Path::Class::File - Objects representing files
version 0.37
use Path::Class; # Exports file() by default
my $file = file('foo', 'bar.txt'); # Path::Class::File object
my $file = Path::Class::File->new('foo', 'bar.txt'); # Same thing
# Stringifies to 'foo/bar.txt' on Unix, 'foo\bar.txt' on Windows, etc.
print "file: $file\n";
if ($file->is_absolute) { ... }
if ($file->is_relative) { ... }
my $v = $file->volume; # Could be 'C:' on Windows, empty string
# on Unix, 'Macintosh HD:' on Mac OS
$file->cleanup; # Perform logical cleanup of pathname
$file->resolve; # Perform physical cleanup of pathname
my $dir = $file->dir; # A Path::Class::Dir object
my $abs = $file->absolute; # Transform to absolute path
my $rel = $file->relative; # Transform to relative path
The Path::Class::File class contains functionality for manipulating
file names in a cross-platform way.
- $file = Path::Class::File->new( , , ..., )
-
- $file = file( , , ..., )
-
Creates a new
Path::Class::File object and returns it. The
arguments specify the path to the file. Any volume may also be
specified as the first argument, or as part of the first argument.
You can use platform-neutral syntax:
my $file = file( 'foo', 'bar', 'baz.txt' );
or platform-native syntax:
my $file = file( 'foo/bar/baz.txt' );
or a mixture of the two:
my $file = file( 'foo/bar', 'baz.txt' );
All three of the above examples create relative paths. To create an
absolute path, either use the platform native syntax for doing so:
my $file = file( '/var/tmp/foo.txt' );
or use an empty string as the first argument:
my $file = file( '', 'var', 'tmp', 'foo.txt' );
If the second form seems awkward, that's somewhat intentional - paths
like /var/tmp or \Windows aren't cross-platform concepts in the
first place, so they probably shouldn't appear in your code if you're
trying to be cross-platform. The first form is perfectly fine,
because paths like this may come from config files, user input, or
whatever.
- $file->stringify
-
This method is called internally when a
Path::Class::File object is
used in a string context, so the following are equivalent:
$string = $file->stringify;
$string = "$file";
- $file->volume
-
Returns the volume (e.g.
C: on Windows, Macintosh HD: on Mac OS,
etc.) of the object, if any. Otherwise, returns the empty string.
- $file->basename
-
Returns the name of the file as a string, without the directory
portion (if any).
- $file->components
-
Returns a list of the directory components of this file, followed by
the basename.
Note: unlike $dir->components , this method currently does not
accept any arguments to select which elements of the list will be
returned. It may do so in the future. Currently it throws an
exception if such arguments are present.
- $file->is_dir
-
Returns a boolean value indicating whether this object represents a
directory. Not surprisingly,
Path::Class::File objects always
return false, and the Path::Class::Dir manpage objects always return true.
- $file->is_absolute
-
Returns true or false depending on whether the file refers to an
absolute path specifier (like
/usr/local/foo.txt or \Windows\Foo.txt ).
- $file->is_relative
-
Returns true or false depending on whether the file refers to a
relative path specifier (like
lib/foo.txt or .\Foo.txt ).
- $file->cleanup
-
Performs a logical cleanup of the file path. For instance:
my $file = file('/foo//baz/./foo.txt')->cleanup;
# $file now represents '/foo/baz/foo.txt';
- $dir->resolve
-
Performs a physical cleanup of the file path. For instance:
my $file = file('/foo/baz/../foo.txt')->resolve;
# $file now represents '/foo/foo.txt', assuming no symlinks
This actually consults the filesystem to verify the validity of the
path.
- $dir = $file->dir
-
Returns a
Path::Class::Dir object representing the directory
containing this file.
- $dir = $file->parent
-
A synonym for the
dir() method.
- $abs = $file->absolute
-
Returns a
Path::Class::File object representing $file as an
absolute path. An optional argument, given as either a string or a
the Path::Class::Dir manpage object, specifies the directory to use as the base
of relativity - otherwise the current working directory will be used.
- $rel = $file->relative
-
Returns a
Path::Class::File object representing $file as a
relative path. An optional argument, given as either a string or a
Path::Class::Dir object, specifies the directory to use as the base
of relativity - otherwise the current working directory will be used.
