podselect Command in Linux
The podselect command in Linux displays a specific section of POD documentation to standard output. It processes the specified input files to locate POD documentation and outputs sections that match one or more of the provided sections. If no section is supplied, it outputs all POD sections.
The POD (Plain Old Documentation) is a markup language in Perl scripts used to embed, generate, and format documentation directly within the code.
Table of Contents
Here is a comprehensive guide to the options available with the podselect command −
Syntax of podselect Command
The syntax of the podselect command is as follows −
podselect [options] [file...]
In the above syntax, the [options] field is used to specify options, such as selecting specific documentation sections or displaying help information. The [file...] field is used to specify one or more files to process.
Options of podselect Command
The options of the Linux podselect command are listed below −
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -help | Displays a short help message and exits. |
| -man | Shows the manual page and exits. |
| -section section-spec | Defines a section to include in the output. Refer to SECTION SPECIFICATIONS in Pod::Parser for formatting details. This option can be used multiple times. |
Examples of podselect Command in Linux
In this section, the usage of the podselect command in Linux will be discussed with examples −
Displaying All Sections of a POD or Perl Script File
To display all sections of POD documentation in a Perl script file, use the podselect command in the following way −
podselect file.pl
The Perl script must contain the POD documentation.
To display all sections of a POD file, use the following command −
podselect file.pod
To display all sections of multiple files, specify files in the following manner −
podselect file.pl file.pod
Displaying Specific Sections of a POD or Perl Script File
To display specific sections of a Perl script or POD file, use the -section option with the section name. For example, to display the DESCRIPTION section of a script, use the following command −
podselect -section DESCRIPTION file.pl
Display multiple sections, use the podselect command in the following way −
podselect -section NAME -section DESCRIPTION file.pl
To display specific sections of multiple files, use the following command:
podselect -section NAME -section DESCRIPTION file.pl file.pod
The sections are listed in the sequence in which the files are specified.
Common sections of a POD file or POD documentation are listed below −
| Sections | Description |
|---|---|
| NAME | Briefly describes the module or script, including its name and a short summary. |
| SYNOPSIS | Provides example usage of the module or script, often with code snippets. |
| DESCRIPTION | Offers a detailed explanation of what the module or script does. |
| METHODS / FUNCTIONS | Lists and describes the methods or functions provided by the module. |
| USAGE | Describes how to use the program or module, often including command-line options. |
| OPTIONS | Details available command-line options for scripts. |
| AUTHOR | Provides information about the author, including name and contact details. |
| COPYRIGHT | Includes copyright information. |
| EXAMPLES | Contains practical examples demonstrating how to use the module or script. |
| VERSION | States the version number of the module or script. |
Displaying Manual Page
To display the manual page of the podselect command, use the -man option −
podselect -man
To quit the manual, press the q/Q button.
Displaying Usage Help
To display the usage help of the podselect command, use the -help option −
podselect -help
Conclusion
The podselect command in Linux extracts specific sections of POD documentation from input files and displays them. It allows selecting sections like DESCRIPTION, NAME, or SYNOPSIS using the -section option and also supports processing multiple files. Without specifying a section, all POD content is shown. Common options include -help for usage guidance and -man for the manual page.