NAME

       Badger::Codec - base class for encoding/decoding data

SYNOPSIS

           # creating a Badger::Codec subclass
           package My::Codec;
           use base 'Badger::Codec';

           sub encode {
               my ($self, $data) = @_;
               # do something
               return $encoded_data;
           }

           sub decode {
               my ($self, $encoded_data) = @_;
               # do something
               return $decoded_data;
           }

           # using the subclass:
           use My::Codec;

           my $codec   = My::Codec->new();
           my $encoded = $codec->encode($some_data);
           my $decoded = $codec->decode($encoded);

INTRODUCTION

       This documentation describes the inner working of codec modules. You should only need to
       consult this documentation if you're writing a codec subclass.  For a general introduction
       to codecs and examples of use, please see Badger::Codecs.

DESCRIPTION

       This module implements a base class codec module for encoding and decoding data to and
       from different formats. It must be subclassed to provide useful implementations of the
       "encode()" and "decode()" methods.

       In most, if not all cases, subclasses will simply delegate to subroutines provided by
       other modules.  For example, the Badger::Codec::Storable module delegates to the
       "freeze()" and "thaw()" methods provided by the Storable module.

METHODS

   encode($data)
       Method for encoding data.  This must be redefined in subclassed modules.

   decode($data)
       Method for decoding data.  This must be redefined in subclassed modules.

   encoder()
       Returns a reference to a subroutine which performs the encoding operation.

   decoder()
       Returns a reference to a subroutine which performs the decoding operation.

AUTHOR

       Andy Wardley <http://wardley.org/>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 2005-2009 Andy Wardley. All rights reserved.

       This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
       terms as Perl itself.