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# PDF::Builder
A Perl library to facilitate the creation and modification of PDF files
## What is it?
PDF::Builder is a **fork** of the popular PDF::API2 Perl library. It provides a
library of modules and functions so that a PDF file (document) may be built and
maintained from Perl programs. It is not a WYSIWYG editor; nor is it a canned
utility or converter. It does _not_ have a GUI -- it is driven by your Perl
program. It is a set of **building blocks** with which you can perform a wide
variety of operations, ranging from basic operations such as selecting a font
face, to defining an entire page at a time in the document, using a large
subset of either Markdown or HTML markup languages. You can call it from
arbitrary Perl programs, which may even create content on-the-fly (or read it
in from other sources). Quite a few code examples are provided, to help you to
get started with the process of creating a PDF document. Many enhancements are
in the pipeline to make PDF::Builder even more powerful and versatile.
[Home Page](https://www.catskilltech.com/FreeSW/product/PDF%2DBuilder/title/PDF%3A%3ABuilder/freeSW_full), including Documentation and Examples.
[](https://github.com/PhilterPaper/Perl-PDF-Builder/issues)
[](https://makeapullrequest.com)
[](https://GitHub.com/PhilterPaper/Perl-PDF-Builder/graphs/commit-activity)
This archive contains the distribution PDF::Builder.
See **Changes** file for the version.
## Obtaining the Package
The installable Perl package may be obtained from
"https://metacpan.org/pod/PDF::Builder", or via a CPAN installer package. If
you install this product, only the run-time modules will be installed. Download
the full `.tar.gz` file and unpack it (hint: on Windows,
**7-Zip File Manager** is an excellent tool) to get utilities, test buckets,
example usage, etc.
Alternatively, you can obtain the full source files from
"https://github.com/PhilterPaper/Perl-PDF-Builder", where the ticket list
(bugs, enhancement requests, etc.) is also kept. Unlike the installable CPAN
version, this will have to be manually installed (copy files; there are no XS
compiles at this time).
Note that there are several "optional" libraries (Perl modules) used to extend
and improve PDF::Builder. Read about the list of optional libraries in
PDF::Builder::Docs, and decide whether or not you want to install any of them.
By default, none are installed.
## Requirements
### Perl
**Perl 5.26** or higher. It will likely run on somewhat earlier versions, but
the CPAN installer may refuse to install it. The reason this version was
chosen was so that LTS (Long Term Support) versions of Perl going back about
6 years are officially supported (by PDF::Builder), and older versions are not
supported. The intent is to not waste time and effort trying to fix bugs which
are an artifact of old Perl releases.
#### Older Perls
If you MUST install on an older (pre 5.26) Perl, you can try the following for
Strawberry Perl (Windows). NO PROMISES! Something similar MAY work for other
OS's and Perl installations:
1. Unpack installation file (`.tar.gz`, via a utility such as 7-Zip) into a directory, and cd to that directory
1. Edit META.json and change 5.026000 to 5.016000 or whatever level desired
1. Edit META.yml and change 5.026000 to 5.016000 or whatever level desired
1. Edit Makefile.PL and change `use 5.026000;` to `use 5.016000;`, change `$PERL_version` from `5.026000` to `5.016000`
1. `cpan .`
Note that some Perl installers MAY have a means to override or suppress the
Perl version check. That may be easier to use. Or, you may have to repack the
edited directory back into a `.tar.gz` installable. YMMV.
If all goes well, PDF::Builder will be installed on your system. Whether or
not it will RUN is another matter. Please do NOT open a bug report (ticket)
unless you're absolutely sure that the problem is not a result of using an old
Perl release, e.g., PDF::Builder is using a feature introduced in Perl 5.018
and you're trying to run Perl 5.002!
### Libraries used
These libraries are available from CPAN.
#### REQUIRED
These libraries should be automatically installed...
* Compress::Zlib
* Font::TTF
* Test::Exception (needed only for installation tests)
* Test::Memory::Cycle (needed only for installation tests)
#### OPTIONAL
These libraries are _recommended_ for improved functionality and performance.
The default behavior is **not** to attempt to install them during PDF::Builder
installation, in order to speed up the testing process and not clutter up
matters, especially if an optional package fails to install. You can always
manually install them later, if you desire to make use of their added
functionality.
