NAME

Net::Works - Sane APIs for IP addresses and networks

VERSION

version 0.22

DESCRIPTION

The NetAddr::IP module is very complete, correct, and useful. However, its API design is a bit crufty. This distro provides an alternative API that aims to address the biggest problems with that module's API, as well as adding some additional features.

This distro contains two modules, Net::Works::Address and Net::Works::Network.

NOTE: This distro's APIs are still in flux. Use at your own risk.

Net::Works VERSUS NetAddr::IP

Here are some of the key differences between the two distributions:

Separation of address from network
"Net::Works" provides two classes, one for single IP addresses and one for networks (and subnets). With NetAddr::IP a single address is represented as a /32 or /128 subnet. This is technically correct but can make the API harder to use. Whenever you want a single IP you're always stuck checking that the object you're working with is the size of a single address subnet.
Multiple constructors
Net::Works allows you to construct an IP address from a string ("192.0.2.1") or an integer (3221225985) using separate constructors.
Next & previous IP
You can get the next and previous address from Net::Works::Address object, regardless of whether or not that address is in the same subnet.
Constructors throw exceptions
If you pass bad data to a constructor you'll get an exception.
Sane iterator and first/last
The iterator provided by Net::Works::Network has no confusing special cases. It always returns all the addresses in a network, including the network and broadcast addresses. Similarly, the "$network->first()" and "$network->last()" do not return different results for different sized networks.
Split a range into subnets
The Net::Works::Network class provides a "Net::Works::Network->range_as_subnets" method that takes a start and end IP address and splits this into a set of subnets that include all addresses in the range.
Does less
This distro does not support every method provided by NetAddr::IP. Patches to add more features are welcome, however.

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-net-works@rt.cpan.org", or through the web interface at <http://rt.cpan.org>. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.

AUTHORS

Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>
Greg Oschwald <oschwald@cpan.org>
Olaf Alders <oalders@wundercounter.com>

CONTRIBUTORS

Alexander Hartmaier <abraxxa@cpan.org>
Dave Rolsky <drolsky@maxmind.com>
Greg Oschwald <goschwald@maxmind.com>
TJ Mather <tjmather@maxmind.com>
William Stevenson <wstevenson@maxmind.com>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.