README for Perl extension Perl-Download-FTP Perl::Download::FTP - Identify Perl releases and download the most recent via FTP This document refers to version 0.05 of Perl-Download-FTP. This version was released July 07 2018. SYNOPSIS use Perl::Download::FTP; $self = Perl::Download::FTP->new( { host => 'ftp.cpan.org', dir => '/pub/CPAN/src/5.0', verbose => 1, } ); @all_releases = $self->ls(); $classified_releases = $self->classify_releases(); @releases = $self->list_releases( { type => 'production', compression => 'gz', } ); $latest_release = $self->get_latest_release( { compression => 'gz', type => 'dev', dir => '/path/to/download', verbose => 1, } ); $specific_release = $self->get_specific_release( { release => 'perl-5.27.2.tar.xz', path => '/path/to/download', } ); INSTALLATION To install this module on your system, place the tarball archive file in a temporary directory and call the following: gunzip Perl-Download-FTP-0.05.tar.gz tar xf Perl-Download-FTP-0.05.tar cd Perl-Download-FTP-0.05 perl Makefile.PL make make test make install If you are on a windows box you should use 'nmake' rather than 'make'. TESTING THIS MODULE This library can only be truly tested by attempting live FTP connections and downloads of Perl 5 source code tarballs. Since testing over the internet can be problematic when being conducted in an automatic manner or when the user is behind a firewall, the test files under 't/' will only be run live when you say: export PERL_ALLOW_NETWORK_TESTING=1 && make test Each test file further attempts to confirm the possibility of making an FTP connection by using CPAN library Test::RequiresInternet.