package Data::ModeMerge;
our $DATE = '2016-07-22'; # DATE
our $VERSION = '0.35'; # VERSION
use 5.010001;
use strict;
use warnings;
use Mo qw(build default);
require Exporter;
our @ISA = qw(Exporter);
our @EXPORT = qw(mode_merge);
sub mode_merge {
my ($l, $r, $config_vars) = @_;
my $mm = __PACKAGE__->new(config => $config_vars);
$mm->merge($l, $r);
}
has config => (is => "rw");
# hash of modename => handler
has modes => (is => 'rw', default => sub { {} });
has combine_rules => (is => 'rw');
# merging process state
has path => (is => "rw", default => sub { [] });
has errors => (is => "rw", default => sub { [] });
has mem => (is => "rw", default => sub { {} }); # for handling circular refs. {key=>{res=>[...], todo=>[sub1, ...]}, ...}
has cur_mem_key => (is => "rw"); # for handling circular refs. instead of passing around this as argument, we put it here.
sub _in($$) {
state $load_dmp = do { require Data::Dmp };
my ($self, $needle, $haystack) = @_;
return 0 unless defined($needle);
my $r1 = ref($needle);
my $f1 = $r1 ? Data::Dmp::dmp($needle) : undef;
for (@$haystack) {
my $r2 = ref($_);
next if $r1 xor $r2;
return 1 if $r2 && $f1 eq Data::Dmp::dmp($_);
return 1 if !$r2 && $needle eq $_;
}
0;
}
sub BUILD {
require Data::ModeMerge::Config;
my ($self, $args) = @_;
if ($self->config) {
# some sanity checks
my $is_hashref = ref($self->config) eq 'HASH';
die "config must be a hashref or a Data::ModeMerge::Config" unless
$is_hashref || UNIVERSAL::isa($self->config, "Data::ModeMerge::Config");
$self->config(Data::ModeMerge::Config->new(%{ $self->config })) if $is_hashref;
} else {
$self->config(Data::ModeMerge::Config->new);
}
for (qw(NORMAL KEEP ADD CONCAT SUBTRACT DELETE)) {
$self->register_mode($_);
}
if (!$self->combine_rules) {
$self->combine_rules({
# "left + right" => [which mode to use, which mode after merge]
'ADD+ADD' => ['ADD' , 'ADD' ],
#'ADD+CONCAT' => undef,
'ADD+DELETE' => ['DELETE' , 'DELETE'],
#'ADD+KEEP' => undef,
'ADD+NORMAL' => ['NORMAL' , 'NORMAL'],
'ADD+SUBTRACT' => ['SUBTRACT', 'ADD' ],
#'CONCAT+ADD' => undef,
'CONCAT+CONCAT' => ['CONCAT' , 'CONCAT'],
'CONCAT+DELETE' => ['DELETE' , 'DELETE'],
#'CONCAT+KEEP' => undef,
'CONCAT+NORMAL' => ['NORMAL' , 'NORMAL'],
#'CONCAT+SUBTRACT' => undef,
'DELETE+ADD' => ['NORMAL' , 'ADD' ],
'DELETE+CONCAT' => ['NORMAL' , 'CONCAT' ],
'DELETE+DELETE' => ['DELETE' , 'DELETE' ],
'DELETE+KEEP' => ['NORMAL' , 'KEEP' ],
'DELETE+NORMAL' => ['NORMAL' , 'NORMAL' ],
'DELETE+SUBTRACT' => ['NORMAL' , 'SUBTRACT'],
'KEEP+ADD' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'KEEP+CONCAT' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'KEEP+DELETE' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'KEEP+KEEP' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'KEEP+NORMAL' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'KEEP+SUBTRACT' => ['KEEP', 'KEEP'],
'NORMAL+ADD' => ['ADD' , 'NORMAL'],
'NORMAL+CONCAT' => ['CONCAT' , 'NORMAL'],
'NORMAL+DELETE' => ['DELETE' , 'NORMAL'],
'NORMAL+KEEP' => ['NORMAL' , 'KEEP' ],
'NORMAL+NORMAL' => ['NORMAL' , 'NORMAL'],
'NORMAL+SUBTRACT' => ['SUBTRACT', 'NORMAL'],
'SUBTRACT+ADD' => ['SUBTRACT', 'SUBTRACT'],
#'SUBTRACT+CONCAT' => undef,
