NAME
    CPAN::Changes - Read and write Changes files

SYNOPSIS
        # Load from file
        my $changes = CPAN::Changes->load( 'Changes' );

        # Create a new Changes file
        $changes = CPAN::Changes->new(
            preamble => 'Revision history for perl module Foo::Bar'
        );
    
        $changes->add_release( {
            version => '0.01',
            date    => '2009-07-06',
        } );

        $changes->serialize;

DESCRIPTION
    It is standard practice to include a Changes file in your distribution.
    The purpose the Changes file is to help a user figure out what has
    changed since the last release.

    People have devised many ways to write the Changes file. A preliminary
    specification has been created (CPAN::Changes::Spec) to encourage module
    authors to write clear and concise Changes.

    This module will help users programmatically read and write Changes
    files that conform to the specification.

METHODS
  new( %args )
    Creates a new object using %args as the initial data.

    "next_token"
        Used to passes a regular expression for a "next version" placeholder
        token. See "DEALING WITH "NEXT VERSION" PLACEHOLDERS" for an example
        of its usage.

  load( $filename, %args )
    Parses $filename as per CPAN::Changes::Spec. If present, the optional
    %args are passed to the underlaying call to "new()".

  load_string( $string, %args )
    Parses $string as per CPAN::Changes::Spec. If present, the optional
    %args are passed to the underlaying call to "new()".

  preamble( [ $preamble ] )
    Gets/sets the preamble section.

  releases( [ @releases ] )
    Without any arguments, a list of current release objects is returned
    sorted by ascending release date. When arguments are specified, all
    existing releases are removed and replaced with the supplied
    information. Each release may be either a regular hashref, or a
    CPAN::Changes::Release object.

        # Hashref argument
        $changes->releases( { version => '0.01', date => '2009-07-06' } );
    
        # Release object argument
        my $rel = CPAN::Changes::Release->new(
            version => '0.01', date => '2009-07-06'
        );
        $changes->releases( $rel );

  add_release( @releases )
    Adds the release to the changes file. If a release at the same version
    exists, it will be overwritten with the supplied data.

  delete_release( @versions )
    Deletes all of the releases specified by the versions supplied to the
    method.

  release( $version )
    Returns the release object for the specified version. Should there be no
    matching release object, undef is returned.

  serialize( reverse => $boolean, group_sort => \&sorting_function )
    Returns all of the data as a string, suitable for saving as a Changes
    file.

    If *reverse* is provided and true, the releases are printed in the
    reverse order (oldest to latest).

    If *group_sort* is provided, change groups are sorted according to the
    given function. If not, groups are sorted alphabetically.

  delete_empty_groups( )
    Deletes change groups without changes in all releases.

DEALING WITH "NEXT VERSION" PLACEHOLDERS
    In the working copy of a distribution, it's not uncommon to have a "next
    release" placeholder section as the first entry of the "Changes" file.

    For example, the "Changes" file of a distribution using Dist::Zilla and
    Dist::Zilla::Plugin::NextRelease would look like:

        Revision history for Foo-Bar

        {{$NEXT}}
            - Add the 'frobuscate' method.

        1.0.0     2010-11-30
            - Convert all comments to Esperanto.

        0.0.1     2010-09-29
            - Original version unleashed on an unsuspecting world

    To have "CPAN::Changes" recognizes the "{{$NEXT}}" token as a valid
    version, you can use the "next_token" argument with any of the class'
    constructors. Note that the resulting release object will also be
    considered the latest release, regardless of its timestamp.

    To continue with our example:

        # recognizes {{$NEXT}} as a version
        my $changes = CPAN::Changes->load( 
            'Changes',
            next_token => qr/{{\$NEXT}}/,
        );

        my @releases = $changes->releases;
        print $releases[-1]->version;       # prints '{{$NEXT}}'

SEE ALSO
    *   CPAN::Changes::Spec

    *   Test::CPAN::Changes

  SIMILAR MODULES
    *   Module::Metadata::Changes

    *   Module::Changes

AUTHOR
    Brian Cassidy <bricas@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    Copyright 2011-2013 by Brian Cassidy

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

