#============================================================================
#
# AppConfig.pm
#
# Perl5 module for reading and parsing configuration files and command line
# arguments.
#
# Written by Andy Wardley <abw@wardley.org>
#
# Copyright (C) 1997-2003 Andy Wardley. All Rights Reserved.
# Copyright (C) 1997,1998 Canon Research Centre Europe Ltd.
#
# $Id: AppConfig.pm,v 1.4 2003/04/29 09:44:51 abw Exp $
#
#============================================================================
package AppConfig;
require 5.005;
use strict;
use Exporter;
use vars qw( $VERSION $AUTOLOAD @EXPORT_OK %EXPORT_TAGS );
use base qw( Exporter );
## This is the main version number for AppConfig
## It is extracted by ExtUtils::MakeMaker and inserted in various places.
$VERSION = '1.55';
# variable expansion constants
use constant EXPAND_NONE => 0;
use constant EXPAND_VAR => 1;
use constant EXPAND_UID => 2;
use constant EXPAND_ENV => 4;
use constant EXPAND_ALL => EXPAND_VAR | EXPAND_UID | EXPAND_ENV;
use constant EXPAND_WARN => 8;
# argument count types
use constant ARGCOUNT_NONE => 0;
use constant ARGCOUNT_ONE => 1;
use constant ARGCOUNT_LIST => 2;
use constant ARGCOUNT_HASH => 3;
# Exporter tagsets
my @EXPAND = qw(EXPAND_NONE EXPAND_VAR EXPAND_UID EXPAND_ENV
EXPAND_ALL EXPAND_WARN);
my @ARGCOUNT = qw(ARGCOUNT_NONE ARGCOUNT_ONE ARGCOUNT_LIST ARGCOUNT_HASH);
@EXPORT_OK = (@EXPAND, @ARGCOUNT);
%EXPORT_TAGS = (
expand => [ @EXPAND ],
argcount => [ @ARGCOUNT ],
);
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# new(\%config, @vars)
#
# Module constructor. All parameters passed are forwarded onto the
# AppConfig::State constructor. Returns a reference to a newly created
# AppConfig object.
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub new {
my $class = shift;
require AppConfig::State;
my $self = {
STATE => AppConfig::State->new(@_)
};
bless $self, $class;
return $self;
}
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# file(@files)
#
# The file() method is called to parse configuration files. An
# AppConfig::File object is instantiated and stored internally for
# use in subsequent calls to file().
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub file {
my $self = shift;
my $state = $self->{ STATE };
my $file;
require AppConfig::File;
# create an AppConfig::File object if one isn't defined
$file = $self->{ FILE } ||= AppConfig::File->new($state);
# call on the AppConfig::File object to process files.
$file->parse(@_);
}
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# args(\@args)
#
# The args() method is called to parse command line arguments. An
# AppConfig::Args object is instantiated and then stored internally for
# use in subsequent calls to args().
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub args {
my $self = shift;
my $state = $self->{ STATE };
my $args;
require AppConfig::Args;
# create an AppConfig::Args object if one isn't defined
$args = $self->{ ARGS } ||= AppConfig::Args->new($state);
# call on the AppConfig::Args object to process arguments.
$args->parse(shift);
}
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# getopt(@config, \@args)
#
# The getopt() method is called to parse command line arguments. The
# AppConfig::Getopt module is require()'d and an AppConfig::Getopt object
# is created to parse the arguments.
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub getopt {
my $self = shift;
my $state = $self->{ STATE };
my $getopt;
require AppConfig::Getopt;
# create an AppConfig::Getopt object if one isn't defined
$getopt = $self->{ GETOPT } ||= AppConfig::Getopt->new($state);
# call on the AppConfig::Getopt object to process arguments.
$getopt->parse(@_);
}
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# cgi($query)
