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Hash-AutoHash-MultiValued-1.17
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/ Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued

NAME

Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued - Object-oriented access to hash with multi-valued elements

VERSION

Version 1.17

SYNOPSIS

  use Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued;

  # create object and set intial values
  my $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued
               name=>'Joe',hobbies=>'chess',hobbies=>'cooking';

  # access or change hash elements via methods
  my $name=$mvhash->name;                # ['Joe']
  my $hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;          # ['chess','cooking']
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;          # ('chess','cooking')
  $mvhash->hobbies('go','rowing');       # new values added to existing ones
  my $hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;          # ['chess','cooking','go','rowing']

  # you can also use standard hash notation and functions
  my($name,$hobbies)=@$mvhash{qw(name hobbies)};          
                                         # get 2 elements in one statement
  $mvhash->{name}='Plumber';             # set name to ['Joe','Plumber']   
  my @keys=keys %$mvhash;                # ('name','hobbies')
  my @values=values %$mvhash;            # (['Joe','Plumber'],
                                         #  ['chess','cooking','go','rowing'])
  while(my($key,$value)=each %$mvhash) {
     print "$key => @$value\n";          # prints each element as usual
  }
  delete $mvhash->{hobbies};             # no more hobbies

  # CAUTION: hash notation doesn't respect array context!
  $mvhash->{hobbies}=('go','rowing');    # sets hobbies to last value only
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->{hobbies};        # @hobbies is (['rowing'])
 
  # alias $mvhash to regular hash for more concise hash notation
  use Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued qw(autohash_alias);
  my %hash;
  autohash_alias($mvhash,%hash);
  # access or change hash elements without using ->
  $hash{hobbies}=['chess','cooking'];    # append values to hobbies 
  my $name=$hash{name};                  # ['Joe','Plumber']
  my $hobbies=$hash{hobbies};            # ['go','chess','cooking']
  # another way to do the same thing
  my($name,$hobbies)=@hash{qw(name hobbies)};

  # set 'unique' in tied object to eliminate duplicates
  use Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued qw(autohash_tied);
  autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique(1);
  $mvhash->hobbies('go','cooking','rowing'); 
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;          # @hobbies is 
                                         # ('rowing','chess','cooking','go')

DESCRIPTION

This is a subclass of Hash::AutoHash which wraps a tied hash whose elements are multi-valued. It was inspired by Tie::Hash::MultiValue but differs from the original in several ways. See "DIFFERENCES FROM Tie::Hash::MultiValue" for a discussion of the differences.

Like Hash::AutoHash itself, this class lets you get or set hash elements using hash notation or by invoking a method with the same name as the key. See SYNOPSIS for examples.

Also like Hash::AutoHash, this class provides a full plate of functions for performing hash operations on Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued objects. These are useful if you want to avoid hash notation all together. The following example uses these functions to removes hash elements whose values are empty lists:

  use Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued qw(autohash_keys autohash_delete);
  my $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued name=>[],hobbies=>'chess';
  my @keys=autohash_keys($mvhash);
  for my $key (@keys) {
    autohash_delete($mvhash,$key) unless defined $mvhash->$key;
  }

And also like Hash::AutoHash, you can alias the object to a regular hash for more concise hash notation. See SYNOPSIS for examples. Admittedly, this is a minor convenience, but the reduction in verbosity can be useful in some cases.

As in Hash::AutoHash, the namespace is "clean"; any method invoked on an object is interpreted as a request to access or change an element of the underlying hash. The software accomplishes this by providing all its capabilities through class methods (these are methods, such as 'new', that are invoked on the class rather than on individual objects), functions that must be imported into the caller's namespace, and methods invoked on the tied object implementing the hash.

CAUTION: As of version 1.12, it is not possible to use method notation for keys with the same names as methods inherited from UNIVERSAL (the base class of everything). These are 'can', 'isa', 'DOES', and 'VERSION'. The reason is that as of Perl 5.9.3, calling UNIVERSAL methods as functions is deprecated and developers are encouraged to use method form instead. Previous versions of AutoHash are incompatible with CPAN modules that adopt this style.

Duplicate elimination and filtering

By default, hash elements may contain duplicate values.

  my $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued hobbies=>'go',hobbies=>'go';
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;         # ('go','go')

You can change this behavior by setting 'unique' in the tied object implementing the hash to a true value.

 autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique(1);
 my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;         # now ('go')

'unique' can be set to a boolean, as in the example, or to a subroutine (technically, a CODE ref). The subroutine should operate on two values and return true if the values are considered to be equal, and false otherwise.

By default, 'unique' is sub {my($a,$b)=@_; $a eq $b}. The following example shows how to set 'unique' to a subroutine that does case-insensitive duplicate removal.

  my $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued hobbies=>['GO','go'];
  autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique(sub {my($a,$b)=@_; lc($a) eq lc($b)});
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;         # @hobbies is ('GO')

When 'unique' is given a true value, duplicate removal occurs immediately by running all existing elements through the duplicate-removal process. Thereafter, duplicate checking occurs on every update.

