Provided by: libfile-slurp-perl_9999.19-6_all bug

NAME

       File::Slurp - Simple and Efficient Reading/Writing/Modifying of Complete Files

SYNOPSIS

         use File::Slurp;

       # read in a whole file into a scalar
         my $text = read_file( 'filename' ) ;

       # read in a whole file into an array of lines
         my @lines = read_file( 'filename' ) ;

       # write out a whole file from a scalar
         write_file( 'filename', $text ) ;

       # write out a whole file from an array of lines
         write_file( 'filename', @lines ) ;

       # Here is a simple and fast way to load and save a simple config file # made of key=value
       lines.
         my %conf = read_file( $file_name ) =~ /^(\w+)=(.*)$/mg ;
         write_file( $file_name, {atomic => 1}, map "$_=$conf{$_}\n", keys %conf ) ;

       # insert text at the beginning of a file
         prepend_file( 'filename', $text ) ;

       # in-place edit to replace all 'foo' with 'bar' in file
         edit_file { s/foo/bar/g } 'filename' ;

       # in-place edit to delete all lines with 'foo' from file
         edit_file_lines sub { $_ = '' if /foo/ }, 'filename' ;

       # read in a whole directory of file names (skipping . and ..)
         my @files = read_dir( '/path/to/dir' ) ;

DESCRIPTION

       This module provides subs that allow you to read or write entire files with one simple
       call. They are designed to be simple to use, have flexible ways to pass in or get the file
       contents and to be very efficient.  There is also a sub to read in all the files in a
       directory other than "." and ".."

       These slurp/spew subs work for files, pipes and sockets, stdio, pseudo-files, and the DATA
       handle. Read more about why slurping files is a good thing in the file 'slurp_article.pod'
       in the extras/ directory.

       If you are interested in how fast these calls work, check out the slurp_bench.pl program
       in the extras/ directory. It compares many different forms of slurping. You can select the
       I/O direction, context and file sizes. Use the --help option to see how to run it.

   read_file
       This sub reads in an entire file and returns its contents to the caller.  In scalar
       context it returns the entire file as a single scalar. In list context it will return a
       list of lines (using the current value of $/ as the separator including support for
       paragraph mode when it is set to '').

         my $text = read_file( 'filename' ) ;
         my $bin = read_file( 'filename' { binmode => ':raw' } ) ;
         my @lines = read_file( 'filename' ) ;
         my $lines = read_file( 'filename', array_ref => 1 ) ;

       The first argument is the file to slurp in. If the next argument is a hash reference, then
       it is used as the options. Otherwise the rest of the argument list are is used as
       key/value options.

       If the file argument is a handle (if it is a ref and is an IO or GLOB object), then that
       handle is slurped in. This mode is supported so you slurp handles such as "DATA" and
       "STDIN". See the test handle.t for an example that does "open( '-|' )" and the child
       process spews data to the parant which slurps it in.  All of the options that control how
       the data is returned to the caller still work in this case.

       If the first argument is an overloaded object then its stringified value is used for the
       filename and that file is opened.  This is a new feature in 9999.14. See the stringify.t
       test for an example.

       By default "read_file" returns an undef in scalar contex or a single undef in list context
       if it encounters an error. Those are both impossible to get with a clean read_file call
       which means you can check the return value and always know if you had an error. You can
       change how errors are handled with the "err_mode" option.

       Speed Note: If you call read_file and just get a scalar return value it is now optimized
       to handle shorter files. This is only used if no options are used, the file is shorter
       then 100k bytes, the filename is a plain scalar and a scalar file is returned. If you want
       the fastest slurping, use the "buf_ref" or "scalar_ref" options (see below)

       NOTE: as of version 9999.06, read_file works correctly on the "DATA" handle. It used to
       need a sysseek workaround but that is now handled when needed by the module itself.

       You can optionally request that "slurp()" is exported to your code. This is an alias for
       read_file and is meant to be forward compatible with Perl 6 (which will have slurp()
       built-in).

       The options for "read_file" are:

       binmode

       If you set the binmode option, then its value is passed to a call to binmode on the opened
       handle. You can use this to set the file to be read in binary mode, utf8, etc. See perldoc
       -f binmode for more.

               my $bin_data = read_file( $bin_file, binmode => ':raw' ) ;
               my $utf_text = read_file( $bin_file, binmode => ':utf8' ) ;

       Please note that using binmode :utf8 with sysread (and thus read_file) has been deprecated
       in recent versions of perl.

       array_ref

       If this boolean option is set, the return value (only in scalar context) will be an array
       reference which contains the lines of the slurped file. The following two calls are
       equivalent:

               my $lines_ref = read_file( $bin_file, array_ref => 1 ) ;
               my $lines_ref = [ read_file( $bin_file ) ] ;

       chomp

       If this boolean option is set, the lines are chomped. This only happens if you are
       slurping in a list context or using the "array_ref" option.

       scalar_ref

       If this boolean option is set, the return value (only in scalar context) will be an scalar
       reference to a string which is the contents of the slurped file. This will usually be
       faster than returning the plain scalar. It will also save memory as it will not make a
       copy of the file to return. Run the extras/slurp_bench.pl script to see speed comparisons.

