| Warning |
As of PEAR version 1.4.3, the required format for custom file roles has been
changed due to a minor security vulnerability. All custom file roles must
now define a Role.xml file in order to properly declare
a custom file role. See the example below for more information.
|
One of the programming features that the PEAR installer enforces is the separation
of files into separate categories, and the important idea that files of a similar
category are always installed into the same location, or at least handled the
same way, as in the case of role="src" for PECL packages.
This has been quite successful for smaller library-style packages, but complete
applications cannot function without customized installation locations. For instance,
some files may be intended for use in a public web frontend, others for library location.
PEAR 1.4 introduces the possibility of defining custom installation roles to fill this
void.
To use a custom installation role that another programmer has written, there are three
steps that are necessary. First, the
<usesrole> tag should
be used to define each custom role that is used in the package.xml. Next, the role should
simply be used for the files it pertains to. Finally, a dependency on the package that
provides the custom role should be added to the package.xml, just for completeness.
Pretty simple!