'SUBTRACT+DELETE' => ['DELETE' , 'DELETE' ],
#'SUBTRACT+KEEP' => undef,
'SUBTRACT+NORMAL' => ['NORMAL' , 'NORMAL' ],
'SUBTRACT+SUBTRACT' => ['ADD' , 'SUBTRACT'],
});
}
}
sub push_error {
my ($self, $errmsg) = @_;
push @{ $self->errors }, [[@{ $self->path }], $errmsg];
return;
}
sub register_mode {
my ($self, $name0) = @_;
my $obj;
if (ref($name0)) {
my $obj = $name0;
} elsif ($name0 =~ /^\w+(::\w+)+$/) {
eval "require $name0; \$obj = $name0->new";
die "Can't load module $name0: $@" if $@;
} elsif ($name0 =~ /^\w+$/) {
my $modname = "Data::ModeMerge::Mode::$name0";
eval "require $modname; \$obj = $modname->new";
die "Can't load module $modname: $@" if $@;
} else {
die "Invalid mode name $name0";
}
my $name = $obj->name;
die "Mode $name already registered" if $self->modes->{$name};
$obj->merger($self);
$self->modes->{$name} = $obj;
}
sub check_prefix {
my ($self, $hash_key) = @_;
die "Hash key not a string" if ref($hash_key);
my $dis = $self->config->disable_modes;
if (defined($dis) && ref($dis) ne 'ARRAY') {
$self->push_error("Invalid config value `disable_modes`: must be an array");
return;
}
for my $mh (sort { $b->precedence_level <=> $a->precedence_level }
grep { !$dis || !$self->_in($_->name, $dis) }
values %{ $self->modes }) {
if ($mh->check_prefix($hash_key)) {
return $mh->name;
}
}
return;
}
sub check_prefix_on_hash {
my ($self, $hash) = @_;
die "Not a hash" unless ref($hash) eq 'HASH';
my $res = 0;
for (keys %$hash) {
do { $res++; last } if $self->check_prefix($_);
}
$res;
}
sub add_prefix {
my ($self, $hash_key, $mode) = @_;
die "Hash key not a string" if ref($hash_key);
my $dis = $self->config->disable_modes;
if (defined($dis) && ref($dis) ne 'ARRAY') {
die "Invalid config value `disable_modes`: must be an array";
}
if ($dis && $self->_in($mode, $dis)) {
$self->push_error("Can't add prefix for currently disabled mode `$mode`");
return $hash_key;
}
my $mh = $self->modes->{$mode} or die "Unknown mode: $mode";
$mh->add_prefix($hash_key);
}
sub remove_prefix {
my ($self, $hash_key) = @_;
die "Hash key not a string" if ref($hash_key);
my $dis = $self->config->disable_modes;
if (defined($dis) && ref($dis) ne 'ARRAY') {
die "Invalid config value `disable_modes`: must be an array";
}
for my $mh (sort { $b->precedence_level <=> $a->precedence_level }
grep { !$dis || !$self->_in($_->name, $dis) }
values %{ $self->modes }) {
if ($mh->check_prefix($hash_key)) {
my $r = $mh->remove_prefix($hash_key);
if (wantarray) { return ($r, $mh->name) }
else { return $r }
}
}
if (wantarray) { return ($hash_key, $self->config->default_mode) }
else { return $hash_key }
}
sub remove_prefix_on_hash {
my ($self, $hash) = @_;
die "Not a hash" unless ref($hash) eq 'HASH';
for (keys %$hash) {
my $old = $_;
$_ = $self->remove_prefix($_);
next unless $old ne $_;
die "Conflict when removing prefix on hash: $old -> $_ but $_ already exists"
if exists $hash->{$_};
$hash->{$_} = $hash->{$old};
delete $hash->{$old};
}
$hash;
}
sub merge {
my ($self, $l, $r) = @_;
$self->path([]);
$self->errors([]);
$self->mem({});
$self->cur_mem_key(undef);
my ($key, $res, $backup) = $self->_merge(undef, $l, $r);
{
success => !@{ $self->errors },
error => (@{ $self->errors } ?