#
# The cgi() method is called to parse a CGI query string. An
# AppConfig::CGI object is instantiated and then stored internally for
# use in subsequent calls to args().
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub cgi {
my $self = shift;
my $state = $self->{ STATE };
my $cgi;
require AppConfig::CGI;
# create an AppConfig::CGI object if one isn't defined
$cgi = $self->{ CGI } ||= AppConfig::CGI->new($state);
# call on the AppConfig::CGI object to process a query.
$cgi->parse(shift);
}
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
# AUTOLOAD
#
# Autoload function called whenever an unresolved object method is
# called. All methods are delegated to the $self->{ STATE }
# AppConfig::State object.
#
#------------------------------------------------------------------------
sub AUTOLOAD {
my $self = shift;
my $method;
# splat the leading package name
($method = $AUTOLOAD) =~ s/.*:://;
# ignore destructor
$method eq 'DESTROY' && return;
# delegate method call to AppConfig::State object in $self->{ STATE }
$self->{ STATE }->$method(@_);
}
1;
__END__
=head1 NAME
AppConfig - Perl5 module for reading configuration files and parsing command line arguments.
=head1 SYNOPSIS
use AppConfig;
# create a new AppConfig object
my $config = AppConfig->new(\%cfg);
# define a new variable
$config->define($varname => \%varopts);
# create/define combined
my $config = AppConfig->new(\%cfg,
$varname => \%varopts, $varname => \%varopts, ...);
# set/get the value
$config->set($varname, $value);
$config->get($varname);
# shortcut form
$config->varname($value);
$config->varname();
# read configuration file
$config->file($file);
# parse command line options
$config->args(\@args); # default to \@ARGV
# advanced command line options with Getopt::Long
$config->getopt(\@args); # default to \@ARGV
# parse CGI parameters (GET method)
$config->cgi($query); # default to $ENV{ QUERY_STRING }
=head1 OVERVIEW
AppConfig is a Perl5 module for managing application configuration
information. It maintains the state of any number of variables and
provides methods for parsing configuration files, command line
arguments and CGI script parameters.
Variables values may be set via configuration files. Variables may be
flags (On/Off), take a single value, or take multiple values stored as a
list or hash. The number of arguments a variable expects is determined
by its configuration when defined.
# flags
verbose
nohelp
debug = On
# single value
home = /home/abw/
# multiple list value
file = /tmp/file1
file = /tmp/file2
# multiple hash value
book camel = Programming Perl
book llama = Learning Perl
The '-' prefix can be used to reset a variable to its default value and
the '+' prefix can be used to set it to 1
-verbose
+debug
Variable, environment variable and tilde (home directory) expansions
can be applied (selectively, if necessary) to the values read from
configuration files:
home = ~ # home directory
nntp = ${NNTPSERVER} # environment variable
html = $home/html # internal variables
img = $html/images
Configuration files may be arranged in blocks as per the style of Win32
"INI" files.
[file]
site = kfs
src = ~/websrc/docs/$site
lib = ~/websrc/lib
dest = ~/public_html/$site
[page]
header = $lib/header
footer = $lib/footer
Variables may also be set by parsing command line arguments.
myapp -verbose -site kfs -file f1 -file f2
AppConfig provides a simple method (args()) for parsing command line
arguments. A second method (getopt()) allows more complex argument
processing by delegation to Johan Vroman's Getopt::Long module.
AppConfig also allows variables to be set by parameters passed to a
CGI script via the URL (GET method).
http://www.nowhere.com/cgi-bin/myapp?verbose&site=kfs
=head1 PREREQUISITES
AppConfig requires Perl 5.005 or later.
The Getopt::Long and Test::More modules should be installed. If you
are using a recent version of Perl (e.g. 5.8.0) then these should
already be installed.
=head1 OBTAINING AND INSTALLING THE AppConfig MODULE BUNDLE
The AppConfig module bundle is available from CPAN. As the 'perlmod'
manual page explains:
CPAN stands for the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network.
This is a globally replicated collection of all known Perl
materials, including hundreds of unbundled modules.
[...]
For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites, see
http://www.perl.com/perl/ or ftp://ftp.perl.com/perl/ .
