NAME

    debian.pkgs.cpan.org -- debified CPAN packages


SYNOPSIS

    ### add this line to your /etc/apt/sources.list
    ### note these packages are not signed, see the LICENSE section
    deb http://debian.pkgs.cpan.org/debian unstable main
    ### update your sources & search for debified cpan distributions
    apt-get update
    apt-cache search libtest-harness-perl
    ### to create them yourself
    apt-get install cpan-libcpanplus-perl            
    apt-get install cpan-libcpanplus-dist-build-perl
    apt-get install cpan-libcpanplus-dist-deb-perl


MOTIVATION

This mirror has been created because even the debian unstable repositories usually lag behind the CPAN releases (ie there are newer versions of a package on CPAN than you can find in the debian repositories). On top of that, not all packages on CPAN are available in the standard debian unstable repositories.

This mirror attempts to amend some of these issues.


DESCRIPTION

debian.pkgs.cpan.org is a debian repository containing a selection of CPAN modules, converted on the fly from their native CPAN package format, to a debian package.

You can make use of this feature by adding a line to your sources.list as described in the SYNOPSIS.

Note that all our automatically generated packages are prefixed with cpan-, so you can easily recognize them, and they do not conflict with any of the debian provided packages. Furthermore, all dependencies are listed as libfoo-perl | cpan-libfoo-perl, which makes it possible to mix and match, making you not solely reliant on this mirror to satisfy prerequisites. See the EXAMPLE section below for a detailed description of the debian metadata.


DOING IT YOURSELF

If a CPAN package you are looking for is not provided here, but you'd like to attempt to create your own debian package from it anyway, you can do so installing the following packages from this mirror:

cpan-libcpanplus-perl

The CPANPLUS library, required for fetching and compiling modules

cpan-libcpanplus-dist-build

The Module::Build plugin, to be able to compile modules that use Module::Build as their installer

cpan-libcpanplus-dist-deb

The debian plugin, to create .deb files of every package and installing them using dpkg.

If you wish to create your own .debs you can do so by following the instructions above and installing the relevant packages for it.

After installation, please refer to perldoc CPANPLUS::Dist::Deb for details.

Note: If you wish the creation of .debs to be the default behaviour, change your config as follows, from the default shell:

    CPAN Terminal> s conf dist_type CPANPLUS::Dist::Deb; s save


EXAMPLE

Below is an example of how Test::Simple looks, once it has been debified for this mirror:

    $ dpkg -I cpan-libtest-simple-perl_0.62-1_all.deb 
     new debian package, version 2.0.
     size 73178 bytes: control archive= 959 bytes.
         381 bytes,    11 lines      control              
        1438 bytes,    18 lines      md5sums              
     Package: cpan-libtest-simple-perl
     Version: 0.62-1
     Section: perl
     Priority: optional
     Architecture: all
     Depends: perl (>= 5.6.0-16), perl (>= 5.8.7), libtest-harness-perl (>= 2.56) | cpan-libtest-harness-perl (>= 2.56)
     Provides: libtest-simple-perl
     Installed-Size: 360
     Maintainer: cpanplus@example.com
     Description: Basic utilities for writing tests
      Basic utilities for writing tests


LICENSE

Note that all of the .debs created and put on this mirror, as well as ones created by yourself still adhere to the same license as the original package; By releasing a package to CPAN we assume the license permits automatic repackaging, but we do not guarantee this is the case!

All packages presented here, or created by CPANPLUS::Dist::Deb in general come without warranty or even fitness of use; use at your own risk at your own discretion.

If licenses are of major concern to you DO NOT USE THIS MIRROR but stick to the official debian mirrors instead!


AUTHOR

This text by Jos Boumans <kane[at]cpan.org>.