Ubuntu Manpage: fileutil::multi::op - Multi-file operation, scatter/gather

NAME

       fileutil::multi::op - Multi-file operation, scatter/gather

SYNOPSIS

       package require Tcl  8.4

       package require fileutil::multi::op  ?0.5.3?

       package require wip  ?1.0?

       ::fileutil::multi::op ?opName? ?word...?

       opName option ?arg arg ...?

       $opName do ?word...?

       into directory

       in directory

       to directory

       from directory

       not pattern

       for pattern

       exclude pattern

       but

       except

       as name

       recursive

       recursively

       copy

       move

       remove

       expand

       invoke cmdprefix

       reset

       (

       )

       cd directory

       up

       for-windows

       for-win

       for-unix

       the pattern

       the-set varname

       -> varname

       strict

       !strict

       files

       links

       directories

       dirs

       all

       state?

       as?

       excluded?

       from?

       into?

       operation?

       recursive?

       strict?

       type?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION

       This package provides objects which are able to perform actions on multiple files selected
       by glob patterns.

       At the core is a domain specific language allowing the easy  specification  of  multi-file
       copy  and/or  move  and/or  deletion  operations.  Alternate names would be scatter/gather
       processor, or maybe even assembler.

CLASS API

       The main command of the package is:

       ::fileutil::multi::op ?opName? ?word...?
              The command creates a new multi-file operation object with an associated global Tcl
              command  whose  name  is  opName.   This  command can be used to invoke the various
              possible file operations.  It has the following general form:

              opName option ?arg arg ...?
                     Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command.

       If the string %AUTO% is used as the opName then the package will generate a unique name on
       its own.

       If one or more words are specified they are interpreted as an initial set of file commands
       to execute. I.e. the method do of the newly constructed object is implicitly invoked using
       the words as its arguments.

OBJECT API

       The following methods are possible for multi-file operation objects:

       $opName do ?word...?
              This  method  interprets  the  specified words as file commands to execute. See the
              section FILE API for the set of acceptable commands, their syntax, and semantics.

              The result of the method is the result  generated  by  the  last  file  command  it
              executed.

FILE API

Both object constructor and method do take a list of words and interpret them as file
commands to execute. The names were chosen to allow the construction of operations as
sentences in near-natural language. Most of the commands influence just the state of the
object, i.e. are simply providing the configuration used by the command triggering the
actual action.

into directory
Specifies the destination directory for operations.

in directory
Alias for into.

to directory
Alias for into.

from directory
Specifies the source directory for operations.

not pattern
Specifies a glob pattern for paths to be excluded from the operation.

for pattern
Alias for not.

exclude pattern
Alias for not.

but Has no arguments of its own, but looks ahead in the list of words and executes all
not commands immediately following it. This allows the construction of "but not"
and "but exclude" clauses for a more natural sounding specification of excluded
paths.

except A semi-alias for but. Has no arguments of its own, but looks ahead in the list of
words and executes all for commands immediately following it. This allows the
construction of "except for" clauses for a more natural sounding specification of
excluded paths.

as name
Specifies a new name for the first file handled by the current operation. I.e. for
the renaming of a single file during the operation.

recursive
Signals that file expansion should happen in the whole directory hierarchy and not
just the directory itself.

recursively
An alias for recursive.

copy Signals that the operation is the copying of files from source to destination
directory per the specified inclusion and exclusion patterns.

move Signals that the operation is the moving of files from source to destination
directory per the specified inclusion and exclusion patterns.

remove Signals that the operation is the removal of files in the destination directory per
the specified inclusion and exclusion patterns.

expand Signals that there is no operation but the calculation of the set of files from the
include and exclude patterns. This operation is not available if the-set is used.

invoke cmdprefix
Signals that the user-specified command prefix cmdprefix is the operation to
perform. The command prefix is executed at the global level and given the source
directory, destination directory, and set of files (as dictionary mapping from
source to destination files), in this order.

reset Forces the object into the ground state where all parts of the configuration have
default values.

( Saves a copy of the current object state on a stack.

