create

The actual reporter object is implemented by one of the plugin modules, selected by the "type" argument. Standard plugins are provided for "text", "HTML" and "CSV" report types. The default type is "text".

When looking for a plugin to support report type "foo", the "create" method will first try to load a module "My::Package::Foo" where "My::Package" is the invocant class. If this module cannot be loaded, it will fall back to "Data::Report::Plugin::Foo". Note that, unless subclassed, the current class will be "Data::Report".

All other initialisation arguments correspond to attribute setting methods provided by the plugins. For example, the hypothetical call

  my $rpt = Data::Report->create(foo => 1, bar => "Hello!");

is identical to:

  my $rpt = Data::Report->create;
  $rpt->set_foo(1);
  $rpt->set_bar("Hello!");

You can choose any combination at your convenience.

start

"start" takes no arguments.

Although this method could be eliminated by automatically starting the reporter upon the first call to "add", it turns out that an aplicit "start" makes the API much cleaner and makes it easier to catch mistakes.

add

In addition to the column names and values, you can add the special key "_style" to designate a particular style for this entry. What that means depends on the plugin that implements this reporter. For example, the standard HTML reporter plugin prefixes the given style with "r_" to form the class name for the row. The style name should be a simple name, containing letters, digits and underscores, starting with a letter.

Example

  $rpt->add({ date   => "2006-04-31",
              amount => 1000,
              descr  => "First payment",
              _style => "plain" });

finish

"finish" takes no arguments.

close

"close" takes no arguments.

get_type

set_layout

This method takes one argument, an array reference. Each element of the array is a hash reference that corresponds to one column in the report. The order of elements definines the order of the columns in the report, but see "set_fields" below.

The following keys are possible in the hash reference:

"name"

The name of this column. The name should be a simple name, containing letters, digits and underscores, starting with a letter.

The standard HTML reporter plugin uses the column name to form a class name for each cell by prefixing with "c_". Likewise, the classes for the table headings will be formed by prefixing the column names with "h_". See "ADVANCED EXAMPLES", below.

"title"

The title of this column. This title is placed in the column heading.

"width"

The width of this column. Relevant for textual reporters only.

By default, if a value does not fit in the given width, it will be spread over multiple rows in a pseudo-elegant way. See also the "truncate" key, below.

"align"

The alignment of this column. This can be either "<" for left-aligned columns, or ">" to indicate a right-aligned column.

"truncate"

If true, the values in this column will be truncated to fit the width of the column. Relevant for textual reporters only.

set_style

The name should be a simple name, containing letters, digits and underscores, starting with a letter.

get_style

set_output

a SCALAR reference

All output will be appended to the designated scalar.

an ARRAY reference

All output lines will be pushed onto the array.

a SCALAR

A file will be created with the given name, and all output will be written to this file. To close the file, use the "close" method described above.

anything else

Anything else will be considered to be a file handle, and treated as such.

set_stylist

When used, the stylist should be a reference to a possibly anonymous subroutine with three arguments: the reporter object, the style of a row (as specified with "_style" in the "add" method), and the name of a column as defined in the layout. For table headings, the row name "_head" is used.

The stylist routine will be repeatedly called by the reporter to obtain formatting properties for rows and cells. It should return either nothing, or a hash reference with properties.

When called with only the "row" argument, it should return the properties for this row.

When called with row equal to "*" and a column name, it should return the properties for the given column.

When called with a row and a column name, it should return the properties for the given row/column (cell).

All appropriate properties are merged to form the final set of properties to apply.

The following row properties are recognised. Between parentheses the backends that support them.

"skip_before"

(Text) Produce an empty line before printing the current row.

"skip_after"

(Text) Produce an empty line after printing the current row, but only if other data follows.

"line_before"

(Text) Draw a line of dashes before printing the current row.

"line_after"

(Text) Draw a line of dashes after printing the current row.

"cancel_skip"

(Text) Cancel the effect of a pending "skip_after"

"ignore"

(All) Ignore this row. Useful for CSV backends where only the raw data matters, and not the totals and such.

The following cell properties are recognised. Between parentheses the backends that support them.

"indent"

(Text) Indent the contents of this cell with the given amount.

"wrap_indent"

(Text) Indent wrapped contents of this cell with the given amount.

"truncate"

(Text) If true, truncate the contents of this cell to fit the column width.

"line_before"

(Text) Draw a line in the cell before printing the current row. The value of this property indicates the symbol to use to draw the line. If it is 1, dashes are used.

"line_after"

(Text) Draw a line in the cell after printing the current row. The value of this property indicates the symbol to use to draw the line. If it is 1, dashes are used.

"raw_html"

(Html) Do not escape special HTML characters, allowing pre-prepared HTML code to be placed in the output. Use with care.

"ignore"

(All) Ignore this column. Note that to prevent surprising results, the column must be ignored in all applicable styles, including the special style "_head" that controls the heading.

"class"

(Html) Class name to be used for this cell. Default class name is "h_CNAME" for table headings and "c_CNAME" for table rows, where CNAME is the name of the column.

Example:

  $rep->set_stylist(sub {
    my ($rep, $row, $col) = @_;

    unless ( $col ) {
        return { line_after => 1 } if $row eq "total";
        return;
    }
    return { line_after => 1 } if $col eq "amount";
    return;
  });

Each reporter provides a standard (dummy) stylist called "_std_stylist". Overriding this method is equivalent to using "set_stylist".

get_stylist

set_topheading

This method can be used to designate a subroutine that will provide the top heading of the report.

Example:

  $rpt->set_topheading(sub {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->_print("Title line 1\n");
    $self->_print("Title line 2\n");
    $self->_print("\n");
  });

Note the use of the reporter provided "_print" method to produce output.

When subclassing a reporter, a method "_top_heading" can be defined to provide the top heading. This is equivalent to an explicit call to "set_topheading", but doesn't need to be repeatedly and explicitly executed for each new reporter.

get_topheading

set_heading

In normal cases using this method is not necessary, since setting the top heading will be sufficient.

Each reporter plugin provides a standard heading, implemented in a method called "_std_header". This is the default value for the "heading" attribute. A user-defined heading can use

  $self->SUPER::_std_header;

to still get the original standard heading produced.

Example:

  $rpt->set_heading(sub {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->_print("Title line 1\n");
    $self->_print("Title line 2\n");
    $self->_print("\n");
    $self->SUPER::_std_heading;
    $self->_print("\n");
  });

Note the use of the reporter provided "_print" method to produce output.

When subclassing a reporter, the method "_std_heading" can be overridden to provide a customized top heading. This is equivalent to an explicit call to "set_topheading", but doesn't need to be repeatedly and explicitly executed for each new reporter.

get_heading

set_fields

Example:

  $rpt->set_fields([qw(descr amount date)]);

get_fields

set_width

Example:

  $rpt->set_width({ amount => 10, desc => '80%' });

get_widths