               my $text_ref = read_file( $bin_file, scalar_ref => 1 ) ;

       buf_ref

       You can use this option to pass in a scalar reference and the slurped file contents will
       be stored in the scalar. This can be used in conjunction with any of the other options.
       This saves an extra copy of the slurped file and can lower ram usage vs returning the
       file. It is usually the fastest way to read a file into a scalar. Run the
       extras/slurp_bench.pl script to see speed comparisons.

               read_file( $bin_file, buf_ref => \$buffer ) ;

       blk_size

       You can use this option to set the block size used when slurping from an already open
       handle (like \*STDIN). It defaults to 1MB.

               my $text_ref = read_file( $bin_file, blk_size => 10_000_000,
                                                    array_ref => 1 ) ;

       err_mode

       You can use this option to control how read_file behaves when an error occurs. This option
       defaults to 'croak'. You can set it to 'carp' or to 'quiet to have no special error
       handling. This code wants to carp and then read another file if it fails.

               my $text_ref = read_file( $file, err_mode => 'carp' ) ;
               unless ( $text_ref ) {

                       # read a different file but croak if not found
                       $text_ref = read_file( $another_file ) ;
               }

               # process ${$text_ref}

   write_file
       This sub writes out an entire file in one call.

         write_file( 'filename', @data ) ;

       The first argument to "write_file" is the filename. The next argument is an optional hash
       reference and it contains key/values that can modify the behavior of "write_file". The
       rest of the argument list is the data to be written to the file.

         write_file( 'filename', {append => 1 }, @data ) ;
         write_file( 'filename', {binmode => ':raw'}, $buffer ) ;

       As a shortcut if the first data argument is a scalar or array reference, it is used as the
       only data to be written to the file. Any following arguments in @_ are ignored. This is a
       faster way to pass in the output to be written to the file and is equivalent to the
       "buf_ref" option of "read_file". These following pairs are equivalent but the pass by
       reference call will be faster in most cases (especially with larger files).

         write_file( 'filename', \$buffer ) ;
         write_file( 'filename', $buffer ) ;

         write_file( 'filename', \@lines ) ;
         write_file( 'filename', @lines ) ;

       If the first argument is a handle (if it is a ref and is an IO or GLOB object), then that
       handle is written to. This mode is supported so you spew to handles such as \*STDOUT. See
       the test handle.t for an example that does "open( '-|' )" and child process spews data to
       the parent which slurps it in.  All of the options that control how the data are passed
       into "write_file" still work in this case.

       If the first argument is an overloaded object then its stringified value is used for the
       filename and that file is opened.  This is new feature in 9999.14. See the stringify.t
       test for an example.

       By default "write_file" returns 1 upon successfully writing the file or undef if it
       encountered an error. You can change how errors are handled with the "err_mode" option.

       The options are:

       binmode

       If you set the binmode option, then its value is passed to a call to binmode on the opened
       handle. You can use this to set the file to be read in binary mode, utf8, etc. See perldoc
       -f binmode for more.

               write_file( $bin_file, {binmode => ':raw'}, @data ) ;
               write_file( $bin_file, {binmode => ':utf8'}, $utf_text ) ;

       perms

       The perms option sets the permissions of newly-created files. This value is modified by
       your process's umask and defaults to 0666 (same as sysopen).

       NOTE: this option is new as of File::Slurp version 9999.14;

       buf_ref

       You can use this option to pass in a scalar reference which has the data to be written. If
       this is set then any data arguments (including the scalar reference shortcut) in @_ will
       be ignored. These are equivalent:

               write_file( $bin_file, { buf_ref => \$buffer } ) ;
               write_file( $bin_file, \$buffer ) ;
               write_file( $bin_file, $buffer ) ;

       atomic

       If you set this boolean option, the file will be written to in an atomic fashion. A
       temporary file name is created by appending the pid ($$) to the file name argument and
       that file is spewed to. After the file is closed it is renamed to the original file name
       (and rename is an atomic operation on most OS's). If the program using this were to crash
       in the middle of this, then the file with the pid suffix could be left behind.

       append

       If you set this boolean option, the data will be written at the end of the current file.
       Internally this sets the sysopen mode flag O_APPEND.

               write_file( $file, {append => 1}, @data ) ;

        You
       can import append_file and it does the same thing.

       no_clobber

       If you set this boolean option, an existing file will not be overwritten.

               write_file( $file, {no_clobber => 1}, @data ) ;

       err_mode

       You can use this option to control how "write_file" behaves when an error occurs. This
       option defaults to 'croak'. You can set it to 'carp' or to 'quiet' to have no error
       handling other than the return value. If the first call to "write_file" fails it will carp
       and then write to another file. If the second call to "write_file" fails, it will croak.

               unless ( write_file( $file, { err_mode => 'carp', \$data ) ;

                       # write a different file but croak if not found
                       write_file( $other_file, \$data ) ;
               }

   overwrite_file
       This sub is just a typeglob alias to write_file since write_file always overwrites an
       existing file. This sub is supported for backwards compatibility with the original version
       of this module. See write_file for its API and behavior.

   append_file
       This sub will write its data to the end of the file. It is a wrapper around write_file and
       it has the same API so see that for the full documentation. These calls are equivalent:

               append_file( $file, @data ) ;
               write_file( $file, {append => 1}, @data ) ;

   prepend_file
       This sub writes data to the beginning of a file. The previously existing data is written
       after that so the effect is prepending data in front of a file. It is a counterpart to the
       append_file sub in this module. It works by first using "read_file" to slurp in the file
       and then calling "write_file" with the new data and the existing file data.

