NAME

Devel::MAT::Tool - extend the ability of Devel::MAT

DESCRIPTION

The Devel::MAT::Tool:: namespace provides a place to store plugins that extend the abilities of Devel::MAT. Such tools can be used to provide extra analysis or display capabilities on the UI. It can interact with the UI by calling methods in the Devel::MAT::UI package.

A tool should be placed in the namespace and provide an object class. It does not need to inherit from anything specific. Tools will be constructed lazily by the UI as requested by the user.

METHODS

The following methods should provided on a tool class.

FOR_UI

  $display = CLASS->FOR_UI

If the tool should be displayed on the UI's Tools menu, this constant method should be provided to return a true value.

CMD

  $cname = CLASS->CMD

If the tool provides a named command for the commandline, this constant method should be provided to return its name.

AUTOLOAD_TOOL

  $load = CLASS->AUTOLOAD_TOOL( $pmat )

If the tool should be automatically loaded for the given file, this method should be provided to return a true value. This might be useful to provide extra analysis if the tool detects it can provide something useful; for example when the tool peeks inside objects of specific classes, and those classes are found in the file.

new

  $tool = CLASS->new( $pmat, %args )

Constructs the instance of the tool. If the tool does not need to store any instance data, this may instead simply return the class name.

This will be passed the Devel::MAT object itself, and additional arguments as named parameters.

progress => CODE

If provided, the tool should call this function occasionally if it has to perform a long-running task, such as a calculation across the entire heap, that may take some time. The function should be passed a status string to indicate progress on the UI; the UI will display it and flush pending input events to ensure the interface remains moderately responsive to user input.

init_ui

  $tool->init_ui( $ui )

Asks the tool to initialise any UI elements it may require, by calling methods on the given $ui. This may be an object, or the package name Devel::MAT::UI directly.

SVs

Tools may, and are encouraged to where appropriate, add methods to the Devel::MAT::SV package to access results of analysis or perform other related activities. All SVs are implemented as blessed HASH references, and tools may use keys beginning tool_... in it. Key and method names should be namespaced appropriately according to the tool name, to avoid collisions.

AUTHOR

Paul Evans <leonerd@leonerd.org.uk>