NAME
    Gedcom - a class to manipulate Gedcom genealogy files

    Version 1.00 - 8th March 1999

SYNOPSIS
      use Gedcom;
      my $ged = Gedcom->new(grammar_file => "gedcom-5.5.grammar",
                            gedcom_file  => $gedcom_file);
      return unless $ged->validate;
      $ged->resolve_xrefs($ged->{xrefs});
      $ged->normalise_dates;
      $ged->renumber;
      $ged->order;
      $ged->write("$new_gedcom_file");


DESCRIPTION
    This module provides for manipulation of Gedcom files. Gedcom is a
    format for storing genealogical information designed by The Church of
    Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (http://www.lds.org). Information
    about Gedcom is available as a zip file at
    ftp://gedcom.org/pub/genealogy/gedcom/gedcom55.zip. Unfortunately, this
    is only usable if you can access a PC running Windows of some
    description. Part of the reason I wrote this module is because I don't
    do that.

    The Gedcom format is specified in a grammar file (gedcom-5.5.grammar).
    Gedcom.pm parses the grammar which is then used to validate and allow
    manipulation of the Gedcom file. I have only used Gedcom.pm with version
    5.5 of the Gedcom grammar, which I had to modify slightly to correct a
    few errors. The advantage of this approach is that Gedcom.pm should be
    useful if the Gedcom grammar is ever updated. It also made the software
    easier to write, and probably more dependable too. I suppose this is the
    virtue of laziness shining through.

    The vice of laziness is also shining brightly - I need to document how
    to use this module in much greater detail. This will happen sometime,
    but if you would like information in the meantime, feel free to send me
    mail.

    Note that this is the first release of this software - caveat emptor.

    Should you find this software useful, or if you make changes to it, or
    if you would like me to make changes to it, please send me mail. I would
    like to have some sort of an idea of the use this software is getting.
    Apart from being of interest to me, this will guide my decisions when
    (if :-?) I have to make changes to the interface.

    I couldn't find a nice free program I could use to enter my genealogy,
    and so I wrote a syntax file (ged.vim) and used vim (http://www.vim.org)
    to enter the data, and Gedcom.pm to validate and manipulate it. I find
    this to be a nice solution.