Re: [Module::Build] ask() and you will receive

[John P. <jpe...@ro...>]

Ken Williams wrote:
> I do still wonder about the need for this parameter.  The author  could
> just as easily put the value in the options array, and probably  with
> less typing.

I also think this is needless frippery, but for the opposite reason.  How's this
for an alternative definition:

The C<options> array is the list of displayed/prompted options to C<ask()> which
a user can choose from; C<ask()> will not return until one of these values has
been chosen.  The C<default> can either be one of the members of C<options> or
some value to indicate that no answer could be obtained (such as would be the
case if the Build.PL script had no controlling terminal).  As such, the union of
the C<default> value with the C<options> array is the list of B<permissible>
values, whereas the C<options> array is the list of values which satify an
interactive C<ask()>.

This gets us both:

a) the total list of acceptable values, and
b) a way to know for certain that the Build.PL script is running unmanned.

I don't see any reason to special case the $default <not-in> @options for a flag
when we can infer it directly.

John

-- 
John Peacock
Director of Information Research and Technology
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, MD 20706
301-459-3366 x.5010
fax 301-429-5747