CONFIG_DATA(1)

okay so bestie, this is CONFIG_DATA(1) from the User Contributed Perl Documentation — yes, the whole manual page, and we're gonna get you comfy with config_data 💖

🎀 NAME 🎀

config_data — Query or change configuration of Perl modules. slay. ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

# Get config/feature values
config_data --module Foo::Bar --feature bazzable
config_data --module Foo::Bar --config magic_number

# Set config/feature values
config_data --module Foo::Bar --set_feature bazzable=1
config_data --module Foo::Bar --set_config magic_number=42

# Print a usage message
config_data --help

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so config_data gives you a command-line interface to the configuration of Perl modules. When we say “configuration,” we mean something like “user preferences” or “local settings.” This tool is a formalization and abstraction of the systems that people like Andreas Koenig (CPAN::Config), Jon Swartz (HTML::Mason::Config), Andy Wardley (Template::Config), and Larry Wall (perl's own Config.pm) developed independently. iconic lineage, honestly. 👑

The configuration system employed here was developed in the context of Module::Build. Under this system, configuration information for a module Foo, for example, is stored in a module called Foo::ConfigData (and yes, I would have called it Foo::Config, but that name was taken by all those other systems mentioned in the previous paragraph...). These ...::ConfigData modules contain the configuration data, as well as publicly accessible methods for querying and setting — yes, actually re-writing — the configuration data. The config_data script, whose docs you are currently reading, is merely a front-end for those methods. If you wish, you may create alternate front-ends. no cap. 💅

The two types of data that may be stored are called “config” values and “feature” values. A “config” value may be any perl scalar, including references to complex data structures. It must, however, be serializable using Data::Dumper. A “feature” is a boolean (1 or 0) value. that's the whole mood. 🦋

✨ USAGE ✨

This script functions as a basic getter/setter wrapper around the configuration of a single module. On the command line, specify which module's configuration you're interested in, and pass options to get or set “config” or “feature” values. The following options are supported:

• module, --module — Specifies the name of the module to configure. It is required. ✨
• feature, --feature — When passed the name of a “feature,” shows its value. The value will be 1 if the feature is enabled, 0 if the feature is not enabled, or empty if the feature is unknown. When no feature name is supplied, the names and values of all known features will be shown. 🎀
• config, --config — When passed the name of a “config” entry, shows its value. The value will be displayed using Data::Dumper (or similar) as perl code. When no config name is supplied, the names and values of all known config entries will be shown. 💖
• set_feature, --set_feature — Sets the given “feature” to the given boolean value. Specify the value as either 1 or 0. 🔥
• set_config, --set_config — Sets the given “config” entry to the given value. 💅
• eval, --eval — If the --eval option is used, the values in set_config will be evaluated as perl code before being stored. This allows moderately complicated data structures to be stored. For really complicated structures, you probably shouldn't use this command-line interface, just use the Perl API instead. 😭 it's giving “know your limits,” fr fr.
• help, --help — Prints a help message, including a few examples, and exits. 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Ken Williams, kwilliams@cpan.org. author icon behavior. 🌟

💜 COPYRIGHT 💜

Copyright (c) 1999, Ken Williams. All rights reserved.

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

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Module::Build(3), perl(1). go read those too, bestie. 🦋

mwah 💋 that's the whole page — it's perl v5.42.0, dated 2023-04-29, and the manual is CONFIG_DATA(1). periodt. 🫶