NAME
Type::Tiny::Manual - an overview of Type::Tiny
SYNOPSIS
Type::Tiny is a small class for writing type constraints, inspired by Moose's type constraint API. It has only one non-core dependency (and even that is simply a module that was previously distributed as part of Type::Tiny but has since been spun off), and can be used with Moose, Mouse and Moo (or none of the above).
Type::Tiny is bundled with Type::Library a framework for organizing type constraints into collections.
Also bundled is Types::Standard, a Moose-inspired library of useful type constraints.
Type::Params is also provided, to allow very fast checking and coercion of function and method parameters.
SEE ALSO
Libraries - how to build a type library with Type::Tiny, Type::Library and Type::Utils
Coercions - adding coercions to type constraints
Using with Moose - how to use Type::Tiny and Type::Library with Moose
Using with Mouse - how to use Type::Tiny and Type::Library with Mouse
Using with Moo - how to use Type::Tiny and Type::Library with Moo
Using with Other OO Frameworks - how to use Type::Tiny and Type::Library with other OO frameworks
Type::Tiny and friends don't need to be used within an OO framework. See FreeMind::Node for an example that does not.
Processing arguments to subs - coerce and validate arguments to functions and methods.
Other modules using Type::Tiny in interesting ways: Type::Tie, Test::Mocha, Scalar::Does, Set::Equivalence...
Optimization - squeeze the most out of your CPU.
Type::Tiny maintenance policies - the stability policy.
DEPENDENCIES
Type::Tiny requires at least Perl 5.6.1, though certain Unicode-related features (e.g. non-ASCII type constraint names) may work better in newer versions of Perl.
Type::Tiny requires Exporter::Tiny, a module that was previously bundled in this distribution, but has since been spun off as a separate distribution. Don't worry - it's quick and easy to install.
At run-time, Type::Tiny also requires the following modules: B, B::Deparse, Carp, Data::Dumper, Scalar::Util, Text::Balanced, overload, strict and warnings. All of these come bundled with Perl itself. Prior to Perl 5.8, Scalar::Util and Text::Balanced do not come bundled with Perl and will need installing separately from the CPAN.
Certain features require additional modules. Tying a variable to a type constraint (e.g. tie my $count, Int) requires Type::Tie; stack traces on exceptions require Devel::StackTrace. The Reply::Plugin::TypeTiny plugin for Reply requires Reply (obviously). Devel::LexAlias may slightly increase the speed of some of Type::Tiny's compiled coderefs.
Type::Tiny::XS is not required, but if available provides a speed boost for some type checks. (Setting the environment variable PERL_TYPE_TINY_XS to false, or setting PERL_ONLY to true will suppress the use of Type::Tiny::XS, even if it is available.)
The test suite additionally requires Test::More, Test::Fatal and Test::Requires. Test::More comes bundled with Perl, but if you are using a version of Perl older than 5.14, you will need to upgrade to at least Test::More version 0.96. Test::Requires and Test::Fatal (plus Try::Tiny which Test::Fatal depends on) are bundled with Type::Tiny in the inc directory, so you do not need to install them separately.
If using Type::Tiny in conjunction with Moo, then at least Moo 1.001000 is recommended. If using Type::Tiny with Moose, then at least Moose 2.0600 is recommended. If using Type::Tiny with Mouse, then at least Mouse 1.00 is recommended. Type::Tiny is mostly untested against older versions of these packages.
TYPE::TINY VERSUS X
Specio
Type::Tiny is similar in aim to Specio. The major differences are
Type::Tiny is "tiny" (Specio will eventually have fewer dependencies than it currently does, but is unlikely to ever have as few as Type::Tiny);
Specio has a somewhat nicer API (better method names; less duplication), and its API is likely to improve further. Type::Tiny's aims at complete compatibility with current versions of Moose and Mouse, so there is a limit to how much I can deviate from the existing APIs of (Moose|Mouse)::Meta::TypeConstraint.
MooseX::Types
Type::Tiny libraries expose a similar interface to MooseX::Types libraries. In most cases you should be able to rewrite a MooseX::Types library to use Type::Tiny pretty easily.
MooX::Types::MooseLike
Type::Tiny is faster and supports coercions.
Scalar::Does
Scalar::Does is somewhat of a precursor to Type::Tiny, but has now been rewritten to use Type::Tiny internally.
It gives you a does($value, $type) function that is roughly equivalent to $type->check($value) except that $type may be one of a list of pre-defined strings (instead of a Type::Tiny type constraint); or may be a package name in which case it will be assumed to be a role and checked with $value->DOES($type).
BUGS
Please report any bugs to http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=Type-Tiny.
SUPPORT
IRC: support is available through in the #moops channel on irc.perl.org.
AUTHOR
Toby Inkster <tobyink@cpan.org>.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE
This software is copyright (c) 2013-2014 by Toby Inkster.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.