X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry(3pm)			User Contributed Perl Documentation		       X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry(3pm)

NAME

       X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry - an interface to Freedesktop.org .desktop files.

SYNOPSIS

	       use X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry;

	       my $entry = X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry->new_from_data($data);

	       print $entry->get_value('Name');

	       print $entry->Exec;

	       $entry->set_value('Name', 'Example Program');

	       print $entry->as_string;

	       $entry->reset;

DESCRIPTION

       This module provides an object-oriented interface to files that comply with the Freedesktop.org desktop entry specification. You can query
       the file for available values, modify them, and also get locale information as well.

CONSTRUCTOR

       X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry doesn't have the standard "new()" constructor.  This allows subclasses to implement their own backend-
       specific constructor without needing to re-implement the constructor, which can be a pain (for an example subclass that uses Gnome2::VFS as
       a backend, see the "PerlPanel::DesktopEntry" module in the PerlPanel distribution).

	       my $entry = X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry->new_from_data($data);

       If there is an error reading or parsing the data, the constructor will "carp()" and return an undefined value.

METHODS

	       $entry->is_valid($locale);

       Returns a true or false valid depending on whether the required keys exist for the given $locale. A list of the required keys can be found
       in the Freedesktop.org specification. If $locale is omitted, it will default to '"C"'.

	       my @groups = $entry->groups;

       This returns an array of scalars containing the group names included in the file. Groups are defined by a line like the following in the
       file itself:

	       [Desktop Entry]

       A valid desktop entry file will always have one of these, at the top.

	       $entry->has_group($group);

       Returns true or false depending on whether the file has a section with the name of $group.

	       my @keys = $entry->keys($group, $locale);

       Returns an array of the available keys in $group and the $locale locale.  Both these values revert to defaults if they're undefined. When
       $locale is defined, the array will be folded in with the keys from '"C"', since locales inherit keys from the default locale. See the
       "get_value()" method for another example of this inheritance.

	       $entry->has_key($key, $group);

       Returns true or false depending on whether the file has a key with the name of $key in the $group section. If $group is omitted, then the
       default group ('Desktop Entry') will be used.

	       my @locales = $entry->locales($key, $group);

       Returns an array of strings naming all the available locales for the given $key. If $key or $group don't exist in the file, this method
       will "carp()" and return undef. There should always be at least one locale in the returned array - the default locale, '"C"'.

	       my $string = $entry->get_value($key, $group, $locale);

       Returns the value of the key named by $key. $group is optional, and will be set to the default if omitted (see above). $locale is also
       optional, and defines the locale for the string (defaults to '"C"' if omitted). If the requested key does not exist for a non-default
       $locale of the form "xx_YY", then the module will search for a value for the "xx" locale. If nothing is found, this method will attempt to
       return the value for the '"C"' locale. If this value does not exist, this method will return undef.

	       $entry->set_value($key, $value, $locale, $group);

       This method sets the value of the $key key in the $locale locale and $group group to be $value. If $locale and $group are omitted, the
       defaults are used. $value is always interpreted as a string. This method always returns true.

	       my $data = $entry->as_string;

       This method returns a scalar containing the full entry in .desktop format. This data can then be used to write the entry to disk.

	       $entry->reset;

       This method restores the entry to its initial state - it undoes any changes made to the values stored in the entry.

CONVENIENCE METHODS

	       my $name 	       = $entry->Name($locale);
	       my $generic_name        = $entry->GenericName($locale);
	       my $comment	       = $entry->Comment($locale);
	       my $type 	       = $entry->Type($locale);
	       my $icon 	       = $entry->Icon($locale);
	       my $exec 	       = $entry->Exec($locale);
	       my $url		       = $entry->URL($locale);
	       my $startup_notify      = $entry->StartupNotify($locale);

       These methods are shortcuts for the mostly commonly accessed fields from a desktop entry file. If undefined, $locale reverts to the
       default.

NOTES

       Please note that according to the Freedesktop.org spec, key names are case-sensitive.

SEE ALSO

       The Freedesktop.org Desktop Entry Specification at <http://www.freedesktop.org/Standards/desktop-entry-spec>.

AUTHOR

       Gavin Brown <gavin.brown@uk.com>.

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2005 Gavin Brown. This program is free software, you can use it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

perl v5.10.0							    2009-01-10				       X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry(3pm)