package O; use B qw(minus_c); use Carp; sub import { my ($class, $backend, @options) = @_; eval "use B::$backend ()"; if ($@) { croak "use of backend $backend failed: $@"; } my $compilesub = &{"B::${backend}::compile"}(@options); if (ref($compilesub) eq "CODE") { minus_c; eval 'END { &$compilesub() }'; } else { die $compilesub; } } 1; __END__ =head1 NAME O - Generic interface to Perl Compiler backends =head1 SYNOPSIS perl -MO=Backend[,OPTIONS] foo.pl =head1 DESCRIPTION This is the module that is used as a frontend to the Perl Compiler. =head1 CONVENTIONS Most compiler backends use the following conventions: OPTIONS consists of a comma-separated list of words (no white-space). The C<-v> option usually puts the backend into verbose mode. The C<-ofile> option generates output to B instead of stdout. The C<-D> option followed by various letters turns on various internal debugging flags. See the documentation for the desired backend (named C for the example above) to find out about that backend. =head1 IMPLEMENTATION This section is only necessary for those who want to write a compiler backend module that can be used via this module. The command-line mentioned in the SYNOPSIS section corresponds to the Perl code use O ("Backend", OPTIONS); The C function which that calls loads in the appropriate C module and calls the C function in that package, passing it OPTIONS. That function is expected to return a sub reference which we'll call CALLBACK. Next, the "compile-only" flag is switched on (equivalent to the command-line option C<-c>) and an END block is registered which calls CALLBACK. Thus the main Perl program mentioned on the command-line is read in, parsed and compiled into internal syntax tree form. Since the C<-c> flag is set, the program does not start running (excepting BEGIN blocks of course) but the CALLBACK function registered by the compiler backend is called. In summary, a compiler backend module should be called "B::Foo" for some foo and live in the appropriate directory for that name. It should define a function called C. When the user types perl -MO=Foo,OPTIONS foo.pl that function is called and is passed those OPTIONS (split on commas). It should return a sub ref to the main compilation function. After the user's program is loaded and parsed, that returned sub ref is invoked which can then go ahead and do the compilation, usually by making use of the C module's functionality. =head1 AUTHOR Malcolm Beattie, C =cut