       The first argument to "prepend_file" is the filename. The next argument is an optional
       hash reference and it contains key/values that can modify the behavior of "prepend_file".
       The rest of the argument list is the data to be written to the file and that is passed to
       "write_file" as is (see that for allowed data).

       Only the "binmode" and "err_mode" options are supported. The "write_file" call has the
       "atomic" option set so you will always have a consistant file. See above for more about
       those options.

       "prepend_file" is not exported by default, you need to import it explicitly.

               use File::Slurp qw( prepend_file ) ;
               prepend_file( $file, $header ) ;
               prepend_file( $file, \@lines ) ;
               prepend_file( $file, { binmode => 'raw:'}, $bin_data ) ;

   edit_file, edit_file_lines
       These subs read in a file into $_, execute a code block which should modify $_ and then
       write $_ back to the file. The difference between them is that "edit_file" reads the whole
       file into $_ and calls the code block one time. With "edit_file_lines" each line is read
       into $_ and the code is called for each line. In both cases the code should modify $_ if
       desired and it will be written back out. These subs are the equivalent of the -pi command
       line options of Perl but you can call them from inside your program and not fork out a
       process. They are in @EXPORT_OK so you need to request them to be imported on the use line
       or you can import both of them with:

               use File::Slurp qw( :edit ) ;

       The first argument to "edit_file" and "edit_file_lines" is a code block or a code
       reference. The code block is not followed by a comma (as with grep and map) but a code
       reference is followed by a comma. See the examples below for both styles. The next
       argument is the filename. The last argument is an optional hash reference and it contains
       key/values that can modify the behavior of "prepend_file".

       Only the "binmode" and "err_mode" options are supported. The "write_file" call has the
       "atomic" option set so you will always have a consistant file. See above for more about
       those options.

       Each group of calls below show a Perl command line instance and the equivalent calls to
       "edit_file" and "edit_file_lines".

               perl -0777 -pi -e 's/foo/bar/g' filename
               use File::Slurp qw( edit_file ) ;
               edit_file { s/foo/bar/g } 'filename' ;
               edit_file sub { s/foo/bar/g }, 'filename' ;
               edit_file \&replace_foo, 'filename' ;
               sub replace_foo { s/foo/bar/g }

               perl -pi -e '$_ = "" if /foo/' filename
               use File::Slurp qw( edit_file_lines ) ;
               use File::Slurp ;
               edit_file_lines { $_ = '' if /foo/ } 'filename' ;
               edit_file_lines sub { $_ = '' if /foo/ }, 'filename' ;
               edit_file \&delete_foo, 'filename' ;
               sub delete_foo { $_ = '' if /foo/ }

   read_dir
       This sub reads all the file names from directory and returns them to the caller but "."
       and ".." are removed by default.

               my @files = read_dir( '/path/to/dir' ) ;

       The first argument is the path to the directory to read.  If the next argument is a hash
       reference, then it is used as the options.  Otherwise the rest of the argument list are is
       used as key/value options.

       In list context "read_dir" returns a list of the entries in the directory. In a scalar
       context it returns an array reference which has the entries.

       err_mode

       If the "err_mode" option is set, it selects how errors are handled (see "err_mode" in
       "read_file" or "write_file").

       keep_dot_dot

       If this boolean option is set, "." and ".." are not removed from the list of files.

               my @all_files = read_dir( '/path/to/dir', keep_dot_dot => 1 ) ;

       prefix

       If this boolean option is set, the string "$dir/" is prefixed to each dir entry. This
       means you can directly use the results to open files. A common newbie mistake is not
       putting the directory in front of entries when opening themn.

               my @paths = read_dir( '/path/to/dir', prefix => 1 ) ;

   EXPORT
         These are exported by default or with
               use File::Slurp qw( :std ) ;

         read_file write_file overwrite_file append_file read_dir

         These are exported with
               use File::Slurp qw( :edit ) ;

         edit_file edit_file_lines

         You can get all subs in the module exported with
               use File::Slurp qw( :all ) ;

   LICENSE
         Same as Perl.

   SEE ALSO
       An article on file slurping in extras/slurp_article.pod. There is also a benchmarking
       script in extras/slurp_bench.pl.

   BUGS
       If run under Perl 5.004, slurping from the DATA handle will fail as that requires B.pm
       which didn't get into core until 5.005.

AUTHOR

       Uri Guttman, <uri AT stemsystems DOT com>