* Perl::Critic (1.150 or higher, need if running tools/1\_pc.pl)
* Graphics::TIFF (19 or higher, recommended if using TIFF image functions)
* Image::PNG::Libpng (0.57 or higher, recommended for enhanced PNG image function processing)
* HarfBuzz::Shaper (0.024 or higher, needed for Latin script ligatures and kerning, as well as for any complex script such as Arabic, Indic scripts, or Khmer)
* Text::Markdown (1.000031 or higher, needed if using 'md1' markup)
* HTML::TreeBuilder (5.07 or higher, needed if using 'html' or 'md1' markup)
* Pod::Simple::XHTML (3.45 or higher, needed if using buildDoc utility to create HTML documentation)
If an optional package is needed, but not installed, sometimes PDF::Builder
will be able to fall back to built-in partial functionality (TIFF and PNG
images), but other times will fail. After installing the missing package, you
may wish to then run the t-test suite for that library to confirm that it is
properly running, as well as running the examples.
Other than an installer for standard CPAN packages (such as 'cpan' on
Strawberry Perl for Windows), no other tools or manually-installed prereqs are
needed (worst case, you can unpack the `.tar.gz` file and copy files into
place yourself!). Currently there are no compiles and links (Perl extensions)
done during the install process, only copying of .pm Perl module files.
## Manually building
As is the usual practice with building such a package (from the command line),
the steps are:
1. perl Makefile.PL
1. make
1. make test
1. make install
If you have your system configured to run Perl for a .pl/.PL file, you may be
able to omit "perl" from the first command, which creates a Makefile. "make"
is the generic command to run (it feeds on the Makefile), but your system may
have it under a different name, such as dmake (Strawberry Perl on Windows),
gmake, or nmake.
PDF::Builder does not currently compile and link anything, so `gcc`, `g++`,
etc. will not be used. The build process merely copies .pm files around, and
runs the "t" tests to confirm the proper installation.
## Copyright
This software is Copyright (c) 2017-2023 by Phil M. Perry.
Previous copyrights are held by others (Steve Simms, Alfred Reibenschuh, et al.). See The HISTORY section of the documentation for more information.
We would like to acknowledge the efforts and contributions of a number of
users of PDF::Builder (and its predecessor, PDF::API2), who have given their
time to report issues, ask for new features, and have even contributed code.
Generally, you will find their names listed in the Changes and/or issue tickets
related to some particular item.
## License
This is free software, licensed under:
`The GNU Lesser General Public License, Version 2.1, February 1999`
EXCEPT for some files which are explicitly under other, compatible, licenses
(the Perl License and the MIT License). You are permitted (at your option) to
redistribute and/or modify this software (those portions under LGPL) at an
LGPL version greater than 2.1. See INFO/LICENSE for more information on the
licenses and warranty statement.
### Carrying On...
PDF::Builder is Open Source software, built upon the efforts not only of the
current maintainer, but also of many people before me. Therefore, it's perfectly
fair to make use of the algorithms and even code (within the terms of the
LICENSE). That's exactly how the State of the
Art progresses! Just please be considerate and acknowledge the work of others
that you are building on, as well as pointing back to this package. Drop us a
note with news of your project (if based on the code and algorithms in
PDF::Builder, or even just heavily inspired by it) and we'll be happy to make
a pointer to your work. The more cross-pollination, the better!
## See Also
* CONTRIBUTING file for how to contribute to the project
* LICENSE file for more on the license term
* INFO/RoadMap file for the PDF::Builder road map
* INFO/ACKNOWLEDGE.md for "thank yous" to those who contributed to this product
* INFO/SUPPORT file for information on reporting bugs, etc. via GitHub Issues
* INFO/DEPRECATED file for information on deprecated features
* INFO/KNOWN\_INCOMP file for known incompatibilities with PDF::API2
* INFO/CONVERSION file for how to convert from PDF::API2 to PDF::Builder
* INFO/Changes\* files for older change logs
* INFO/PATENTS file for information on patents
`INFO/old/` also has some build and test tool files that are not currently used.
## Documentation
To build the full HTML documentation (all the POD), get the full installation
and go to the `docs/` directory. Run `buildDoc.pl --all` to generate the full
tree of documentation. There's a lot of additional information in the
PDF::Builder::Docs module (it's all documentation).
You may find it more convenient to point your browser to our
[Home Page](https://www.catskilltech.com/FreeSW/product/PDF-Builder/title/PDF%3A%3ABuilder/freeSW_full)
to see the full documentation build (as well as most of the example outputs).
We admit that the documentation is a bit light on "how to" task orientation.
We hope to more fully address this in the future, but for now, get the full
installation and look at the `examples/` and `contrib/` directories for sample
code that may help you figure out how to do things. The installation tests in
the `t/` and `xt/` directories might also be useful to you.
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