What is the modern way of creating an XS module from scratch?

Question

I need to write an XS module for Perl. It is my understanding that h2xs is pretty much deprecated today, what is the preferred method for starting an XS module today? I looked at Module::Starter, but it only handles pure Perl modules.

Answer 1

No, h2xs is not deprecated. Module::Starter is certainly more convenient if you create many pure Perl modules, but there's no reason to avoid h2xs. I would recommend reading all the way through its doc before using it, though, so that you know what all you might want it to do or not do.

Answer 2

Personally I just use Module::Starter and add the .xs file myself. It depends on what your aim is: if you're making a one-on-one mapping to a C api then h2xs can do a lot of boilerplate for you, but if you're making a completely new interface, or when you're only doing things with perl itself (and not some external library) it doesn't add much but trouble IMHO.