In many cases, it works fine and is more efficient to perform duplicate removal on-demand rather than on every update. You can accomplish this by setting 'filter' in the tied object implementing the hash to a true value. By default, the filter function is 'uniq' from List::MoreUtils. You can change this by setting 'filter' to a subroutine reference which takes a list of values as input and returns a list of values as output. Though motivated by duplicate removal, the 'filter' function can transform the list in any way you choose.

The following contrived example shows sets 'filter' to a subroutine that performs case-independent duplicate removal and sorts the resulting values.

  sub uniq_nocase_sort {
    my %uniq;
    my @values_lc=map { lc($_) } @_;
    @uniq{@values_lc}=@_;
    sort values %uniq;  
  }

  my $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued hobbies=>['GO','go','dance'];
  autohash_tied($mvhash)->filter(\&uniq_nocase_sort);
  my @hobbies=$mvhash->hobbies;         # @hobbies is ('dance','go')

You can do the same thing more concisely with this cryptic one-liner.

  autohash_tied($mvhash)->filter(sub {my %u; @u{map {lc $_} @_}=@_; sort values %u});

Filtering occurs when you run the 'filter' method. It does not occur on every update.

new

 Title   : new 
 Usage   : $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued
                       name=>'Joe',hobbies=>'chess',hobbies=>'cooking'
           -- OR --
           $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued
                       [name=>'Joe',hobbies=>'chess',hobbies=>'cooking']
           -- OR --
           $mvhash=new Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued
                       {name=>'Joe',hobbies=>['chess','cooking']}
 Function: Create Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object and set elements.
 Returns : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Args    : Optional list of key=>value pairs which are used to set elements of
           the object. Args can also be passed as ARRAY or HASH
 Notes   : Be aware when passing args as HASH that Perl does NOT preserve
           duplicate keys.

unique

This method must be invoked on the tied object implementing the hash.

 Title   : unique 
 Usage   : $unique=tied(%$mvhash)->unique
           -- OR --
           tied(%$mvhash)->unique($boolean)
           -- OR --
           tied(%$mvhash)->unique(\&function)
           -- OR --
           $unique=autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique
           -- OR --
           autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique($boolean)
           -- OR --
           autohash_tied($mvhash)->unique(\&function)
 Function: Get or set option that controls duplicate elimination.  
           Form 1 gets the current value of the control.  
           Form 2. If the argument is true, duplicate-removal is turned on using 
           'eq' to determine which values are equal. 
           If the argument is false, duplicate-removal is turned off.  
           Form 3 turns on duplicate removal using the given function. 
           Forms 4-6 are functionally equivalent to the first three but use the
           autohash_tied function to get the tied object instead of Perl's
           built-in tied function.
           Note the '%' in front of $record in the first three forms and its
           absence in the next three forms.
 Returns : value of the control 
 Args    : Forms 2&5. Usually a boolean value, but can be any value which is not
           a CODE reference.  
           Forms 3&6. CODE reference for a function that takes two values and 
           returns true or false.
 Notes   : When unique is given a true value (including a CODE ref in forms 3&6)
           duplicate removal occurs immediately by running all existing elements
           through the duplicate-removal process. Thereafter, duplicate checking
           occurs on every update.

filter

This method must be invoked on the tied object implementing the hash.

 Title   : filter 
 Usage   : $filter=tied(%$mvhash)->filter
           -- OR --
           tied(%$mvhash)->filter($boolean)
           -- OR --
           tied(%$mvhash)->filter(\&function)
            -- OR --
           $filter=autohash_tied($mvhash)->filter
           -- OR --
           autohash_tied($mvhash)->filter($boolean)
           -- OR --
           autohash_tied($mvhash)->filter(\&function)
Function: Set function used for filtering and perform filtering if true.
           Form 1 filters elements using filter function previously set.
           Form 2. If true, sets the filter function to its default, which is 
           'uniq' from L<List::MoreUtils> and performs filtering.
           If false, turns filtering off.  
           Form 3 sets the filter function to the given function and performs
           filtering.
           Forms 4-6 are functionally equivalent to the first three but use the 
           autohash_tied function to get the tied object instead of Perl's 
           built-in tied function.
           Note the '%' in front of $record in the first three forms and its
           absence in the last three forms.
 Returns : value of the control 
 Args    : Forms 2&5. Usually a boolean value, but can be any value which is not 
           a CODE reference.  
           Forms 3&6. CODE reference for a function that takes a list and 
           returns a list. The input list is passed in @_.
 Notes   : When filter is given a true value (including a CODE ref in forms 3&6)
           filtering occurs immediately by running all existing elements through
           the filter function.

