section_data

  my $string_ref = $pkg->section_data($name);

This method returns a reference to a string containing the data from the name section, either in the invocant's "DATA" section or in that of one of its ancestors. (The ancestor must also derive from the class that imported Data::Section.)

By default, named sections are delimited by lines that look like this:

  __[ name ]__

You can use as many underscores as you want, and the space around the name is optional. This pattern can be configured with the "header_re" option (see above). If present, a single leading "\" is removed, so that sections can encode lines that look like section delimiters.

When a line containing only "__END__" is reached, all processing of sections ends.

section_data_names

  my @names = $pkg->section_data_names;

This returns a list of all the names that will be recognized by the "section_data" method.

merged_section_data

  my $data = $pkg->merged_section_data;

This method returns a hashref containing all the data extracted from the package data for all the classes from which the invocant inherits -- as long as those classes also inherit from the package into which Data::Section was imported.

In other words, given this inheritance tree:

  A
   \
    B   C
     \ /
      D

...if Data::Section was imported by A, then when D's "merged_section_data" is invoked, C's data section will not be considered. (This prevents the read position of C's data handle from being altered unexpectedly.)

The keys in the returned hashref are the section names, and the values are references to the strings extracted from the data sections.

merged_section_data_names

  my @names = $pkg->merged_section_data_names;

This returns a list of all the names that will be recognized by the "merged_section_data" method.

local_section_data

  my $data = $pkg->local_section_data;

This method returns a hashref containing all the data extracted from the package on which the method was invoked. If called on an object, it will operate on the package into which the object was blessed.

This method needs to be used carefully, because it's weird. It returns only the data for the package on which it was invoked. If the package on which it was invoked has no data sections, it returns an empty hashref.

local_section_data_names

  my @names = $pkg->local_section_data_names;

This returns a list of all the names that will be recognized by the "local_section_data" method.

MooseX::Declare and namespace::autoclean

MooseX::Declare does the same thing, and can also cause your "__DATA__" section to appear outside your class's package.

These are easy to address. The Sub::Exporter::ForMethods library provides an installer that will cause installed methods to appear to come from the class and avoid autocleaning. Using an explicit "package" statement will keep the data section in the correct package.

   package Foo;

   use MooseX::Declare;
   class Foo {

     # Utility to tell Sub::Exporter modules to export methods.
     use Sub::Exporter::ForMethods qw( method_installer );

     # method_installer returns a sub.
     use Data::Section { installer => method_installer }, -setup;

     method my_method {
        my $content_ref = $self->section_data('SectionA');

        print $$content_ref;
     }
   }

   __DATA__
   __[ SectionA ]__
   Hello, world.