join(", ",
map { sprintf("/%s: %s", join("/", @{ $_->[0] }), $_->[1]) }
@{ $self->errors }) : ''),
result => $res,
backup => $backup,
};
}
# handle circular refs: process todo's
sub _process_todo {
my ($self) = @_;
if ($self->cur_mem_key) {
for my $mk (keys %{ $self->mem }) {
my $res = $self->mem->{$mk}{res};
if (defined($res) && @{ $self->mem->{$mk}{todo} }) {
#print "DEBUG: processing todo for mem<$mk>\n";
for (@{ $self->mem->{$mk}{todo} }) {
$_->(@$res);
return if @{ $self->errors };
}
$self->mem->{$mk}{todo} = [];
}
}
}
}
sub _merge {
my ($self, $key, $l, $r, $mode) = @_;
my $c = $self->config;
$mode //= $c->default_mode;
my $mh = $self->modes->{$mode};
die "Can't find handler for mode $mode" unless $mh;
# determine which merge method we will call
my $rl = ref($l);
my $rr = ref($r);
my $tl = $rl eq 'HASH' ? 'HASH' : $rl eq 'ARRAY' ? 'ARRAY' : $rl eq 'CODE' ? 'CODE' : !$rl ? 'SCALAR' : '';
my $tr = $rr eq 'HASH' ? 'HASH' : $rr eq 'ARRAY' ? 'ARRAY' : $rr eq 'CODE' ? 'CODE' : !$rr ? 'SCALAR' : '';
if (!$tl) { $self->push_error("Unknown type in left side: $rl"); return }
if (!$tr) { $self->push_error("Unknown type in right side: $rr"); return }
if (!$c->allow_create_array && $tl ne 'ARRAY' && $tr eq 'ARRAY') {
$self->push_error("Not allowed to create array"); return;
}
if (!$c->allow_create_hash && $tl ne 'HASH' && $tr eq 'HASH') {
$self->push_error("Not allowed to create hash"); return;
}
if (!$c->allow_destroy_array && $tl eq 'ARRAY' && $tr ne 'ARRAY') {
$self->push_error("Not allowed to destroy array"); return;
}
if (!$c->allow_destroy_hash && $tl eq 'HASH' && $tr ne 'HASH') {
$self->push_error("Not allowed to destroy hash"); return;
}
my $meth = "merge_${tl}_${tr}";
if (!$mh->can($meth)) { $self->push_error("No merge method found for $tl + $tr (mode $mode)"); return }
#$self->_process_todo;
# handle circular refs: add to todo if necessary
my $memkey;
if ($rl || $rr) {
$memkey = sprintf "%s%s %s%s %s %s",
(defined($l) ? ($rl ? 2 : 1) : 0),
(defined($l) ? "$l" : ''),
(defined($r) ? ($rr ? 2 : 1) : 0),
(defined($r) ? "$r" : ''),
$mode,
$self->config;
#print "DEBUG: number of keys in mem = ".scalar(keys %{ $self->mem })."\n";
#print "DEBUG: mem keys = \n".join("", map { " $_\n" } keys %{ $self->mem }) if keys %{ $self->mem };
#print "DEBUG: calculating memkey = <$memkey>\n";
}
if ($memkey) {
if (exists $self->mem->{$memkey}) {
$self->_process_todo;
if (defined $self->mem->{$memkey}{res}) {
#print "DEBUG: already calculated, using cached result\n";
return @{ $self->mem->{$memkey}{res} };
} else {
#print "DEBUG: detecting circular\n";
return ($key, undef, undef, 1);
}
} else {
$self->mem->{$memkey} = {res=>undef, todo=>[]};
$self->cur_mem_key($memkey);
#print "DEBUG: invoking ".$mh->name."'s $meth(".dmp($key).", ".dmp($l).", ".dmp($r).")\n";
my ($newkey, $res, $backup) = $mh->$meth($key, $l, $r);
#print "DEBUG: setting res for mem<$memkey>\n";