Within the CPAN archive, AppConfig is in the category:
12) Option, Argument, Parameter and Configuration File Processing
The module is available in the following directories:
/modules/by-module/AppConfig/AppConfig-<version>.tar.gz
/authors/id/ABW/AppConfig-<version>.tar.gz
AppConfig is distributed as a single gzipped tar archive file:
AppConfig-<version>.tar.gz
Note that "<version>" represents the current AppConfig version
number, of the form "n.nn", e.g. "3.14". See the REVISION section
below to determine the current version number for AppConfig.
Unpack the archive to create a AppConfig installation directory:
gunzip AppConfig-<version>.tar.gz
tar xvf AppConfig-<version>.tar
'cd' into that directory, make, test and install the modules:
cd AppConfig-<version>
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
The 't' sub-directory contains a number of test scripts that are run when
a 'make test' is run.
The 'make install' will install the module on your system. You may need
administrator privileges to perform this task. If you install the module
in a local directory (for example, by executing "perl Makefile.PL
LIB=~/lib" in the above - see C<perldoc MakeMaker> for full details), you
will need to ensure that the PERL5LIB environment variable is set to
include the location, or add a line to your scripts explicitly naming the
library location:
use lib '/local/path/to/lib';
The 'examples' sub-directory contains some simple examples of using the
AppConfig modules.
=head1 DESCRIPTION
=head2 USING THE AppConfig MODULE
To import and use the AppConfig module the following line should
appear in your Perl script:
use AppConfig;
To import constants defined by the AppConfig module, specify the name of
one or more of the constant or tag sets as parameters to C<use>:
use AppConfig qw(:expand :argcount);
See L<CONSTANT DEFINITIONS> below for more information on the constant
tagsets defined by AppConfig.
AppConfig is implemented using object-oriented methods. A
new AppConfig object is created and initialised using the
new() method. This returns a reference to a new AppConfig
object.
my $config = AppConfig->new();
This will create and return a reference to a new AppConfig object.
In doing so, the AppConfig object also creates an internal reference
to an AppConfig::State object in which to store variable state. All
arguments passed into the AppConfig constructor are passed directly
to the AppConfig::State constructor.
The first (optional) parameter may be a reference to a hash array
containing configuration information.
my $config = AppConfig->new({
CASE => 1,
ERROR => \&my_error,
GLOBAL => {
DEFAULT => "<unset>",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_ONE,
},
});
See L<AppConfig::State> for full details of the configuration options
available. These are, in brief:
=over 4
=item CASE
Used to set case sensitivity for variable names (default: off).
=item CREATE
Used to indicate that undefined variables should be created automatically
(default: off).
=item GLOBAL
Reference to a hash array of global values used by default when defining
variables. Valid global values are DEFAULT, ARGCOUNT, EXPAND, VALIDATE
and ACTION.
=item PEDANTIC
Used to indicate that command line and configuration file parsing routines
should return immediately on encountering an error.
=item ERROR
Used to provide a error handling routine. Arguments as per printf().
=back
Subsequent parameters may be variable definitions. These are passed
to the define() method, described below in L<DEFINING VARIABLES>.
my $config = AppConfig->new("foo", "bar", "baz");
my $config = AppConfig->new({ CASE => 1 }, qw(foo bar baz));
Note that any unresolved method calls to AppConfig are automatically
delegated to the AppConfig::State object. In practice, it means that
it is possible to treat the AppConfig object as if it were an
AppConfig::State object:
# create AppConfig
my $config = AppConfig->new('foo', 'bar');
# methods get passed through to internal AppConfig::State
$config->foo(100);
$config->set('bar', 200);
$config->define('baz');
$config->baz(300);
=head2 DEFINING VARIABLES
The C<define()> method (delegated to AppConfig::State) is used to
pre-declare a variable and specify its configuration.
