---
name: "Test::Lintian::Helper"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "lintian"
version: "2.122.0"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/Test::Lintian::Helper"
---

# Test::Lintian::Helper(3)

## NAME

Test::Lintian::Helper -- Helper functions for various testing parts

## SYNOPSIS

```
  use Test::Lintian::Helper qw(get_latest_policy);
  my $policy_version = get_latest_policy();
```

## DESCRIPTION

Helper functions for preparing and running Lintian tests.

## FUNCTIONS

- **cache\_dpkg\_architecture\_values()**

  Ensures that the output from dpkg-architecture has been cached.

- **get\_latest\_policy()**

  Returns a list with two elements. The first is the most recent version of the Debian policy. The second is its effective date.

- **get\_recommended\_debhelper\_version()**

  Returns the version of debhelper recommended in 'debhelper/compat-level' via Lintian::Data, relative to the established LINTIAN\_BASE.

- copy\_dir\_contents(SRC\_DIR, TARGET\_DIR)

  Populates TARGET\_DIR with files/dirs from SRC\_DIR, preserving all attributes but dereferencing links. For an empty directory, no dummy file is required.

- rfc822date(EPOCH)

  Returns a string with the date and time described by EPOCH, formatted according to RFC822.