NAME
Perl::Critic::PolicySummary - Descriptions of the Policy modules included with Perl::Critic itself.
DESCRIPTION
The following Policy modules are distributed with Perl::Critic. (There are additional Policies that can be found in add-on distributions.) The Policy modules have been categorized according to the table of contents in Damian Conway's book Perl Best Practices. Since most coding standards take the form "do this..." or "don't do that...", I have adopted the convention of naming each module RequireSomething
or ProhibitSomething
. Each Policy is listed here with its default severity. If you don't agree with the default severity, you can change it in your .perlcriticrc file (try perlcritic --profile-proto
for a starting version). See the documentation of each module for its specific details.
POLICIES
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitBooleanGrep
Use List::MoreUtils::any
instead of grep
in boolean context. [Default severity 2]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitComplexMappings
Map blocks should have a single statement. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitLvalueSubstr
Use 4-argument substr
instead of writing substr($foo, 2, 6) = $bar
. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitReverseSortBlock
Forbid $b before $a in sort blocks. [Default severity 1]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitSleepViaSelect
Use Time::HiRes instead of something like select(undef, undef, undef, .05)
. [Default severity 5]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitStringyEval
Write eval { my $foo; bar($foo) }
instead of eval "my $foo; bar($foo);"
. [Default severity 5]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitStringySplit
Write split /-/, $string
instead of split '-', $string
. [Default severity 2]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitUniversalCan
Write eval { $foo->can($name) }
instead of UNIVERSAL::can($foo, $name)
. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitUniversalIsa
Write eval { $foo->isa($pkg) }
instead of UNIVERSAL::isa($foo, $pkg)
. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitVoidGrep
Don't use grep
in void contexts. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::ProhibitVoidMap
Don't use map
in void contexts. [Default severity 3]
BuiltinFunctions::RequireBlockGrep
Write grep { $_ =~ /$pattern/ } @list
instead of grep /$pattern/, @list
. [Default severity 4]
BuiltinFunctions::RequireBlockMap
Write map { $_ =~ /$pattern/ } @list
instead of map /$pattern/, @list
. [Default severity 4]
BuiltinFunctions::RequireGlobFunction
Use glob q{*}
instead of <*>. [Default severity 5]
BuiltinFunctions::RequireSimpleSortBlock
Sort blocks should have a single statement. [Default severity 3]
ClassHierarchies::ProhibitAutoloading
AUTOLOAD methods should be avoided. [Default severity 3]
ClassHierarchies::ProhibitExplicitISA
Employ use base
instead of @ISA
. [Default severity 3]
ClassHierarchies::ProhibitOneArgBless
Write bless {}, $class;
instead of just bless {};
. [Default severity 5]
CodeLayout::ProhibitHardTabs
Use spaces instead of tabs. [Default severity 3]
CodeLayout::ProhibitParensWithBuiltins
Write open $handle, $path
instead of open($handle, $path)
. [Default severity 1]
CodeLayout::ProhibitQuotedWordLists
Write qw(foo bar baz)
instead of ('foo', 'bar', 'baz')
. [Default severity 2]
CodeLayout::ProhibitTrailingWhitespace
Don't use whitespace at the end of lines. [Default severity 1]
CodeLayout::RequireConsistentNewlines
Use the same newline through the source. [Default severity 4]
CodeLayout::RequireTidyCode
Must run code through perltidy. [Default severity 1]
CodeLayout::RequireTrailingCommas
Put a comma at the end of every multi-line list declaration, including the last one. [Default severity 1]
ControlStructures::ProhibitCStyleForLoops
Write for(0..20)
instead of for($i=0; $i<=20; $i++)
. [Default severity 2]
ControlStructures::ProhibitCascadingIfElse
Don't write long "if-elsif-elsif-elsif-elsif...else" chains. [Default severity 3]
ControlStructures::ProhibitDeepNests
Don't write deeply nested loops and conditionals. [Default severity 3]
ControlStructures::ProhibitLabelsWithSpecialBlockNames
Don't use labels that are the same as the special block names. [Default severity 4]
ControlStructures::ProhibitMutatingListFunctions
Don't modify $_