$self->mem->{$memkey}{res} = [$newkey, $res, $backup];
$self->_process_todo;
return ($newkey, $res, $backup);
}
} else {
$self->_process_todo;
#print "DEBUG: invoking ".$mh->name."'s $meth(".dmp($key).", ".dmp($l).", ".dmp($r).")\n";
return $mh->$meth($key, $l, $r);
}
}
# returns 1 if a is included in b (e.g. [user => "jajang"] in included in [user
# => jajang => "quota"], but [user => "paijo"] is not)
sub _path_is_included {
my ($self, $p1, $p2) = @_;
my $res = 1;
for my $i (0..@$p1-1) {
do { $res = 0; last } if !defined($p2->[$i]) || $p1->[$i] ne $p2->[$i];
}
#print "_path_is_included([".join(", ", @$p1)."], [".join(", ", @$p2)."])? $res\n";
$res;
}
1;
# ABSTRACT: Merge two nested data structures, with merging modes and options
__END__
=pod
=encoding UTF-8
=head1 NAME
Data::ModeMerge - Merge two nested data structures, with merging modes and options
=head1 VERSION
This document describes version 0.35 of Data::ModeMerge (from Perl distribution Data-ModeMerge), released on 2016-07-22.
=head1 SYNOPSIS
use Data::ModeMerge;
my $hash1 = { a=>1, c=>1, d=>{ da =>[1]} };
my $hash2 = { a=>2, "-c"=>2, d=>{"+da"=>[2]} };
# if you want Data::ModeMerge to behave like many other merging
# modules (e.g. Hash::Merge or Data::Merger), turn off modes
# (prefix) parsing and options key parsing.
my $mm = Data::ModeMerge->new(config => {parse_prefix=>0, options_key=>undef});
my $res = $mm->merge($hash1, $hash2);
die $res->{error} if $res->{error};
# $res->{result} -> { a=>2, c=>1, "-c"=>2, d=>{da=>[1], "+da"=>[2]} }
# otherwise Data::ModeMerge will parse prefix as well as options
# key
my $res = $mm->merge($hash1, $hash2);
die $res->{error} if $res->{error};
# $res->{result} -> { a=>2, c=>-1, d=>{da=>[1,2]} }
$res = $merge({ a =>1, { a2 =>1, ""=>{parse_prefix=>0}},
{".a"=>2, {".a2"=>2 }});
# $res->{result} -> { a=>12, {a2=>1, ".a2"=>2} }, parse_prefix is turned off in just the subhash
# procedural interface
my $res = mode_merge($hash1, $hash2, {allow_destroy_hash=>0});
=head1 DESCRIPTION
There are already several modules on CPAN to do recursive data
structure merging, like L<Data::Merger> and
L<Hash::Merge>. C<Data::ModeMerge> differs in that it offers merging
"modes" and "options". It provides greater flexibility on what the
result of a merge between two data should/can be. This module may or
may not be what you need.
One application of this module is in handling configuration. Often
there are multiple levels of configuration, e.g. in your typical Unix
command-line program there are system-wide config file in /etc,
per-user config file under ~/, and command-line options. It's
convenient programatically to load each of those in a hash and then
merge system-wide hash with the per-user hash, and then merge the
result with the command-line hash to get the a single hash as the
final configuration. Your program can from there on deal with this
just one hash instead of three.
