Perl: CPAN - Module modifying and adding functionality

Question

I find a module, that I want to change.

My problem have some features like this:

• I want to add functionality and flexibility to this module.
• Now this module solves tasks, but web-service, for what it was written, change API
• And also, I want to use code of this module.
• It is not my module
• Fix some bugs

How i should be in this situation?

• Inheriting from this module and add functionality and upload to CPAN?
• Ask author about my modifications (and reload module)?
• Something else?

Answer 1

There are various ways to modify a module as you use it, and I cover most of them in Mastering Perl.

• As Dave Cross mentions, send fixes upstream or become part of that project. It sounds like you have the ambition to be a significant contributor. :)
• Create a subclass to replace methods
• Override or overload subroutines or methods
• Wrap subroutines to modify or adapt either inputs or outputs (e.g. Hook::LexWrap)
• Create a locally patched version, and store it separately from the main code so it doesn't disappear in an upgrade

For example, this is something I often do directly in program code while I wait for an upstream fix:

use Some::Module;  # load the original first
BEGIN {
   package Some::Module;
   no warnings 'redefine';
   if( $VERSION > 1.23 and $VERSION < 1.45 ) {
     *broken = sub { ... fixed version ... };
     }
   }

This way, I have the fix even if the target module is upgraded.