in list functions. [Default severity 5]
ControlStructures::ProhibitNegativeExpressionsInUnlessAndUntilConditions
Don't use operators like not
, !~
, and le
within until
and unless
. [Default severity 3]
ControlStructures::ProhibitPostfixControls
Write if($condition){ do_something() }
instead of do_something() if $condition
. [Default severity 2]
ControlStructures::ProhibitUnlessBlocks
Write if(! $condition)
instead of unless($condition)
. [Default severity 2]
ControlStructures::ProhibitUnreachableCode
Don't write code after an unconditional die, exit, or next
. [Default severity 4]
ControlStructures::ProhibitUntilBlocks
Write while(! $condition)
instead of until($condition)
. [Default severity 2]
Documentation::PodSpelling
Check your spelling. [Default severity 1]
Documentation::RequirePackageMatchesPodName
The =head1 NAME
section should match the package. [Default severity 1]
Documentation::RequirePodAtEnd
All POD should be after __END__
. [Default severity 1]
Documentation::RequirePodLinksIncludeText
Provide text to display with your pod links. [Default severity 2]
Documentation::RequirePodSections
Organize your POD into the customary sections. [Default severity 2]
ErrorHandling::RequireCarping
Use functions from Carp instead of warn
or die
. [Default severity 3]
ErrorHandling::RequireCheckingReturnValueOfEval
You can't depend upon the value of $@
/$EVAL_ERROR
to tell whether an eval
failed. [Default severity 3]
InputOutput::ProhibitBacktickOperators
Discourage stuff like @files = `ls $directory`
. [Default severity 3]
InputOutput::ProhibitBarewordFileHandles
Write open my $fh, q{<}, $filename;
instead of open FH, q{<}, $filename;
. [Default severity 5]
InputOutput::ProhibitExplicitStdin
Use "<>" or "<ARGV>" or a prompting module instead of "<STDIN>". [Default severity 4]
InputOutput::ProhibitInteractiveTest
Use prompt() instead of -t. [Default severity 5]
InputOutput::ProhibitJoinedReadline
Use local $/ = undef
or File::Slurp instead of joined readline. [Default severity 3]
InputOutput::ProhibitOneArgSelect
Never write select($fh)
. [Default severity 4]
InputOutput::ProhibitReadlineInForLoop
Write while( $line = <> ){...}
instead of for(<>){...}
. [Default severity 4]
InputOutput::ProhibitTwoArgOpen
Write open $fh, q{<}, $filename;
instead of open $fh, "<$filename";
. [Default severity 5]
InputOutput::RequireBracedFileHandleWithPrint
Write print {$FH} $foo, $bar;
instead of print $FH $foo, $bar;
. [Default severity 1]
InputOutput::RequireBriefOpen
Close filehandles as soon as possible after opening them. [Default severity 4]
InputOutput::RequireCheckedClose
Write my $error = close $fh;
instead of close $fh;
. [Default severity 2]
InputOutput::RequireCheckedOpen
Write my $error = open $fh, $mode, $filename;
instead of open $fh, $mode, $filename;
. [Default severity 3]
InputOutput::RequireCheckedSyscalls
Return value of flagged function ignored. [Default severity 1]
InputOutput::RequireEncodingWithUTF8Layer
Write open $fh, q{<:encoding(UTF-8)}, $filename;
instead of open $fh, q{{<:utf8}, $filename;
. [Default severity 5]
Miscellanea::ProhibitFormats
Do not use format
. [Default severity 3]
Miscellanea::ProhibitTies
Do not use tie
. [Default severity 2]
Miscellanea::ProhibitUnrestrictedNoCritic
Forbid a bare ## no critic
[Default severity 3]
Miscellanea::ProhibitUselessNoCritic
Remove ineffective "## no critic" annotations. [Default severity 2]
Miscellanea::RequireRcsKeywords
Put source-control keywords in every file. [Default severity 2]
Modules::ProhibitAutomaticExportation
Export symbols via @EXPORT_OK
or %EXPORT_TAGS
instead of @EXPORT
. [Default severity 4]
Modules::ProhibitConditionalUseStatements
Avoid putting conditional logic around compile-time includes. [Default severity 3]
Modules::ProhibitEvilModules
Ban modules that aren't blessed by your shop. [Default severity 5]
Modules::ProhibitExcessMainComplexity
Minimize complexity in code that is outside of subroutines. [Default severity 3]
Modules::ProhibitMultiplePackages
Put packages (especially subclasses) in separate files. [Default severity 4]
Modules::RequireBarewordIncludes
Write require Module
instead of require 'Module.pm'
. [Default severity 5]
Modules::RequireEndWithOne
End each module with an explicitly 1;
instead of some funky expression. [Default severity 4]
Modules::RequireExplicitPackage
Always make the package
explicit. [Default severity 4]