$config->define("foo");
Variables may also be defined directly from the AppConfig new()
constructor.
my $config = AppConfig->new("foo");
In both simple examples above, a new variable called "foo" is defined. A
reference to a hash array may also be passed to specify configuration
information for the variable:
$config->define("foo", {
DEFAULT => 99,
ALIAS => 'metavar1',
});
Configuration items specified in the GLOBAL option to the module
constructor are applied by default when variables are created. e.g.
my $config = AppConfig->new({
GLOBAL => {
DEFAULT => "<undef>",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_ONE,
}
});
$config->define("foo");
$config->define("bar", { ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_NONE } );
is equivalent to:
my $config = AppConfig->new();
$config->define("foo", {
DEFAULT => "<undef>",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_ONE,
});
$config->define("bar",
DEFAULT => "<undef>",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_NONE,
});
Multiple variables may be defined in the same call to define().
Configuration hashes for variables can be omitted.
$config->define("foo", "bar" => { ALIAS = "boozer" }, "baz");
See L<AppConfig::State> for full details of the configuration options
available when defining variables. These are, in brief:
=over
=item DEFAULT
The default value for the variable (default: undef).
=item ALIAS
One or more (list reference or "list|like|this") alternative names for the
variable.
=item ARGCOUNT
Specifies the number and type of arguments that the variable expects.
Constants in C<:expand> tag set define ARGCOUNT_NONE - simple on/off flag
(default), ARGCOUNT_ONE - single value, ARGCOUNT_LIST - multiple values
accessed via list reference, ARGCOUNT_HASH - hash table, "key=value",
accessed via hash reference.
=item ARGS
Used to provide an argument specification string to pass to Getopt::Long
via AppConfig::Getopt. E.g. "=i", ":s", "=s@". This can also be used to
implicitly set the ARGCOUNT value (C</^!/> = ARGCOUNT_NONE, C</@/> =
ARGCOUNT_LIST, C</%/> = ARGCOUNT_HASH, C</[=:].*/> = ARGCOUNT_ONE)
=item EXPAND
Specifies which variable expansion policies should be used when parsing
configuration files. Constants in C<:expand> tag set define EXPAND_NONE
- no expansion (default), EXPAND_VAR - expand C<$var> or C<$(var)> as
other AppConfig variables, EXPAND_UID - expand C<~uid> as user's home
directory, EXPAND_ENV - expand C<${var}> as environment variable,
EXPAND_ALL - do all expansions. May be logically or'd.
=item VALIDATE
Regex which the intended variable value should match or code reference
which returns 1 to indicate successful validaton (variable may now be set).
=item ACTION
Code reference to be called whenever variable value changes.
=back
=head2 COMPACT FORMAT DEFINITION
Variables can be specified using a compact format. This is identical to
the specification format of Getopt::Long and is of the form:
"name|alias|alias<argopts>"
The first element indicates the variable name and subsequent ALIAS
values may be added, each separated by a vertical bar '|'.
The E<lt>argoptsE<gt> element indicates the ARGCOUNT value and may be one of
the following;
! ARGCOUNT_NONE
=s ARGCOUNT_ONE
=s@ ARGCOUNT_LIST
=s% ARGCOUNT_HASH
Additional constructs supported by Getopt::Long may be specified instead
of the "=s" element (e.g. "=f"). The entire E<lt>argoptsE<gt> element
is stored in the ARGS parameter for the variable and is passed intact to
Getopt::Long when the getopt() method is called.
The following examples demonstrate use of the comapct format, with their
equivalent full specifications:
$config->define("foo|bar|baz!");
$config->define(
"foo" => {
ALIAS => "bar|baz",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_NONE,
});
$config->define("name=s");
$config->define(
"name" => {
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_ONE,
});
$config->define("file|filelist|f=s@");
$config->define(
"file" => {
ALIAS => "filelist|f",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_LIST,
});
$config->define("user|u=s%");
$config->define(
"user" => {
ALIAS => "u",
ARGCOUNT => ARGCOUNT_HASH,
});
Additional configuration options may be specified by hash reference, as per
normal. The compact definition format will override any configuration
values provided for ARGS and ARGCOUNT.
