NAME
    CGI::Application::Plugin::ActionDispatch - Perl extension

SYNOPSIS
      # In "WebApp.pm"...
      package WebApp;

      use base 'CGI::Application';
      use CGI::Application::Plugin::ActionDispatch;

      sub do_stuff : Path('do/stuff') { ... }
      sub do_more_stuff : Regex('^/do/more/stuff\/?$') { ... }
      sub do_something_else : Regex('do/something/else/(\w+)/(\d+)$') { ... }
  
DESCRIPTION
    CGI::Application::Plugin::ActionDispatch adds attribute based support
    for parsing the PATH_INFO of the incoming request. For those who are
    familiar with Catalyst. The interface works very similar.

    This plugin is plug and play and shouldn't interrupt the default
    behavior of CGI::Application.

CAVEATS
    Be aware though, this plugin will not likely work with other modules
    that use attributes.

    This module should work with mod_perl. It however has not be thoroughly
    tested as such. If you have used it with mod_perl please e-mail me with
    your experience.

METHODS
    action_args()
        If using capturing parentheses in a Regex action. The captured
        values are accessible using this method.

          sub addElement : Regex('add/(\d+)/(\d+)') {
            my $self = shift;
            my($column, $row) = $self->action_args();
            ...
          }

        The Path action will store everything after the matched path into
        the action args.

          # http://example.com/state/pa/philadelphia
          sub find_state_and_city : Path('state/') {
            my $self = shift;
            my($state, $city) = $self->action_args();
                # $state == pa, $city == philadelphia
            ...
          }

ACTIONS
    Regex
        Regex action is used for regular expression matching against
        PATH_INFO. If capturing parentheses are used; the matched parameters
        are accesssible using the action_args() method.

          Regex('^blah/foo');

        The Regex action either matches or it doesn't. There are no secrets
        to it.

        It is important to note Regex action takes priority. It is assumed
        if a Path and Regex action both match. The Regex action will take
        priority, which may not always be the outcome of least suprise, for
        instance:

        # http://example.com/music/the_clash sub clash :
        Path('/music/the_clash') {} # This is an exact match, BUT. sub
        the_class : Regex('/music/the_clash') {} # This takes priority.
        Beware.

    Path
        The Path action is basically a shortcut for a commonly used Regex
        action.

          # http://example.com/products/movies/2
          sub show_product : Path('products/') {
            my $self = shift;
            my($category, $id) = $self->action_args();
            ....
          }

        Is basically the same thing as.

          sub show_product : Regex('^/products/(\w+)/(\d+)') {
            my $self = shift; 
            my($category, $id) = $self->action_args();
            ...
          }

        For those that care, the Path('products/') will be converted to the
        regular expression "^/products\/?(\/.*)$"; then split('/') is run on
        the captured value and stored in action_args().

    Runmode
        This action will take the method name and run a match on that.

        # http://example.com/foobar

        sub foobar : Runmode {}

    Default
        The default run mode if no match is found. Essentially the
        equivalent of the start_mode() method.

        sub default_mode : Default {}

EXAMPLE
    In CGI::Application module:

      package WebApp;
  
      use base 'CGI::Application';
      use CGI::Application::Plugin::ActionDispatch;
      use strict;

      sub setup {
        my $self = shift;
        self->mode_param('test_rm');
        $self->run_modes(
          basic_runmode => 'basic_runmode'
        );
      }

      # Regular runmodes should work.
      sub basic_runmode {
        my $self = shift
      }

    The product() runmode will match anything starting with "/products" in
    the PATH_INFO.

      # http://example.com/myapp.cgi/products/this/is/optional/and/stored/in/action_args/
      sub product : Path('products/') {  
        my $self = shift;
        my($category, $product) = $self->action_args();
      }

    The music() runmode will match anything starting with "/products/music"
    in the PATH_INFO. The product() runmode also matches "/products/music".
    However since this runmode matches closer it takes priority over
    product().

      # http://example.com/myapp.cgi/products/music/product/
      sub music : Path('products/music/') {
        my $self = shift; 
        my $product = $self->action_args();
        ...
      }

    This beatles() runmode will match ONLY "/product/music/beatles" or
    "/product/music/beatles/". Regex takes priority over Path so the
    previous runmodes which match this PATH_INFO are not run.

      # http://example.com/myapp.cgi/products/music/beatles/
      sub beatles : Regex('^/products/music/beatles\/?')  { 
        my $self = shift; 
        ...
      }

SEE ALSO
    CGI::Application, CGI::Application::Dispatch

AUTHOR
    Jason Yates, <[email protected]>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    Copyright (C) 2006-2008 by Jason Yates

    This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.7 or, at
    your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.