Modules::RequireFilenameMatchesPackage
Package declaration must match filename. [Default severity 5]
Modules::RequireNoMatchVarsWithUseEnglish
use English
must be passed a -no_match_vars
argument. [Default severity 2]
Modules::RequireVersionVar
Give every module a $VERSION
number. [Default severity 2]
NamingConventions::Capitalization
Distinguish different program components by case. [Default severity 1]
NamingConventions::ProhibitAmbiguousNames
Don't use vague variable or subroutine names like 'last' or 'record'. [Default severity 3]
Objects::ProhibitIndirectSyntax
Prohibit indirect object call syntax. [Default severity 4]
References::ProhibitDoubleSigils
Write @{ $array_ref }
instead of @$array_ref
. [Default severity 2]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitCaptureWithoutTest
Capture variable used outside conditional. [Default severity 3]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitComplexRegexes
Split long regexps into smaller qr//
chunks. [Default severity 3]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitEnumeratedClasses
Use named character classes instead of explicit character lists. [Default severity 1]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitEscapedMetacharacters
Use character classes for literal meta-characters instead of escapes. [Default severity 1]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitFixedStringMatches
Use eq
or hash instead of fixed-pattern regexps. [Default severity 2]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitSingleCharAlternation
Use [abc]
instead of a|b|c
. [Default severity 1]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitUnusedCapture
Only use a capturing group if you plan to use the captured value. [Default severity 3]
RegularExpressions::ProhibitUnusualDelimiters
Use only //
or {}
to delimit regexps. [Default severity 1]
RegularExpressions::RequireBracesForMultiline
Use {
and }
to delimit multi-line regexps. [Default severity 1]
RegularExpressions::RequireDotMatchAnything
Always use the /s
modifier with regular expressions. [Default severity 2]
RegularExpressions::RequireExtendedFormatting
Always use the /x
modifier with regular expressions. [Default severity 3]
RegularExpressions::RequireLineBoundaryMatching
Always use the /m
modifier with regular expressions. [Default severity 2]
Subroutines::ProhibitAmpersandSigils
Don't call functions with a leading ampersand sigil. [Default severity 2]
Subroutines::ProhibitBuiltinHomonyms
Don't declare your own open
function. [Default severity 4]
Subroutines::ProhibitExcessComplexity
Minimize complexity by factoring code into smaller subroutines. [Default severity 3]
Subroutines::ProhibitExplicitReturnUndef
Return failure with bare return
instead of return undef
. [Default severity 5]
Subroutines::ProhibitManyArgs
Too many arguments. [Default severity 3]
Subroutines::ProhibitNestedSubs
sub never { sub correct {} }
. [Default severity 5]
Subroutines::ProhibitReturnSort
Behavior of sort
is not defined if called in scalar context. [Default severity 5]
Subroutines::ProhibitSubroutinePrototypes
Don't write sub my_function (@@) {}
. [Default severity 5]
Subroutines::ProhibitUnusedPrivateSubroutines
Prevent unused private subroutines. [Default severity 3]
Subroutines::ProtectPrivateSubs
Prevent access to private subs in other packages. [Default severity 3]
Subroutines::RequireArgUnpacking
Always unpack @_
first. [Default severity 4]
Subroutines::RequireFinalReturn
End every path through a subroutine with an explicit return
statement. [Default severity 4]
TestingAndDebugging::ProhibitNoStrict
Prohibit various flavors of no strict
. [Default severity 5]
TestingAndDebugging::ProhibitNoWarnings
Prohibit various flavors of no warnings
. [Default severity 4]
TestingAndDebugging::ProhibitProlongedStrictureOverride
Don't turn off strict for large blocks of code. [Default severity 4]
TestingAndDebugging::RequireTestLabels
Tests should all have labels. [Default severity 3]
TestingAndDebugging::RequireUseStrict
Always use strict
. [Default severity 5]
TestingAndDebugging::RequireUseWarnings
Always use warnings
. [Default severity 4]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitCommaSeparatedStatements
Don't use the comma operator as a statement separator. [Default severity 4]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitComplexVersion
