ),
      ),
    );

    # now $mcpan caches results

DESCRIPTION
This is a hopefully-complete API-compliant client to MetaCPAN (<https://metacpan.org>) with DWIM capabilities, to make your life easier.

ATTRIBUTES

  request
Internal attribute representing the request object making the request to MetaCPAN and analyzing the results. You probably don't want to set this, nor should you have any usage of it.

  ua
If provided, MetaCPAN::Client::Request will use the user agent object instead of the default, which is HTTP::Tiny.

Then it can be used to fetch the user agent object used by MetaCPAN::Client::Request.

  domain
If given, will be used to alter the API domain.

  debug
If given, errors will include some low-level detailed message.

METHODS

  author
    my $author = $mcpan->author('XSAWYERX');
    my $author = $mcpan->author($search_spec);

Finds an author by either its PAUSE ID or by a search spec defined by a hash reference. Since it is common to many other searches, it is explained below under "SEARCH SPEC".

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Author object on a simple search (PAUSE ID), or a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object populated with MetaCPAN::Client::Author objects on a complex (search spec based) search.

  cover
    my $cover = $mcpan->cover('Moose-2.2007');

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Cover object.

  cve
    my $cve = $mcpan->cve('CPANSA-DBD-SQLite-2019-5018');

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::CVE object.

  distribution
    my $dist = $mcpan->distribution('MetaCPAN-Client');
    my $dist = $mcpan->distribution($search_spec);

Finds a distribution by either its distribution name or by a search spec defined by a hash reference. Since it is common to many other searches, it is explained below under "SEARCH SPEC".

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Distribution object on a simple search (distribution name), or a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object populated with MetaCPAN::Client::Distribution objects on a complex (search spec based) search.

  file
Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::File object.

  favorite
    my $favorite = $mcpan->favorite({ distribution => 'Moose' });

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object containing MetaCPAN::Client::Favorite results.

  rating
    my $rating = $mcpan->rating({ distribution => 'Moose' });

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object containing MetaCPAN::Client::Rating results.

  release
    my $release = $mcpan->release('MetaCPAN-Client');
    my $release = $mcpan->release($search_spec);

Finds a release by either its distribution name or by a search spec defined by a hash reference. Since it is common to many other searches, it is explained below under "SEARCH SPEC".

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Release object on a simple search (release name), or a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object populated with MetaCPAN::Client::Release objects on a complex (search spec based) search.

  mirror
    my $mirror = $mcpan->mirror('kr.freebsd.org');

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Mirror object.

  module
    my $module = $mcpan->module('MetaCPAN::Client');
    my $module = $mcpan->module($search_spec);

Finds a module by either its module name or by a search spec defined by a hash reference. Since it is common to many other searches, it is explained below under "SEARCH SPEC".

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Module object on a simple search (module name), or a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet object populated with MetaCPAN::Client::Module objects on a complex (search spec based) search.

  package
    my $package = $mcpan->package('MooseX::Types');

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Package object.

  permission
    my $permission = $mcpan->permission('MooseX::Types');

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Permission object.

  reverse_dependencies
    my $deps = $mcpan->reverse_dependencies('Search::Elasticsearch');

all MetaCPAN::Client::Release objects of releases that are directly dependent on a given module, returned as MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet.

  rev_deps
Alias to "reverse_dependencies" described above.

  autocomplete
    my $ac = $mcpan->autocomplete('Danc');

Call the search/autocomplete endpoint with a query string.

Returns an array reference.

  autocomplete_suggest
    my $ac = $mcpan->autocomplete_suggest('Moo');

Call the search/autocomplete/suggest endpoint with a query string.

Returns an array reference.

  recent
    my $recent = $mcpan->recent(10);
    my $recent = $mcpan->recent('today');

return the latest N releases, or all releases from today.

returns a MetaCPAN::Client::ResultSet of MetaCPAN::Client::Release.

  pod
Get POD for given file/module name. returns a MetaCPAN::Client::Pod object, which supports various output formats (html, plain, x_pod & x_markdown).

    my $pod = $mcpan->pod('Moo')->html;
    my $pod = $mcpan->pod('Moo', { url_prefix => $prefix })->html;

  download_url
Retrieve information from the 'download_url' endpoint

    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url($distro, [$version_or_range, $dev]);

    # request the last available version
    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url('Moose');

    # request an older version
    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url('Moose', '1.01');

    # using a range
    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url('Moose', '<=1.01');
    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url('Moose', '>1.01,<=2.00');

Range operators are '== != <= >= < > !'. You can use a comma ',' to add multiple rules.

    # requesting dev release
    my $download_url = $mcpan->download_url('Moose', '>1.01', 1);

Returns a MetaCPAN::Client::DownloadURL object

  all
Retrieve all matches for authors/modules/distributions/favorites or releases.

    my $all_releases = $mcpan->all('releases')

When called with a second parameter containing a hash ref, will support the following keys:

fields

See SEARCH PARAMS.

   my $all_releases = $mcpan->all('releases', { fields => [...] })

_source

See SEARCH PARAMS.

   my $all_releases = $mcpan->all('releases', { _source => [...] })

es_filter

Pass a raw Elasticsearch filter structure to reduce the number of elements returned by the query.

    my $some_releases = $mcpan->all('releases', { es_filter => {...} })

  BUILDARGS
Internal construction wrapper. Do not use.