In a typical merging process between two hashes (left-side and
right-side), when there is a conflicting key, then the right-side key
will override the left-side. This is usually the desired behaviour in
our said program as the system-wide config is there to provide
defaults, and the per-user config (and the command-line arguments)
allow a user to override those defaults.
But suppose that the user wants to I<unset> a certain configuration
setting that is defined by the system-wide config? She can't do that
unless she edits the system-wide config (in which she might need admin
rights), or the program allows the user to disregard the system-wide
config. The latter is usually what's implemented by many Unix
programs, e.g. the C<-noconfig> command-line option in C<mplayer>. But
this has two drawbacks: a slightly added complexity in the program
(need to provide a special, extra comand-line option) and the user
loses all the default settings in the system-wide config. What she
needed in the first place was to just unset I<a single setting> (a
single key-value pair of the hash).
L<Data::ModeMerge> comes to the rescue. It provides a so-called
C<DELETE mode>.
mode_merge({foo=>1, bar=>2}, {"!foo"=>undef, bar=>3, baz=>1});
will result ini:
{bar=>3, baz=>1}
The C<!> prefix tells Data::ModeMerge to do a DELETE mode merging. So
the final result will lack the C<foo> key.
On the other hand, what if the system admin wants to I<protect> a
certain configuration setting from being overriden by the user or the
command-line? This is useful in a hosting or other retrictive
environment where we want to limit users' freedom to some levels. This
is possible via the KEEP mode merging.
mode_merge({"^bar"=>2, "^baz"=>1}, {bar=>3, "!baz"=>0, qux=>7});
will result in:
{"^bar"=>2, "^baz"=>1, qux=>7}
effectively protecting C<bar> and C<baz> from being
overriden/deleted/etc.
Aside from the two mentioned modes, there are also a few others
available by default: ADD (prefix C<+>), CONCAT (prefix C<.>),
SUBTRACT (prefix C<->), as well as the plain ol' NORMAL/override
(optional prefix C<*>).
You can add other modes by writing a mode handler module.
You can change the default prefixes for each mode if you want. You can
disable each mode individually.
You can default to always using a certain mode, like the NORMAL mode,
and ignore all the prefixes, in which case Data::ModeMerge will behave
like most other merge modules.
There are a few other options like whether or not the right side is
allowed a "change the structure" of the left side (e.g. replacing a
scalar with an array/hash, destroying an existing array/hash with
scalar), maximum length of scalar/array/hash, etc.
You can change default mode, prefixes, disable/enable modes, etc on a
per-hash basis using the so-called B<options key>. See the B<OPTIONS
KEY> section for more details.
This module can handle (though not all possible cases)
circular/recursive references.
=for Pod::Coverage ^(BUILD)$
=head1 MERGING PREFIXES AND YOUR DATA
Merging with this module means you need to be careful when your hash
keys might contain one of the mode prefixes characters by accident,
because it will trigger the wrong merge mode and moreover the prefix
characters will be B<stripped> from the final result (unless you
configure the module not to do so).
A rather common case is when you have regexes in your hash
keys. Regexes often begins with C<^>, which coincidentally is a prefix
for the KEEP mode. Or perhaps you have dot filenames as hash keys,
where it clashes with the CONCAT mode. Or perhaps shell wildcards,
where C<*> is also used as the prefix for NORMAL mode.
To avoid clashes, you can either:
=over 4
=item * exclude the keys using
C<exclude_merge>/C<include_merge>/C<exclude_parse>/C<include_parse>
config settings
=item * turn off some modes which you don't want via the
C<disable_modes> config
=item * change the prefix for that mode so that it doesn't clash with
your data via the C<set_prefix> config
=item * disable prefix parsing altogether via setting C<parse_prefix>
config to 0
=back
You can do this via the configuration, or on a per-hash basis, using
the options key.
See L<Data::ModeMerge::Config> for more details on configuration.
