Write POD That Becomes a Reliable Perl Man Page

You will create a small Perl POD document, render it with pod2man, and check the result as a reader would see it. The useful outcome is a man page with an indexable NAME line, predictable sections, restrained markup and working cross-references. Allow about 15 minutes for a short module or script page. This guide describes the Perl 5.38.2 installation and its Pod::Man 5.01 documentation; other releases may add or alter formatter details.

1. Check the formatter before writing

perlpodstyle(1) is a style guide, not a command with options to discover. It describes POD conventions used by formatters such as pod2man. Check which formatter will run and its installed library version:

$ command -v pod2man
/usr/bin/pod2man
$ perl -MPod::Man -e 'print "$Pod::Man::VERSION\n"'
5.01
$ perl -v | sed -n '1,3p'
This is perl 5, version 38, subversion 2 (v5.38.2)

Checkpoint: if pod2man is missing, stop here and install the Perl documentation tooling through your normal package process. Do not use sudo merely to render a page in a directory you can write.

2. Start with an exact NAME line

The first major section must be =head1 NAME. Put one plain line below it: the program, module or functions, a single hyphen, and a short description. Do not add C<>, B<>, a second dash or a function's parentheses there. Indexers are stricter than a human reader.

=head1 NAME

inventory-report - print a summary of warehouse stock

=head1 SYNOPSIS

    inventory-report [--format text|json] FILE

=head1 DESCRIPTION

Reads FILE and prints one summary for each warehouse.

For a module, use its module name rather than inventing a command name. If a page documents several functions, list them with a comma and a space. Keep the description short enough to stay on one line when a terminal man viewer formats it.

3. Lay out the sections in reader order

Use =head1 for major sections and =head2 for subsections. Uppercase major headings remain the safest convention even though the guide calls that style recommended rather than mandatory. A command page usually reads well when it starts with NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION and OPTIONS, followed by examples, diagnostics and reference material.

SYNOPSIS is mandatory for section 3 module pages, where a short verbatim usage block is often the clearest choice. A function page should document return values and errors. A program can omit a precise return-value section when ordinary zero and non-zero status behaviour is enough, but document user-facing messages under DIAGNOSTICS.

Do not turn every thought into a heading. Put an option's detailed explanation in OPTIONS, describe files under FILES, and explain environment variables under ENVIRONMENT. These labels help readers and tools locate information without making the page longer.

4. Mark up meaning, not every word

Use B<> for a program name and its options, I<> for an argument or function name, and C<> for literal commands, code and values. In an option item, separate the switch from its value so the rendered page makes the interface obvious:

=item B<--format>=I<style>

Selects the output style. The supported values are C<text> and C<json>.

=item B<--verbose>

Prints extra diagnostic information.

For a short and long spelling, keep both on one item line, such as B<-v>, B<--verbose>. A formatter can then distinguish the interface from its explanation. Avoid markup that adds no information. Plain prose is easier to maintain, and Pod::Man already knows how to format common references.

5. Add links to man pages carefully

Write a manual reference as manpage(section), or use L<manpage(section)> when you want a POD formatter to request a link. For module references, omit the section because module documentation does not have a stable section number: use L<Module::Name> instead.

See also L<Getopt::Long>, L<perlfunc(1)> and L<perldiag(1)>.

The tool is normally invoked as B<inventory-report>.

Cross-reference only useful destinations. A page filled with links is harder to scan, and a reference to a page that is not installed helps neither a terminal reader nor an online indexer. If an external web address belongs in SEE ALSO, write the address plainly and explain what it provides.

6. Render a temporary copy and inspect it

Render a file outside your project first. This example does not install anything or alter a system man directory:

$ tmp_pod=$(mktemp --suffix=.pod)
$ trap 'rm -f "$tmp_pod" /tmp/inventory-report.1' EXIT
$ cp ./inventory-report.pod "$tmp_pod"
$ pod2man --center="Inventory tools" --release="local" "$tmp_pod" /tmp/inventory-report.1
$ man --local-file /tmp/inventory-report.1 | sed -n '1,80p'

Replace ./inventory-report.pod with your actual file. The formatter metadata options affect the header, not the POD content. Confirm that the output begins with the expected name and that headings, option emphasis, code samples and references are readable. The temporary files are removed when the shell exits; if you stop the shell before the trap runs, remove the two explicit paths yourself after checking them.

For a source-level check without a man viewer, ask Pod::Man to read the file and discard formatted output:

$ pod2man ./inventory-report.pod > /dev/null
$ printf 'pod2man status: %s\n' "$?"
pod2man status: 0

Warnings do not automatically mean that the page is unusable, but they are a prompt to inspect the nearby POD. A successful exit status confirms that this formatter accepted the input; it does not prove that the text is accurate or that every referenced page exists.

7. Check the common traps before publishing

• Keep NAME as the first section and its index line plain, with exactly one separator hyphen.
• Do not write a function as name() in the NAME list. Use the function name alone.
• Put a command example in a verbatim paragraph, with indentation, rather than relying on spaces inside ordinary prose.
• Use C<> for literal shell syntax and B<> for options. Do not use option markup in NAME.
• Keep OPTIONS separate from the parser's usage help. The man page should explain what an option does, not merely repeat a usage line.
• Do not assume that a rendered link proves the target is installed. Check the referenced module or man page on the systems you support.

There is no service restart, configuration migration or privileged operation in this workflow. The only changed state is the output file you choose to keep. If a rendered page is wrong, delete or replace that generated file and return to the POD source; preserve the source until the new rendering has passed review.