$config->define("file|filelist|f=s@", { VALIDATE = \&check_file() } );
=head2 READING AND MODIFYING VARIABLE VALUES
AppConfig defines two methods (via AppConfig::State) to manipulate variable
values
set($variable, $value);
get($variable);
Once defined, variables may be accessed directly as object methods where
the method name is the same as the variable name. i.e.
$config->set("verbose", 1);
is equivalent to
$config->verbose(1);
Note that AppConfig defines the following methods:
new();
file();
args();
getopt();
And also, through delegation to AppConfig::State:
define()
get()
set()
varlist()
If you define a variable with one of the above names, you will not be able
to access it directly as an object method. i.e.
$config->file();
This will call the file() method, instead of returning the value of the
'file' variable. You can work around this by explicitly calling get() and
set() on a variable whose name conflicts:
$config->get('file');
or by defining a "safe" alias by which the variable can be accessed:
$config->define("file", { ALIAS => "fileopt" });
or
$config->define("file|fileopt");
...
$config->fileopt();
Without parameters, the current value of the variable is returned. If
a parameter is specified, the variable is set to that value and the
result of the set() operation is returned.
$config->age(29); # sets 'age' to 29, returns 1 (ok)
print $config->age(); # prints "29"
The varlist() method can be used to extract a number of variables into
a hash array. The first parameter should be a regular expression
used for matching against the variable names.
my %vars = $config->varlist("^file"); # all "file*" variables
A second parameter may be specified (any true value) to indicate that
the part of the variable name matching the regex should be removed
when copied to the target hash.
$config->file_name("/tmp/file");
$config->file_path("/foo:/bar:/baz");
my %vars = $config->varlist("^file_", 1);
# %vars:
# name => /tmp/file
# path => "/foo:/bar:/baz"
=head2 READING CONFIGURATION FILES
The AppConfig module provides a streamlined interface for reading
configuration files with the AppConfig::File module. The file() method
automatically loads the AppConfig::File module and creates an object
to process the configuration file or files. Variables stored in the
internal AppConfig::State are automatically updated with values specified
in the configuration file.
$config->file($filename);
Multiple files may be passed to file() and should indicate the file name
or be a reference to an open file handle or glob.
$config->file($filename, $filehandle, \*STDIN, ...);
The file may contain blank lines and comments (prefixed by '#') which
are ignored. Continutation lines may be marked by ending the line with
a '\'.
# this is a comment
callsign = alpha bravo camel delta echo foxtrot golf hipowls \
india juliet kilo llama mike november oscar papa \
quebec romeo sierra tango umbrella victor whiskey \
x-ray yankee zebra
Variables that are simple flags and do not expect an argument (ARGCOUNT =
ARGCOUNT_NONE) can be specified without any value. They will be set with
the value 1, with any value explicitly specified (except "0" and "off")
being ignored. The variable may also be specified with a "no" prefix to
implicitly set the variable to 0.
verbose # on (1)
verbose = 1 # on (1)
verbose = 0 # off (0)
verbose off # off (0)
verbose on # on (1)
verbose mumble # on (1)
noverbose # off (0)
Variables that expect an argument (ARGCOUNT = ARGCOUNT_ONE) will be set to
whatever follows the variable name, up to the end of the current line
(including any continuation lines). An optional equals sign may be inserted
between the variable and value for clarity.
room = /home/kitchen
room /home/bedroom
Each subsequent re-definition of the variable value overwrites the previous
value.
print $config->room(); # prints "/home/bedroom"
Variables may be defined to accept multiple values (ARGCOUNT = ARGCOUNT_LIST).
Each subsequent definition of the variable adds the value to the list of
previously set values for the variable.
drink = coffee
drink = tea
A reference to a list of values is returned when the variable is requested.
my $beverages = $config->drinks();
print join(", ", @$beverages); # prints "coffee, tea"
Variables may also be defined as hash lists (ARGCOUNT = ARGCOUNT_HASH).
