=head1 NAME

Net::Whois::RIPE - implementation of RIPE Whois.

=head1 SYNOPSIS

	use Net::Whois::RIPE;
  
	$whois = Net::Whois::RIPE->new($host);
	$whois = Net::Whois::RIPE->new($host,Timeout=>10);
	$whois = Net::Whois::RIPE->new($host,Timeout=>10,Port=>43);


	$whois->no_recursive;
	$whois->source('APNIC');
	$whois->type('inetnum');

	foreach $inet ($whois->query('203.203.203.203')) {
		print $inet->inetnum, "\n"; 
	}

	$whois->query('202.12.28.0');
	$whois->update($text);

	# to minimise memory requirements on large lookups...
	$iterator = $whois->query_iterator('DNS3-AP');
	while ($obj = $iterator->next) {
		...
	}

	$whois->template('inetnum');
	$whois->verbose_template('inetnum');

	$whois->debug(1);
	$whois->max_read_size(1024);

	$whois->search_all;
	$whois->fast_raw;
	$whois->find_less;
	$whois->find_more;
	$whois->find_all_more;
	$whois->no_recursive;
	$whois->no_referral;
	$whois->no_sugar;

	$whois->inverse_lookup($attribute);
	$whois->source('APNIC');
	$whois->type('person');

	# query only

	$whois->port();
	$whois->server();


=head1 DESCRIPTION

Net::Whois::RIPE class implementing a RIPE whois client.

=head1 CONSTRUCTOR

=over 4

=item B<new (HOST [,OPTIONS])>

This is the constructor for a new Net::Whois::RIPE object. C<HOST> is the
name of the remote host to which a whois connection is required.

C<OPTIONS> are passed in a hash like fashion, using key and value pairs.
Possible options are:

	Port - The port number to connect to on the remote machine
	Timeout - Set a timeout value in seconds (defaults to 30)
	Debug - See debug methog. 

The constructor returns undef on failure. If B<debug> is on then a message
is carped about the failure.

=back

=head1 METHODS

=over 4

=item B<template(WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME)>

Sends a template request to whois host for a template of WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME.
Results are returned in a I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object> object. The template is 
retrieved via the I<content> method on the I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object> object.

       $t = $whois->template('all');
       $t = $whois->template('inetnum');
       $t = $whois->template('person');
       $text = $t->content;

If WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME is undefined then the method will carp (under debug)
and return undef.

=item B<verbose_template(WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME)>

Like B<template>, but sends a verbose template request to the whois host for
WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME. Results are returned in a I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object> object.
The verbose template is retrieved via the I<content> method on the 
I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object> object.

       $vt = $whois->verbose_template('person');
       $text = $vt->content;

If WHOIS_OBJECT_NAME is undefined then the method will carp and return undef.

=item B<query(QUERY_TEXT)>

Formats query flag options (see below) and sends them and QUERY_TEXT to the
server. If called in a scalar context then the first object returned from 
the server is passed back as a single I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object> object.
In an array context, all returned objects returned from the server are
parsed into in a list and returned (potentially quite large).

       $q = $whois->query('key')  # a single Query
       @q = $whois->query('key')  # an array of Queries

If QUERY_KEY is undefined, undef is returned. Any failure will carp and 
return undef.

If B<max_read_size> is greater than zero then the server response will be
abandoned when greater than max_read_size bytes have been read. The last 
object read will have warning messages set to indicate that 
the response was cut.

=item B<query_iterator(QUERY_TEXT)>

Similar to I<query> except that a Net::Whois::RIPE::Iterator object is
returned. This object is used to iterate over the results of the query.

This was created in response to huge results returned by whois queries where
over 1000 objects may be returned. Query iterator returns an object at a time
via the I<next> method as opposed to I<query> which returns an array of 
objects.

	$iterator = $whois->query_iterator 
		or die "unable to create iterator";
	while ($obj = $iterator->next) {
		...
	}

=item B<update(UPDATE_TEXT)>

Sends UPDATE_TEXT directly to server. Query flag options (below) are not used 
by update. Server response is returned via I<Net::Whois::RIPE::Object>. Use the 
B<content> method on the Query object to via server response.

 my $q = $whois->update($message)
 print $q->content					

If UPDATE_TEXT is undefined, undef is returned. 
Any failure will carp and return undef.

If no I<changed> field can be found to determine a login and domain the method
will carp and return undef.

If B<max_read_size> is greater than zero then the server response will be
abandoned when greater than max_read_size bytes have been read.

=item B<debug(LEVEL)>

Sets/gets debugging level on the class or an object.  

	0 - no debugging
	1 - debugging on
	2 - carp on IO::Socket::INET 

=item B<max_read_size([INTEGER])>

Sets/reads the maximum number of bytes that I<Net::Whois::RIPE> will
read before returning. This is to limit huge responses from the server
overloading scripts.

a I<max_read_size> of zero indicates B<no> limit.

=item B<flag options>

The following flags may be set by calling the method. Their meaning is 
identical to the ripe whois client. These flags require no arguments, they
simply set the flag on.

       Method                       Equivalent whois flag
   
       search_all                   -a
       fast_raw                     -F
       find_less                    -L
       find_more                    -m
       find_all_more                -M
       no_recursive                 -r
       no_referral                  -R
       no_sugar                     -S

=item B<flag options taking values>

The following flags may be set by calling the method with a value. 
There meaning is identical to the ripe whois client.

       Method                       Equivalent whois flag
   
       inverse_lookup(ATTRIBUTE)    -i ATTRIBUTE
       port(PORT)                   -p PORT
       source(SOURCE)               -s SOURCE
       type(TYPE)                   -T TYPE

=back

=head1 AUTHOR

	Paul Gampe, <pgampe@users.sourceforge.net>
	Kevin Baker, <shagol@users.sourceforge.net>
	Bruce Campbell, <bxc@users.sourceforge.net>

=head1 TODO

Update could be made clever enough to determine if it was been passed
a string to update or a Net::Whois::RIPE::Object and adapt its behaviour.

=head1 SEE ALSO

	Net::Whois::RIPE::Iterator
	Net::Whois::RIPE::Object
	Net::Whois::RIPE::Object::Template

=head1 COPYRIGHT

	Copyright (C) 1998 Paul Gampe and APNIC Pty. Ltd.
	Copyright (C) 2000 Kevin Baker and APNIC Pty. Ltd.
	
	This program is free software; you can redistribute it 
	and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public 
	License as published by the Free Software Foundation; 
	either version 1, or (at your option) any later version.
	
	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
	but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
	GNU General Public License for more details.
	
	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public 
	License along with this program; if not, write to the 
	Free Software Foundation, Inc., 
	675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