- $foreign = $file->as_foreign($type)
-
Returns a
Path::Class::File object representing $file as it would
be specified on a system of type $type . Known types include
Unix , Win32 , Mac , VMS , and OS2 , i.e. anything for which
there is a subclass of File::Spec .
Any generated objects (subdirectories, files, parents, etc.) will also
retain this type.
- $foreign = Path::Class::File->new_foreign($type, @args)
-
Returns a
Path::Class::File object representing a file as it would
be specified on a system of type $type . Known types include
Unix , Win32 , Mac , VMS , and OS2 , i.e. anything for which
there is a subclass of File::Spec .
The arguments in @args are the same as they would be specified in
new() .
- $fh = $file->open($mode, $permissions)
-
Passes the given arguments, including
$file , to IO::File->new
(which in turn calls IO::File->open and returns the result
as an the IO::File manpage object. If the opening
fails, undef is returned and $! is set.
- $fh = $file->openr()
-
A shortcut for
$fh = $file->open('r') or croak "Can't read $file: $!";
- $fh = $file->openw()
-
A shortcut for
$fh = $file->open('w') or croak "Can't write to $file: $!";
- $fh = $file->opena()
-
A shortcut for
$fh = $file->open('a') or croak "Can't append to $file: $!";
- $file->touch
-
Sets the modification and access time of the given file to right now,
if the file exists. If it doesn't exist,
touch() will make it
exist, and - YES! - set its modification and access time to now.
- $file->slurp()
-
In a scalar context, returns the contents of
$file in a string. In
a list context, returns the lines of $file (according to how $/
is set) as a list. If the file can't be read, this method will throw
an exception.
If you want chomp() run on each line of the file, pass a true value
for the chomp or chomped parameters:
my @lines = $file->slurp(chomp => 1);
You may also use the iomode parameter to pass in an IO mode to use
when opening the file, usually IO layers (though anything accepted by
the MODE argument of open() is accepted here). Just make sure it's
a reading mode.
my @lines = $file->slurp(iomode => ':crlf');
my $lines = $file->slurp(iomode => '<:encoding(UTF-8)');
The default iomode is r .
Lines can also be automatically split, mimicking the perl command-line
option -a by using the split parameter. If this parameter is used,
each line will be returned as an array ref.
my @lines = $file->slurp( chomp => 1, split => qr/\s*,\s*/ );
The split parameter can only be used in a list context.
- $file->spew( $content );
-
The opposite of slurp, this takes a list of strings and prints them
to the file in write mode. If the file can't be written to, this method
will throw an exception.
The content to be written can be either an array ref or a plain scalar.
If the content is an array ref then each entry in the array will be
written to the file.
You may use the iomode parameter to pass in an IO mode to use when
opening the file, just like slurp supports.
$file->spew(iomode => '>:raw', $content);
The default iomode is w .
- $file->spew_lines( $content );
-
Just like
spew , but, if $content is a plain scalar, appends $/
to it, or, if $content is an array ref, appends $/ to each element
of the array.
Can also take an iomode parameter like spew . Again, the
default iomode is w .
- $file->traverse(sub { ... }, @args)
-
Calls the given callback on $file. This doesn't do much on its own,
but see the associated documentation in the Path::Class::Dir manpage.
- $file->remove()
-
This method will remove the file in a way that works well on all
platforms, and returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the
file was successfully removed.
remove() is better than simply calling Perl's unlink() function,
because on some platforms (notably VMS) you actually may need to call
unlink() several times before all versions of the file are gone -
the remove() method handles this process for you.
- $st = $file->stat()
-
Invokes
File::stat::stat() on this file and returns a
the File::stat manpage object representing the result.
- $st = $file->lstat()
-
Same as
stat() , but if $file is a symbolic link, lstat()
stats the link instead of the file the link points to.
- $class = $file->dir_class()
-
Returns the class which should be used to create directory objects.
Generally overridden whenever this class is subclassed.
- $copy = $file->copy_to( $dest );
-
Copies the
$file to $dest . It returns a the Path::Class::File manpage
object when successful, undef otherwise.
- $moved = $file->move_to( $dest );
-
Moves the
$file to $dest , and updates $file accordingly.
It returns $file is successful, undef otherwise.
Ken Williams, kwilliams@cpan.org
the Path::Class manpage, the Path::Class::Dir manpage, the File::Spec manpage
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