NAME

Path::Iter - Simple Efficient Path Iteration

VERSION

This document describes Path::Iter version 0.2

SYNOPSIS

    use Path::Iter;

    my $fetch = Path::Iter::get_iterator('foo');
    
    while ( my $next_path = $fetch->() ) {
        # do something with $next_path
    }

DESCRIPTION

Iterate through the contents of a given path without having to build the entire list first.

INTERFACE

Path::Iter::get_iterator()

This returns an code reference that when called returns the next path.

When there are no more (or a directory can't be opened and you have told it to stop as soon as that happens) it returns false.

It takes one or more paths to process and an optional argument hashref as the last argument (See "%ARGS")

The paths returned contain the initial argument and its contents (if any).

Assuming 'foo' in the SYNOPSIS:

    is a symlink:   you'd iterate through foo
    is a file:      you'd iterate through foo
    is a directory: you'd iterate through foo, foo/bar, foo/wop, foo/bar/baz, 

%ARGS

These are all optional.

errors

This is an array of hashref's where any errors get put.

    my @err;
    my $iter = Path::Iter::get_iterator($path, {errors => \@err});
    while(my $next = $iter->()) {
        ...        
    }
    if (@err) {
        ... handle error ...
    }

The keys for each error in the array are as follows:

    'path'     => $path,
    'function' => 'opendir',
    'args'     => [\*DIR, $path],
    'errno'    => int($!), 
    'error'    => int($!) . ": $!",

stop_when_opendir_fails

Boolean, when, if true will short circuit the iteration if an opendir() call fails.

readdir_handler

A coderef to be used to process and return directory contents (IE readdir() results)

    sub {
        my($working_path, @contents) = @_;
        
        if ($working_path eq '.data') {
            @contents = grep !/^\.private\-.*/, @contents; # ignore .private-... files in .data/ dir
        }
        
        return sort { $a cmp $b } @contents; # return what is left in sorted order
    }

The first argument is the directory and the rest is its contents.

The @contents have already had the $working_path prepended.

It should return the contents how you wish them to appear in the iteration.

symlink_handler

By default syminks are not followed.

This is a coderef that can control how symlinks are handled.

!! IF YOU ALTER THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK FOR LINK LOOPS AND INFINITE RECURSION !!

It receives two arguments: the path and a boolean of if it was an initial argument or not.

If it returns true the path will be followed. If the true value is '2' it will be tranformed into its target.

!! IF YOU ALTER THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK FOR LINK LOOPS AND INFINITE RECURSION !!

Assume we have a link named 'link' whose target is 'path':

    sub {
        my ($path, $is_initial_arg) = @_;
        ...
        return; # default behavior = link 
    }
    
    sub {
        my ($path, $is_initial_arg) = @_;
        ...
        return 1; # link link/dir link/file link/dir/etc
    }
    
    sub {
        my ($path, $is_initial_arg) = @_;
        ...
        return 2; # path path/dir path/file path/dir/etc
    }

!! IF YOU ALTER THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK FOR LINK LOOPS AND INFINITE RECURSION !!

initial

This is a hashref used internally as a lookup of initial args as they are after any initialization.

DIAGNOSTICS

Throws no warnings or errors of its own. You can catch internal opendir failures. See "errors" and "stop_when_opendir_fails"

CONFIGURATION AND ENVIRONMENT

Path::Iter requires no configuration files or environment variables.

DEPENDENCIES

File::Spec

INCOMPATIBILITIES

None reported.

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

No bugs have been reported.

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-path-iter@rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org.

AUTHOR

Daniel Muey <http://drmuey.com/cpan_contact.pl>

LICENCE AND COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2008, Daniel Muey <http://drmuey.com/cpan_contact.pl>. All rights reserved.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. See perlartistic.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

cpanm Path::Iter

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install Path::Iter