Each subsequent definition creates a new key and value in the hash array.
alias l="ls -CF"
alias e="emacs"
A reference to the hash is returned when the variable is requested.
my $aliases = $config->alias();
foreach my $k (keys %$aliases) {
print "$k => $aliases->{ $k }\n";
}
The '-' prefix can be used to reset a variable to its default value and
the '+' prefix can be used to set it to 1
-verbose
+debug
=head2 VARIABLE EXPANSION
Variable values may contain references to other AppConfig variables,
environment variables and/or users' home directories. These will be
expanded depending on the EXPAND value for each variable or the GLOBAL
EXPAND value.
Three different expansion types may be applied:
bin = ~/bin # expand '~' to home dir if EXPAND_UID
tmp = ~abw/tmp # as above, but home dir for user 'abw'
perl = $bin/perl # expand value of 'bin' variable if EXPAND_VAR
ripl = $(bin)/ripl # as above with explicit parens
home = ${HOME} # expand HOME environment var if EXPAND_ENV
See L<AppConfig::State> for more information on expanding variable values.
The configuration files may have variables arranged in blocks. A block
header, consisting of the block name in square brackets, introduces a
configuration block. The block name and an underscore are then prefixed
to the names of all variables subsequently referenced in that block. The
block continues until the next block definition or to the end of the current
file.
[block1]
foo = 10 # block1_foo = 10
[block2]
foo = 20 # block2_foo = 20
=head2 PARSING COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
There are two methods for processing command line options. The first,
args(), is a small and efficient implementation which offers basic
functionality. The second, getopt(), offers a more powerful and complete
facility by delegating the task to Johan Vroman's Getopt::Long module.
The trade-off between args() and getopt() is essentially one of speed/size
against flexibility. Use as appropriate. Both implement on-demand loading
of modules and incur no overhead until used.
The args() method is used to parse simple command line options. It
automatically loads the AppConfig::Args module and creates an object
to process the command line arguments. Variables stored in the internal
AppConfig::State are automatically updated with values specified in the
arguments.
The method should be passed a reference to a list of arguments to parse.
The @ARGV array is used if args() is called without parameters.
$config->args(\@myargs);
$config->args(); # uses @ARGV
Arguments are read and shifted from the array until the first is
encountered that is not prefixed by '-' or '--'. At that point, the
method returns 1 to indicate success, leaving any unprocessed arguments
remaining in the list.
Each argument should be the name or alias of a variable prefixed by
'-' or '--'. Arguments that are not prefixed as such (and are not an
additional parameter to a previous argument) will cause a warning to be
raised. If the PEDANTIC option is set, the method will return 0
immediately. With PEDANTIC unset (default), the method will continue
to parse the rest of the arguments, returning 0 when done.
If the variable is a simple flag (ARGCOUNT = ARGCOUNT_NONE)
then it is set to the value 1. The variable may be prefixed by "no" to
set its value to 0.
myprog -verbose --debug -notaste # $config->verbose(1)
# $config->debug(1)
# $config->taste(0)
Variables that expect an additional argument (ARGCOUNT != 0) will be set to
the value of the argument following it.
myprog -f /tmp/myfile # $config->file('/tmp/file');
Variables that expect multiple values (ARGCOUNT = ARGCOUNT_LIST or
ARGCOUNT_HASH) will have sucessive values added each time the option
is encountered.
myprog -file /tmp/foo -file /tmp/bar # $config->file('/tmp/foo')
# $config->file('/tmp/bar')
# file => [ '/tmp/foo', '/tmp/bar' ]
myprog -door "jim=Jim Morrison" -door "ray=Ray Manzarek"
# $config->door("jim=Jim Morrison");
# $config->door("ray=Ray Manzarek");
# door => { 'jim' => 'Jim Morrison', 'ray' => 'Ray Manzarek' }
See L<AppConfig::Args> for further details on parsing command line
arguments.
The getopt() method provides a way to use the power and flexibility of
the Getopt::Long module to parse command line arguments and have the
internal values of the AppConfig object updates automatically.
The first (non-list reference) parameters may contain a number of
configuration string to pass to Getopt::Long::Configure. A reference
to a list of arguments may additionally be passed or @ARGV is used by
default.
