This is a snapshot release of the NIS+ interface to Perl 5. There are two parts to the interface: the raw component (Net::NISPlus), and the object-oriented component (Net::NISPlus::Table, Net::NISPlus::Directory, Net::NISPlus::Group). The object-oriented interface is used to simplify access to the NIS+ databases. See the example programs in the 't' subdirectory for examples on how to use the object-oriented interface. A 'tie'd interface is planned. There is only a small amount of pod documentation at this stage. INSTALLATION: ------------ To compile the NISPlus package: 1. Unpack the distribution file. It will create its own directory. 2. cd NISPlus-0.06-alpha 3. perl Makefile.PL 4. make 5. run some tests Notes: I have tried to write the tests so that they will work anywhere. The t/create.t test will create tables beginning with perltest- which you can safely 'nistbladm -d' after testing. Testing will currently fail the 'indexed passwd test', because I haven't finished implementing that part yet. when you are happy with the extension, you can type: 6. make install to install it on your system IMPORT/EXPORT: ------------- Some of the more useful utilities in the t directory are the table.export and table.import utilities. I use them for backing up my NIS+ databases in a readable form, making search-and-replace type changes to NIS+ tables, and for rebuilding NIS+ systems from scratch. table.export table.import For table.import, you need to specify the fuly qualified table name, including the '.' at the end. If you are rebuilding NIS+ from scratch, dump all tables with table.export, reinitialise NIS+, edit the exported cred table to make sure the root master cred key is _not_ in it (you don't want to write over your new root master key, do you?), then import all tables with table.import. NOTE: Use these utilities at your own risk. There is minimal error checking, and if you trash your NIS+ tables, I will not be responsible. BUGS: ---- The code has been tested on perl5.003_22 under Solaris 2.4 This is alpha code. This means: a) the interfaces may change b) it may not even work for you Please report any bugs in the code or documentation to perl-nis@lists.fulcrum.com.au. I encourage anyone using the alpha or beta versions of the NIS or NIS+ interfaces to subscribe to the mailing list. You can subscribe by sending the message 'subscribe perl-nis' in the body of a message to majordomo@lists.fulcrum.com.au. The list is intended to be a discussion/announcement list for all things to do with the NIS and NIS+ perl extensions. have fun, rik. (1997-05-05)