) Takes the state at the top of the state stack and restores it, i.e. makes it the
new current object state.

cd directory
Changes the destination directory to the sub-directory directory of the current
destination.

up Changes the destination directory to the parent directory of the current
destination.

for-windows
Checks that Windows is the current platform. Aborts processing if not.

for-win
An alias for for-windows.

for-unix
Checks that Unix is the current platform. Aborts processing if not.

the pattern
This command specifies the files to operate on per a glob pattern, and is also the
active element, i.e. the command which actually performs the specified operation.
All the other commands only modified the object state to set the operation up, but
di nothing else.

To allow for a more natural sounding syntax this command also looks ahead in the
list of words looks and executes several commands immediately following it before
performing its own actions. These commands are as, but, exclude, except, from, and
into (and aliases). That way these commands act like qualifiers, and still take
effect as if they had been written before this command.

After the operation has been performed the object state the exclude patterns and
the alias name, if specified, are reset to their default values (i.e. empty), but
nothing else.

the-set varname
Like the, however the set of files to use is not specified implicitly per a glob
pattern, but contained and loaded from the specified variable. The operation expand
is not available if this command is used.

-> varname
Saves the set of files from the last expansion into the specified variable.

strict Make file expansion and definition of destination directory (in and aliases)
strict, i.e. report errors for missing directories, and empty expansion.

!strict
Complement of strict. A missing destination directory or empty expansion are not
reported as errors.

files Limit the search to files. Default is to accept every type of path.

links Limit the search to symbolic links. Default is to accept every type of path.

directories
Limit the search to directories. Default is to accept every type of path.

dirs An alias for directories.

all Accept all types of paths (default).

state? Returns the current state of the object as dictionary. The dictionary keys and
their meanings are:

as Last setting made by as.

excluded
List of currently known exclusion patterns.

from Current source directory, set by from.

into Current destination directory, set by into (and aliases).

operation
Current operation to perform, set by copy, move, remove, expand, or invoke.

recursive
Current recursion status. Set/unset by recursive and !recursive.

strict Current strictness. Set/unset by strict and !strict.

type Current path type limiter. Set by either files, directories, links, or all.

as? Returns the current alias name.

excluded?
Returns the current set of exclusion patterns.

from? Returns the current source directory.

into? Returns the current destination directory.

operation?
Returns the current operation to perform.

recursive?
Returns the current recursion status.

strict?
Returns the current strictness.

type? Returns the current path type limiter.

EXAMPLES

       The following examples assume that the variable F contains a  reference  to  a  multi-file
       operation object.

                  $F do copy                       \\
                the  *.dll                    \\
                from c:/TDK/PrivateOpenSSL/bin \\
                to   [installdir_of tls]

                  $F do move      \\
                the  *       \\
                from /sources \\
                into /scratch  \\
                but not *.html

                  # Alternatively use 'except for *.html'.

                  $F do           \\
                move         \\
                the  index    \\
                from /sources  \\
                into /scratch   \\
                as   pkgIndex.tcl

                  $F do         \\
                remove     \\
                the *.txt  \\
                in /scratch

       Note  that  the fact that most commands just modify the object state allows us to use more
       off forms as specifications  instead  of  just  nearly-natural  language  sentences.   For
       example the second example in this section can re-arranged into:

                  $F do            \\
                from /sources \\
                into /scratch  \\
                but not *.html \\
                move           \\
                the  *

       and  the  result  is  not  only  still  a  valid  specification, but even stays relatively
       readable.

       Further note that the information collected  by  the  commands  but,  except,  and  as  is
       automatically reset after the associated the was executed. However no other state is reset
       in that manner, allowing the user to avoid  repetitions  of  unchanging  information.  For
       example the second and third examples of this section can be merged and rewritten into the
       equivalent:

              $F do                   \\
                  move                 \\
                  the  *                \\
                  from /sources          \\
                  into /scratch           \\
                  but not *.html not index \\
                  the  index               \\
                  as   pkgIndex.tcl

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK

       This document, and the package it describes,  will  undoubtedly  contain  bugs  and  other
       problems.    Please   report  such  in  the  category  fileutil  of  the  Tcllib  Trackers
       [http://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/reportlist].  Please also report any ideas for enhancements you
       may have for either package and/or documentation.

KEYWORDS

       copy, file utilities, move, multi-file, remove