$config->getopt(); # uses @ARGV
$config->getopt(\@myargs);
$config->getopt(qw(auto_abbrev debug)); # uses @ARGV
$config->getopt(qw(debug), \@myargs);
See Getopt::Long for details of the configuration options available.
The getopt() method constructs a specification string for each internal
variable and then initialises Getopt::Long with these values. The
specification string is constructed from the name, any aliases (delimited
by a vertical bar '|') and the value of the ARGS parameter.
$config->define("foo", {
ARGS => "=i",
ALIAS => "bar|baz",
});
# Getopt::Long specification: "foo|bar|baz=i"
Errors and warning generated by the Getopt::Long module are trapped and
handled by the AppConfig error handler. This may be a user-defined
routine installed with the ERROR configuration option.
Please note that the AppConfig::Getopt interface is still experimental
and may not be 100% operational. This is almost undoubtedly due to
problems in AppConfig::Getopt rather than Getopt::Long.
=head2 PARSING CGI PARAMETERS
The cgi() method provides an interface to the AppConfig::CGI module
for updating variable values based on the parameters appended to the
URL for a CGI script. This is commonly known as the CGI
"GET" method. The CGI "POST" method is currently not supported.
Parameter definitions are separated from the CGI script name by a
question mark and from each other by ampersands. Where variables
have specific values, these are appended to the variable with an
equals sign:
http://www.here.com/cgi-bin/myscript?foo=bar&baz=qux&verbose
# $config->foo('bar');
# $config->baz('qux');
# $config->verbose(1);
Certain values specified in a URL must be escaped in the appropriate
manner (see CGI specifications at http://www.w3c.org/ for full details).
The AppConfig::CGI module automatically unescapes the CGI query string
to restore the parameters to their intended values.
http://where.com/mycgi?title=%22The+Wrong+Trousers%22
# $config->title('"The Wrong Trousers"');
Please be considerate of the security implications of providing writeable
access to script variables via CGI.
http://rebel.alliance.com/cgi-bin/...
.../send_report?file=%2Fetc%2Fpasswd&email=darth%40empire.com
To avoid any accidental or malicious changing of "private" variables,
define only the "public" variables before calling the cgi() (or any
other) method. Further variables can subequently be defined which
can not be influenced by the CGI parameters.
$config->define('verbose', 'debug')
$config->cgi(); # can only set verbose and debug
$config->define('email', 'file');
$config->file($cfgfile); # can set verbose, debug, email + file
=head1 CONSTANT DEFINITIONS
A number of constants are defined by the AppConfig module. These may be
accessed directly (e.g. AppConfig::EXPAND_VARS) or by first importing them
into the caller's package. Constants are imported by specifying their
names as arguments to C<use AppConfig> or by importing a set of constants
identified by its "tag set" name.
use AppConfig qw(ARGCOUNT_NONE ARGCOUNT_ONE);
use AppConfig qw(:argcount);
The following tag sets are defined:
=over 4
=item :expand
The ':expand' tagset defines the following constants:
EXPAND_NONE
EXPAND_VAR
EXPAND_UID
EXPAND_ENV
EXPAND_ALL # EXPAND_VAR | EXPAND_UID | EXPAND_ENV
EXPAND_WARN
See AppConfig::File for full details of the use of these constants.
=item :argcount
The ':argcount' tagset defines the following constants:
ARGCOUNT_NONE
ARGCOUNT_ONE
ARGCOUNT_LIST
ARGCOUNT_HASH
See AppConfig::State for full details of the use of these constants.
=back
=head1 AUTHOR
Andy Wardley, E<lt>abw@wardley.orgE<gt>
=head1 REVISION
Revision $Revision: 1.4 $ distributed as part of AppConfig 1.55.
=head1 COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1997-2003 Andy Wardley. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright (C) 1997,1998 Canon Research Centre Europe Ltd.
This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
=head1 SEE ALSO
AppConfig::State, AppConfig::File, AppConfig::Args, AppConfig::Getopt,
AppConfig::CGI, Getopt::Long
=cut