SEARCH PARAMS
Most searches take params as an optional hash-ref argument. these params will be passed to the search action.

In non-scrolled searches, 'fields' filter is the only supported parameter ATM.

  fields
Filter the fields to reduce the amount of data pulled from MetaCPAN. can be passed as a csv list or an array ref.

    my $module = $mcpan->module('Moose', { fields => "version,author" });
    my $module = $mcpan->module('Moose', { fields => [qw/version author/] });

  _source
Note: this param and its description are a bit too Elasticsearch specific. just like 'es_filter' - use only if you know what you're dealing with.

Some fields are not indexed in Elasticsearch but stored as part of the entire document.

These fields can still be read, but without the internal Elasticsearch optimizations and the server will internally read the whole document.

Why do we even need those? because we don't index everything and some things we can't to begin with (like non-leaf fields that hold a structure)

    my $module = $mcpan->all('releases', { _source => "stat" });

  scroller_time
Note: please use with caution.

This parameter will set the maximum lifetime of the Elasticsearch scroller on the server (default = '5m'). Normally you do not need to set this value (as tweaking this value can affect resources on the server). In case you do, you probably need to check the efficiency of your code/queries. (Feel free to reach out to us for assistance).

    my $module = $mcpan->all('releases', { scroller_time => '3m' });

  scroller_size
Note: please use with caution.

This parameter will set the buffer size to be pulled from Elasticsearch when scrolling (default = 1000). This will affect query performance and memory usage, but you will still get an iterator back to fetch one object at a time.

    my $module = $mcpan->all('releases', { scroller_size => 500 });

sort

Pass a raw Elasticsearch sort specification for the query.

    my $some_releases = $mcpan->all('releases', { sort => [{ date => { order => 'desc' } }] })

Note: this param and is a bit too specific to Elasticsearch. Just like "es_filter", only use this if you know what you're dealing with.

SEARCH SPEC
The hash-based search spec is common to many searches. It is quite feature-rich and allows you to disambiguate different types of searches.

Basic search specs just contain a hash of keys and values:

    my $author = $mcpan->author( { name => 'Micha Nasriachi' } );

    # the following is the same as ->author('MICKEY')
    my $author = $mcpan->author( { pauseid => 'MICKEY' } );

    # find all people named Dave, not covering Davids
    # will return a resultset
    my $daves = $mcpan->author( { name => 'Dave *' } );

  OR
If you want to do a more complicated query that has an OR condition, such as "this or that", you can use the following syntax with the "either" key:

    # any author named "Dave" or "David"
    my $daves = $mcpan->author( {
        either => [
            { name => 'Dave *'  },
            { name => 'David *' },
        ]
    } );

  AND
If you want to do a more complicated query that has an AND condition, such as "this and that", you can use the following syntax with the "all" key:

    # any users named 'John' with a Gmail account
    my $johns = $mcpan->author( {
        all => [
            { name  => 'John *'     },
            { email => '*gmail.com' },
        ]
    } );

Or, to get either the given version of a release, or the latest:

    my $releases = $mcpan->release( {
        all => [
          { distribution => 'GraphViz2' },
          ($version ? { version => $version } : { status => 'latest' }),
        ],
    } );

If you want to do something even more complicated, You can also nest your queries, e.g.:

    my $gmail_daves_or_cpan_sams = $mcpan->author( {
        either => [
            { all => [ { name => 'Dave *'  },
                       { email => '*gmail.com' } ]
            },
            { all => [ { name => 'Sam *' },
                       { email => '*cpan.org' } ]
            },
        ],
    } );

  NOT
If you want to filter out some of the results of an either/all query adding a NOT filter condition, such as "not these", you can use the following syntax with the "not" key:

    # any author named "Dave" or "David"
    my $daves = $mcpan->author( {
        either => [
            { name => 'Dave *'  },
            { name => 'David *' },
        ],
        not => [
            { email => '*gmail.com' },
        ],
    } );

DESIGN
This module has three purposes:

•   Provide 100% of the MetaCPAN API

    This module will be updated regularly on every MetaCPAN API change, and intends to provide the user with as much of the API as possible, no shortcuts. If it's documented in the API, you should be able to do it.

    Because of this design decision, this module has an official MetaCPAN namespace with the blessing of the MetaCPAN developers.

    Notice this module currently only provides the beta API, not the old soon-to-be-deprecated API.

•   Be lightweight, to allow flexible usage

    While many modules would help make writing easier, it's important to take into account how they affect your compile-time, run-time, overall memory consumption, and CPU usage.

    By providing a slim interface implementation, more users are able to use this module, such as long-running processes (like daemons), CLI or GUI applications, cron jobs, and more.

•   DWIM

    While it's possible to access the methods defined by the API spec, there's still a matter of what you're really trying to achieve. For example, when searching for "Dave", you want to find both Dave Cross and Dave Rolsky (and any other Dave), but you also want to search for a PAUSE ID of DAVE, if one exists.

    This is where DWIM comes in. This module provides you with additional generic methods which will try to do what they think you want.

    Of course, this does not prevent you from manually using the API methods. You still have full control over that, if that's what you wish.

    You can (and should) read up on the general methods, which will explain how their DWIMish nature works, and what searches they run.

AUTHORS

•   Sawyer X <xsawyerx@cpan.org>

•   Mickey Nasriachi <mickey@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2016 by Sawyer X.

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