Are there any good (and preferably free) code coverage tools out there for Perl?
Please don't link to a specific version of a module. Try http://search.cpan.org/perldoc?Devel::Cover instead.
cjm
2008-10-23 15:21:06
Better still, use http://search.cpan.org/dist/Devel-Cover/
Andy Lester
2008-10-23 15:31:01
Excellent suggestion! Fixed.
Sherm Pendley
2008-10-23 16:40:14
I still think the perldoc link is better in this case, since it shows you the documentation. But the place to debate the merits of these link methods is http://stackoverflow.com/questions/43758/how-to-link-to-cpan-modules-in-answers
cjm
2008-10-23 19:44:58
In this particular case, I think linking to the distribution is more appropriate, because there are a huge number of modules within it, as well as a tutorial.
Sherm Pendley
2008-10-23 20:45:18
+15
A:
Yes, Devel::Cover is the way to go.
If you develop a module, and use Module::Build to manage the installation, you even have a testcover target:
perl Build.PL
./Build testcover
That runs the whole test suite, and makes a combined coverage report in nice HTML, where you can browser through your modules and watch their coverage.
moritz
2008-10-23 15:20:51
+9
A:
As noted, Devel::Cover is your friend, but you'll want to google for it, too. It's documentation is a bit sparse and if you change your environment radically, you'll need to reinstall it because it builds Devel::Cover::Inc with a bunch of information pulled from your environment at the time you install it. This has caused plenty of problems for us at work as we have a shared CPAN environment and if one developer installs Devel::Cover and a different developer tries to run it, strange (and incorrect) results are common.
If you use this module, also check out Devel::CoverX::Covered. This module will capture much of the information which Devel::Cover throws away. It's very handy.
Ovid
2008-10-24 07:23:52
+5
A:
Moritz discusses how modules built with Module::Build can use Devel::Cover easily.
For modules using ExtUtils::MakeMaker, an extension module exists to invoke the same functionality. Adding the following code before the call to WriteMakefile():
eval "use ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Coverage";
if( !$@ ) {
print "Adding testcover target\n";
}
... will allow one to run the command 'make testcover' and have Devel::Cover perform its magic.
dland
2008-10-25 08:59:47