=head1 OPTIONS KEY
Aside from merging mode prefixes, you also need to watch out if your
hash contains a "" (empty string) key, because by default this is the
key used for options key.
Options key are used to specify configuration on a per-hash basis.
If your hash keys might contain "" keys which are not meant to be an
options key, you can either:
=over 4
=item * change the name of the key for options key, via setting
C<options_key> config to another string.
=item * turn off options key mechanism,
by setting C<options_key> config to undef.
=back
See L<Data::ModeMerge::Config> for more details about options key.
=head1 MERGING MODES
=head2 NORMAL (optional '*' prefix on left/right side)
mode_merge({ a =>11, b=>12}, { b =>22, c=>23}); # {a=>11, b=>22, c=>23}
mode_merge({"*a"=>11, b=>12}, {"*b"=>22, c=>23}); # {a=>11, b=>22, c=>23}
=head2 ADD ('+' prefix on the right side)
mode_merge({i=>3}, {"+i"=>4, "+j"=>1}); # {i=>7, j=>1}
mode_merge({a=>[1]}, {"+a"=>[2, 3]}); # {a=>[1, 2, 3]}
Additive merge on hashes will be treated like a normal merge.
=head2 CONCAT ('.' prefix on the right side)
mode_merge({i=>3}, {".i"=>4, ".j"=>1}); # {i=>34, j=>1}
Concative merge on arrays will be treated like additive merge.
=head2 SUBTRACT ('-' prefix on the right side)
mode_merge({i=>3}, {"-i"=>4}); # {i=>-1}
mode_merge({a=>["a","b","c"]}, {"-a"=>["b"]}); # {a=>["a","c"]}
Subtractive merge on hashes behaves like a normal merge, except that
each key on the right-side hash without any prefix will be assumed to
have a DELETE prefix, i.e.:
mode_merge({h=>{a=>1, b=>1}}, {-h=>{a=>2, "+b"=>2, c=>2}})
is equivalent to:
mode_merge({h=>{a=>1, b=>1}}, {h=>{"!a"=>2, "+b"=>2, "!c"=>2}})
and will merge to become:
{h=>{b=>3}}
=head2 DELETE ('!' prefix on the right side)
mode_merge({x=>WHATEVER}, {"!x"=>WHATEVER}); # {}
=head2 KEEP ('^' prefix on the left/right side)
If you add '^' prefix on the left side, it will be protected from
being replaced/deleted/etc.
mode_merge({'^x'=>WHATEVER1}, {"x"=>WHATEVER2}); # {x=>WHATEVER1}
For hashes, KEEP mode means that all keys on the left side will not be
replaced/modified/deleted, *but* you can still add more keys from the
right side hash.
mode_merge({a=>1, b=>2, c=>3},
{a=>4, '^c'=>1, d=>5},
{default_mode=>'KEEP'});
# {a=>1, b=>2, c=>3, d=>5}
Multiple prefixes on the right side is allowed, where the merging will
be done by precedence level (highest first):
mode_merge({a=>[1,2]}, {'-a'=>[1], '+a'=>[10]}); # {a=>[2,10]}
but not on the left side:
mode_merge({a=>1, '^a'=>2}, {a=>3}); # error!
Precedence levels (from highest to lowest):
KEEP
NORMAL
SUBTRACT
CONCAT ADD
DELETE
=head1 CREATING AND USING YOUR OWN MODE
Let's say you want to add a mode named C<FOO>. It will have the prefix
'?'.
Create the mode handler class,
e.g. C<Data::ModeMerge::Mode::FOO>. It's probably best to subclass
from L<Data::ModeMerge::Mode::Base>. The class must implement name(),
precedence_level(), default_prefix(), default_prefix_re(), and
merge_{SCALAR,ARRAY,HASH}_{SCALAR,ARRAY,HASH}(). For more details, see
the source code of Base.pm and one of the mode handlers
(e.g. NORMAL.pm).
