Perl::Critic::Policy::Modules::RequireExplicitPackage(3pm)

NAME
Perl::Critic::Policy::Modules::RequireExplicitPackage - Always make the "package" explicit.

AFFILIATION
This Policy is part of the core Perl::Critic distribution.

DESCRIPTION
In general, the first statement of any Perl module or library should be a "package" statement. Otherwise, all the code that comes before the "package" statement is getting executed in the caller's package, and you have no idea who that is. Good encapsulation and common decency require your module to keep its innards to itself.

There are some valid reasons for not having a "package" statement at all. But make sure you understand them before assuming that you should do it too.

One of those reasons is having a "use VERSION" line as the first line of your Perl file. It declares which version of the Perl language the following code is written. Because the effect is lexical, the previous remarks about the caller's package do not apply.

The maximum number of violations per document for this policy defaults to 1.

CONFIGURATION
As for programs, most people understand that the default package is "main", so this Policy doesn't apply to files that begin with a perl shebang. If you want to require an explicit "package" declaration in all files, including programs, then add the following to your .perlcriticrc file

    [Modules::RequireExplicitPackage]
    exempt_scripts = 0

Some users may find it desirable to exempt the load of specific modules from this policy. For example, Perl does not support Unicode module names because of portability problems. Users who are not concerned about this and intend to use "UTF-8" module names will need to specify "use utf8;" before the package declaration. To do this, add the following to your .perlcriticrc file

    [Modules::RequireExplicitPackage]
    allow_import_of = utf8

The "allow_import_of" configuration option takes multiple module names, separated by spaces.

IMPORTANT CHANGES
This policy was formerly called "ProhibitUnpackagedCode" which sounded a bit odd. If you get lots of "Cannot load policy module" errors, then you probably need to change "ProhibitUnpackagedCode" to "RequireExplicitPackage" in your .perlcriticrc file.

AUTHOR
Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer <jeff@imaginative-software.com>

COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2005-2011 Imaginative Software Systems. All rights reserved.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. The full text of this license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.