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

NAME

       Path::Class::File - Objects representing files

VERSION

       version 0.26

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, 'fooar.txt' on Windows, etc.
	 print "file: $file
";

	 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

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
	   "WindowsFoo.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 $dir = dir('/foo/baz/../foo.txt')->resolve;
	     # $dir 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
	   "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 croak "Can't read $file: $!";

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

	    $fh = $file->open('w') or croak "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);

	   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(UTFaXX8)');

	   The default "iomode" is "r".

       $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 too,
	   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->traverse(sub { ... }, @args)
	   Calls the given callback on $file. This doesn't do much on its own, but see the associated documentation in Path::Class::Dir.

       $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.

       $class = $file->dir_class()
	   Returns the class which should be used to create directory objects.

	   Generally overridden whenever this class is subclassed.

AUTHOR

       Ken Williams, kwilliams@cpan.org

SEE ALSO

       Path::Class, Path::Class::Dir, File::Spec

perl v5.14.2							    2012-06-15						    Path::Class::File(3pm)