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Path::Class::File(3)                 User Contributed Perl Documentation                Path::Class::File(3)



NAME
       Path::Class::File - Objects representing files

SYNOPSIS
         use Path::Class qw(file);  # Export a short constructor

         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) { ... }

         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

         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

DESCRIPTION
       The "Path::Class::File" class contains functionality for manipulating file names in a cross-platform
       way.

METHODS
       $file = Path::Class::File->new( <dir1>, <dir2>, ..., <file> )
       $file = file( <dir1>, <dir2>, ..., <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 $dir = file( 'foo', 'bar', 'baz.txt' );

           or platform-native syntax:

             my $dir = dir( 'foo/bar/baz.txt' );

           or a mixture of the two:

             my $dir = dir( '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 $dir = dir( '/var/tmp/foo.txt' );

           or use an empty string as the first argument:

             my $dir = dir( '', '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->is_dir
           Returns a boolean value indicating whether this object represents a directory.  Not surprisingly,
           "Path::Class::File" objects always return false, and "Path::Class::Dir" 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->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 = $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 "Path::Class::Dir" 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 "IO::File" object.  If the opening fails, "undef"
           is returned and $! is set.

       $fh = $file->openr()
           A shortcut for

            $fh = $file->open('r') or die "Can't read $file: $!";

       $fh = $file->openw()
           A shortcut for

            $fh = $file->open('w') or die "Can't write $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);

       $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 "File::stat" 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.

AUTHOR
       Ken Williams, ken@mathforum.org

SEE ALSO
       Path::Class, Path::Class::Dir, File::Spec



perl v5.8.8                                      2006-12-24                             Path::Class::File(3)