DateTime::Format::Builder creates DateTime parsers. Many string formats of dates and times are simple and just require a basic regular expression to extract the relevant information. Builder provides a simple way to do this without writing reams of structural code. Builder provides a number of methods, most of which you'll never need, or at least rarely need. They're provided more for exposing of the module's innards to any subclasses, or for when you need to do something slightly beyond what I expected. WWW: http://datetime.perl.org/