To use the mode, register it:
my $mm = Data::ModeMerge->new;
$mm->register_mode('FOO');
This will require C<Data::ModeMerge::Mode::FOO>. After that, define
the operations against other modes:
# if there's FOO on the left and NORMAL on the right, what mode
# should the merge be done in (FOO), and what the mode should be
# after the merge? (NORMAL)
$mm->combine_rules->{"FOO+NORMAL"} = ["FOO", "NORMAL"];
# we don't define FOO+ADD
$mm->combine_rules->{"FOO+KEEP"} = ["KEEP", "KEEP"];
# and so on
=head1 FUNCTIONS
=head2 mode_merge($l, $r[, $config_vars])
A non-OO wrapper for merge() method. Exported by default. See C<merge>
method for more details.
=head1 ATTRIBUTES
=head2 config
A hashref for config. See L<Data::ModeMerge::Config>.
=head2 modes
=head2 combine_rules
=head2 path
=head2 errors
=head2 mem
=head2 cur_mem_key
=head1 METHODS
For typical usage, you only need merge().
=head2 push_error($errmsg)
Used by mode handlers to push error when doing merge. End users
normally should not need this.
=head2 register_mode($name_or_package_or_obj)
Register a mode. Will die if mode with the same name already exists.
=head2 check_prefix($hash_key)
Check whether hash key has prefix for certain mode. Return the name of
the mode, or undef if no prefix is detected.
=head2 check_prefix_on_hash($hash)
This is like C<check_prefix> but performed on every key of the
specified hash. Return true if any of the key contain a merge prefix.
=head2 add_prefix($hash_key, $mode)
Return hash key with added prefix with specified mode. Log merge error
if mode is unknown or is disabled.
=head2 remove_prefix($hash_key)
Return hash key will any prefix removed.
=head2 remove_prefix_on_hash($hash)
This is like C<remove_prefix> but performed on every key of the
specified hash. Return the same hash but with prefixes removed.
=head2 merge($l, $r)
Merge two nested data structures. Returns the result hash: {
success=>0|1, error=>'...', result=>..., backup=>... }. The 'error'
key is set to contain an error message if there is an error. The merge
result is in the 'result' key. The 'backup' key contains replaced
elements from the original hash/array.
=head1 FAQ
=head2 What is this module good for? Why would I want to use this module instead of the other hash merge modules?
If you just need to (deeply) merge two hashes, chances are you do not
need this module. Use, for example, L<Hash::Merge>, which is also
flexible enough because it allows you to set merging behaviour for
merging different types (e.g. SCALAR vs ARRAY).
You might need this module if your data is recursive/self-referencing
(which, last time I checked, is not handled well by Hash::Merge), or
if you want to be able to merge differently (i.e. apply different
merging B<modes>) according to different prefixes on the key, or
through special key. In other words, you specify merging modes from
inside the hash itself.
I originally wrote Data::ModeMerge this for L<Data::Schema> and
L<Config::Tree>. I want to reuse the "parent" schema (or
configuration) in more ways other than just override conflicting
keys. I also want to be able to allow the parent to protect certain
keys from being overriden. I found these two features lacking in all
merging modules that I've evaluated prior to writing Data::ModeMerge.
=head1 HOMEPAGE
Please visit the project's homepage at L<https://metacpan.org/release/Data-ModeMerge>.
=head1 SOURCE
Source repository is at L<https://github.com/perlancar/perl-Data-ModeMerge>.
=head1 BUGS
Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website L<https://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=Data-ModeMerge>
When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a
patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired
feature.
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<Data::ModeMerge::Config>
Other merging modules on CPAN: L<Data::Merger> (from Data-Utilities),
L<Hash::Merge>, L<Hash::Merge::Simple>
L<Data::Schema> and L<Config::Tree> (among others, two modules which
use Data::ModeMerge)
=head1 AUTHOR
perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>
=head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2016 by perlancar@cpan.org.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
=cut