podselect

podselect [-section section ...] [-output file] podfile ...

-section section
    Specifies a section to be extracted. This option can be repeated multiple times to select multiple sections. Sections are identified by their titles (e.g., "NAME", "SYNOPSIS") or POD heading types (e.g., "head1", "head2").

-output file
    Directs the extracted content to the specified file instead of standard output (stdout).

podfile ...
    One or more input files in POD format from which sections will be extracted.

podselect is a command-line utility designed to extract and display specific sections from Plain Old Documentation (POD) format files. POD is a simple, lightweight markup language primarily used for documenting Perl modules, scripts, and other text. podselect allows users to filter content by section titles, such as NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, or specific heading levels like head1, head2, etc. By default, if no sections are specified, it outputs the entire content of the POD file. This tool is invaluable for quickly reviewing particular parts of documentation without needing to process the entire file through a POD formatter. It's often used in scripting to automate the extraction of specific information from Perl's documentation files.

podselect primarily works by matching section titles or heading levels. It might not perfectly replicate the output of full POD renderers like pod2man or pod2text, as it focuses on simple extraction rather than full formatting or semantic interpretation. Its utility is in quick, raw extraction of specific parts, not polished presentation.

podselect is particularly useful for scripting when only a specific piece of information, such as the NAME or SYNOPSIS section, is needed from a Perl module's documentation without processing the entire document. For instance, podselect -section NAME MyModule.pm would output just the name of the module.

POD (Plain Old Documentation) uses simple paragraph-based markup (e.g., =head1, =item, =over, =cut) to embed documentation directly within source code files. podselect understands these structural markers to identify and extract the specified sections.

podselect is an integral part of the Perl programming language distribution. It emerged as part of the broader effort to provide robust and accessible documentation for Perl modules and scripts using the Plain Old Documentation (POD) format. Its development parallels the evolution of Perl itself, offering a simple yet powerful tool for developers and users to interact with Perl's extensive documentation ecosystem. It is maintained as part of the perl core utilities.

pod2text(1), pod2man(1), pod2html(1), perlpod(1), perldoc(1)