This is the README file for Data::Dumper, the Perl
data-structure printing/stringification module.

This is version 2.101.  See the CHANGES section below for details on
the new features and fixes in this release.

Perl version 5.004 or later is required to build and use this module.


---NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE---NOTE---
|                                                                       |
|  Data-Dumper comes standard with perl from version 5.004_71.          |
|                                                                       |
|  Building the XSUB version *requires* a C compiler that groks ANSI    |
|  prototypes.  You may install the non-XSUB version if you're not so   |
|  lucky.  See the INSTALLATION section below.                          |
|                                                                       |
---NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE----NOTE---NOTE---


You may find this module useful if you:

   * are writing an application that must display perl data
     structures.

   * want to store some data structures to disk, in either a
     compact or perl readable format (Dumper outputs pure perl,
     so you don't have to invent your own portable data format, or
     parse it;  simply "do FILE" or read the data back in with 
     perl and eval() it).  See the MLDBM module for an example of
     one such use.

   * want a simple, yet powerful, persistence engine that can be
     quickly integrated into your application, and is a breeze to
     debug.

   * want a facility to make copies of data, or quickly find
     differences between data structures.

Dumper can be efficient if you are on a system supported by MakeMaker
and xsubpp, the perl extension building tools.  In this case, Dumper 
will build a XSUB extension that will be much faster than its perl 
counterpart (in my tests, about 4 to 5 times).  In either case, 
you should be able to use this module without loss of functionality.

See the embedded documentation in the module for more details.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

 - Sarathy.
   gsar@umich.edu

---------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLATION

Installation requires a functional Makemaker and perl 5.004 or later.  Do
either of these:

   a. If your platform has a C compiler AND is supported by xsubpp:

   	 gzip -c -d Data-Dumper-2.101.tar.gz | tar xvf -
   	 cd Data-Dumper-2.101
   	 perl Makefile.PL
   	 make test
   	 make install

   b. If you have no C compiler OR if you don't want the XSUB extension 
      (no loss of functionality, only speed):

   	 gzip -c -d Data-Dumper-2.101.tar.gz | tar xvf -
   	 cd Data-Dumper-2.101
   	 perl Makefile.PL noxs                  # flips to non-xsub version
   	 make test
   	 make install

      If you decide to go back to compiling the XSUB extension after this,
      just do:

         make distclean
   	 perl Makefile.PL xs                    # flips to non-xsub version
         make test
         make install

---------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES

    2.101 (30 Apr 1999)
            Minor release to sync with version in 5.005_03. Fixes
            dump of dummy coderefs.

    2.10  (31 Oct 1998)
            Bugfixes for dumping related undef values, globs, and better
	    double quoting: three patches suggested by Gisle Aas
	    <gisle@aas.no>.

            Escaping of single quotes in the XS version could get tripped
	    up by the presence of nulls in the string. Fix suggested by
	    Slaven Rezic <eserte@cs.tu-berlin.de>.

            Rather large scale reworking of the logic in how seen values
	    are stashed.  Anonymous scalars that may be encountered while
	    traversing the structure are properly tracked, in case they
	    become used in data dumped in a later pass. There used to be a
	    problem with the previous logic that prevented such structures
	    from being dumped correctly.

            Various additions to the testsuite.

    2.09  (9 July 1998)
            Implement $Data::Dumper::Bless, suggested by Mark Daku
	    <daku@nortel.ca>.

    2.081 (15 January 1998)
            Minor release to fix Makefile.PL not accepting
            MakeMaker args.