NAME
    Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive - Gradualy enforce coding standards

SYNOPSIS
    To test one or more files, and/or all files in one or more directories:

      use Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive;
      progressive_critic_ok($file_1, $file_2, $dir_1, $dir_2);

    To test all files in a CPAN-style distribution:

      use Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive;
      progressive_critic_ok();

DESCRIPTION
    Applying coding standards to large amounts of legacy code is a daunting
    task. Often times, legacy code is so non-compliant that it seems
    downright impossible. But, if you consistently chip away at the problem,
    you will eventually succeed! Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive uses the
    Perl::Critic engine to gradually steer your code towards conforming with
    your chosen coding standards.

    The most effective way to use Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive is as a
    unit test that is run under a continuous-integration system like
    CruiseControl or AntHill. Each time a developer commits changes to the
    code, the test will fail and the build will break unless it has fewer
    Perl::Critic violations than the last succesfull test.

SUBROUTINES
    progressive_critic_ok( @FILES [, @DIRECTORIES ] )
            Uses Perl::Critic to analyze each of the given @FILES, and/or
            all Perl files beneath the given list of @DIRECTORIES. If no
            arguments are given, it analyzes all the Perl files in the blib/
            directory. If the blib/ directory does not exist, then it tries
            the lib/ directory. The results of the analysis will be stored
            as .perlcritic-history in the same directory where your test
            script is located.

            The first time you run this test, it will always pass. But on
            each subsequent run, the test will pass only if the code has
            fewer violations that the last time that the test passed. If it
            does pass, then the history file will be updated with the new
            analysis results.

            This subroutine emits its own Test::More plan, so you do not
            need to specify an expected number of tests yourself.

CONFIGURATION
    You can use the following functions to configure the behavior of
    Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive. You should use these before calling
    "progressive_critic_ok". Note that they are "never" exported.

    " Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive::get_history_file(); "
    " Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive::set_history_file( $FILE ); "
            These functions get or set the full path to the history file.
            This is where Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive will store the
            results of each passing analysis. If the $FILE does not exist,
            it will be created anew. The default is
            "$Bin/.perlcritic-history" where $Bin is the directory that the
            calling test script is located in.

    " Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive::get_step_size(); "
    " Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive::set_step_size( $INTEGER ); "
            These functions get or set the minimum accpetable decrease in
            the total number of violations between each test. Increasing the
            step size force you eliminate violations faster. $INTEGER should
            positive, and the default is 1.

    Perl::Critic itself is also highly configurable. By default,
    Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive invokes Perl::Critic with its default
    configuration. But if you have developed your code against a custom
    Perl::Critic configuration, you will want to configure this test to do
    the same.

    Any arguments given to the "use" pragma will be passed into the
    Perl::Critic constructor. So if you have developed your code using a
    custom .perlcriticrc file, you can direct
    Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive to use a custom file too.

      use Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive (-profile => 't/perlcriticrc');
      progressive_critic_ok();

    Now place a copy of your own .perlcriticrc file in the distribution as
    t/perlcriticrc. Then, "progressive_critic_ok" will use this same
    Perl::Critic configuration. See the Perl::Critic documentation for
    details on the .perlcriticrc file format.

    Any argument that is supported by the Perl::Critic constructor can be
    passed through this interface. For example, you can also set the minimum
    severity level, or include & exclude specific policies like this:

      use Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive (-severity => 2, -exclude => ['Postfix']);
      progressive_critic_ok();

    See the Perl::Critic documentation for complete details on its options
    and arguments.

NOTES
    The test is evaluated in two ways. First, the number of violations for
    each Policy must be less than or equal to the number of the violations
    found during the last passing test. Second, the total number of
    violations must be less than the total number of violations found during
    the last passing test. This prevents you from simply substituting one
    kind of violation for another.

    Over time, you'll probably add new Policies to your Perl::Critic setup.
    When Test::Perl::Critic::Progressive uses a Policy for the first time,
    any newly discovered violations of that Policy will not be considered in
    the test. However, they will be considered in subsequent tests.

EXPORTS
      progressive_critic_ok()

BUGS
    If you find any bugs, please submit them to
    <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Test-Perl-Critic-Progressive>.
    Thanks.

SEE ALSO
    criticism

    Perl::Critic

    Test::Perl::Critic

    <http://www.perlcritic.com>

AUTHOR
    Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer <thaljef@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT
    Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer. 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.