Prohibit version values from outside the module. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitConstantPragma
Don't use constant FOO => 15
. [Default severity 4]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitEmptyQuotes
Write q{}
instead of ''
. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitEscapedCharacters
Write "\N{DELETE}"
instead of "\x7F"
, etc. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitImplicitNewlines
Use concatenation or HEREDOCs instead of literal line breaks in strings. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitInterpolationOfLiterals
Always use single quotes for literal strings. [Default severity 1]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitLeadingZeros
Write oct(755)
instead of 0755
. [Default severity 5]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitLongChainsOfMethodCalls
Long chains of method calls indicate tightly coupled code. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitMagicNumbers
Don't use values that don't explain themselves. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitMismatchedOperators
Don't mix numeric operators with string operands, or vice-versa. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitMixedBooleanOperators
Write !$foo && $bar || $baz
instead of not $foo && $bar or $baz
. [Default severity 4]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitNoisyQuotes
Use q{}
or qq{}
instead of quotes for awkward-looking strings. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitQuotesAsQuotelikeOperatorDelimiters
Don't use quotes ('
, "
, `
) as delimiters for the quote-like operators. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitSpecialLiteralHeredocTerminator
Don't write print <<'__END__'
. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::ProhibitVersionStrings
Don't use strings like v1.4
or 1.4.5
when including other modules. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::RequireConstantVersion
Require $VERSION to be a constant rather than a computed value. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::RequireInterpolationOfMetachars
Warns that you might have used single quotes when you really wanted double-quotes. [Default severity 1]
ValuesAndExpressions::RequireNumberSeparators
Write 141_234_397.0145
instead of 141234397.0145
. [Default severity 2]
ValuesAndExpressions::RequireQuotedHeredocTerminator
Write print <<'THE_END'
or print <<"THE_END"
. [Default severity 3]
ValuesAndExpressions::RequireUpperCaseHeredocTerminator
Write <<'THE_END';
instead of <<'theEnd';
. [Default severity 2]
Variables::ProhibitConditionalDeclarations
Do not write my $foo = $bar if $baz;
. [Default severity 5]
Variables::ProhibitEvilVariables
Ban variables that aren't blessed by your shop. [Default severity 5]
Variables::ProhibitLocalVars
Use my
instead of local
, except when you have to. [Default severity 2]
Variables::ProhibitMatchVars
Avoid $`
, $&
, $'
and their English equivalents. [Default severity 4]
Variables::ProhibitPackageVars
Eliminate globals declared with our
or use vars
. [Default severity 3]
Variables::ProhibitPerl4PackageNames
Use double colon (::) to separate package name components instead of single quotes ('). [Default severity 2]
Variables::ProhibitPunctuationVars
Write $EVAL_ERROR
instead of $@
. [Default severity 2]
Variables::ProhibitReusedNames
Do not reuse a variable name in a lexical scope [Default severity 3]
Variables::ProhibitUnusedVariables
Don't ask for storage you don't need. [Default severity 3]
Variables::ProtectPrivateVars
Prevent access to private vars in other packages. [Default severity 3]
Variables::RequireInitializationForLocalVars
Write local $foo = $bar;
instead of just local $foo;
. [Default severity 3]
Variables::RequireLexicalLoopIterators
Write for my $element (@list) {...}
instead of for $element (@list) {...}
. [Default severity 5]
Variables::RequireLocalizedPunctuationVars
Magic variables should be assigned as "local". [Default severity 4]
Variables::RequireNegativeIndices
Negative array index should be used. [Default severity 4]
VERSION
This is part of Perl::Critic version 1.112_002.
AUTHOR
Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer <jeff@imaginative-software.com>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2005-2011 Imaginative Software Systems. 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.