Functions inherited from Hash::AutoHash

The following functions are inherited from Hash::AutoHash and operate exactly as there. You must import them into your namespace before use.

 use Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued
    qw(autohash_alias autohash_tied autohash_get autohash_set
       autohash_clear autohash_delete autohash_each autohash_exists 
       autohash_keys autohash_values 
       autohash_count autohash_empty autohash_notempty)

autohash_alias

Aliasing a Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object to a regular hash avoids the need to dereference the variable when using hash notation. As a convenience, the autoahash_alias functions can link in either direction depending on whether the given object exists.

 Title   : autohash_alias
 Usage   : autohash_alias($mvhash,%hash)
 Function: Link $mvhash to %hash such that they will have exactly the same value.
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object and hash 
 Returns : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object

autohash_tied

You can access the object implementing the tied hash using Perl's built-in tied function or the autohash_tied function inherited from Hash::AutoHash. Advantages of autohash_tied are (1) it operates directly on the Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object without requiring a leading '%', and (2) it provide an arguably simpler syntax for invoking methods on the tied object.

 Title   : autohash_tied 
 Usage   : $tied=autohash_tied($mvhash)
           -- OR --
           $tied=autohash_tied(%hash)
           -- OR --
           $result=autohash_tied($mvhash,'some_method',@parameters)
           -- OR --
           $result=autohash_tied(%hash,'some_method',@parameters)
 Function: The first two forms return the object implementing the tied hash. The
           latter two forms invoke a method on the tied object. 
           In forms 1 and 3, the first argument is the 
           Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object.
           In forms 2 and 4, the first argument is a hash to which a 
           Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object has been aliased
 Returns : In forms 1 and 2, object implementing tied hash or undef.
           In forms 3 and 4, result of invoking method (which can be anything or
           nothing), or undef.
 Args    : Form 1. Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
           Form 2. hash to which Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object is aliased
           Form 3. Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object, method name, optional 
             list of parameters for method
           Form 4. hash to which Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object is aliased, 
             method name, optional list of parameters for method

autohash_get

 Title   : autohash_get
 Usage   : ($name,$hobbies)=autohash_get($mvhash,qw(name hobbies))
 Function: Get values for multiple keys.
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object and list of keys
 Returns : list of argument values

autohash_set

 Title   : autohash_set
 Usage   : autohash_set($mvhash,name=>'Joe Plumber',first_name=>'Joe')
           -- OR --
           autohash_set($mvhash,['name','first_name'],['Joe Plumber','Joe'])
 Function: Set multiple arguments in existing object.
 Args    : Form 1. Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object and list of key=>value pairs
           Form 2. Hash::AutoHash::MultiValue object, ARRAY of keys, ARRAY of 
           values
 Returns : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object

Functions for hash-like operations

The remaining functions provide hash-like operations on Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued objects. These are useful if you want to avoid hash notation all together.

autohash_clear

 Title   : autohash_clear
 Usage   : autohash_clear($mvhash)
 Function: Delete entire contents of $mvhash
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : nothing

autohash_delete

 Title   : autohash_delete
 Usage   : autohash_delete($mvhash,@keys)
 Function: Delete keys and their values from $mvhash.
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object, list of keys
 Returns : nothing

autohash_exists

 Title   : autohash_exists
 Usage   : if (autohash_exists($mvhash,$key)) { ... }
 Function: Test whether key is present in $mvhash.
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object, key
 Returns : boolean

autohash_each

 Title   : autohash_each
 Usage   : while (my($key,$value)=autohash_each($mvhash)) { ... }
           -- OR --
           while (my $key=autohash_each($mvhash)) { ... }
 Function: Iterate over all key=>value pairs or all keys present in $mvhash
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : list context: next key=>value pair in $mvhash or empty list at end
           scalar context: next key in $mvhash or undef at end

autohash_keys

 Title   : autohash_keys
 Usage   : @keys=autohash_keys($mvhash)
 Function: Get all keys that are present in $mvhash
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : list of keys

autohash_values

 Title   : autohash_values
 Usage   : @values=autohash_values($mvhash)
 Function: Get the values of all keys that are present in $mvhash
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : list of values

autohash_count

 Title   : autohash_count
 Usage   : $count=autohash_count($mvhash)
 Function: Get the number keys that are present in $mvhash
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : number

autohash_empty

 Title   : autohash_empty
 Usage   : if (autohash_empty($mvhash)) { ... }
 Function: Test whether $mvhash is empty
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : boolean

autohash_notempty

 Title   : autohash_notempty
 Usage   : if (autohash_notempty($mvhash)) { ... }
 Function: Test whether $mvhash is not empty. Complement of autohash_empty
 Args    : Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued object
 Returns : boolean

DIFFERENCES FROM Tie::Hash::MultiValue

This class differs from Tie::Hash::MultiValue, in the following major ways:

  • 'd' on the end of the class name

    In addition to the obvious differences in class name, please note the 'd' on the end of our class name. I did it this way, because my fingers always typed it that way.

  • Hash::AutoHash

    The many capabilities provided by Hash::AutoHash are new. This includes the ability to access hash elements using method notation.

  • 'new' method

    With our class, you construct new objects via the 'new' method, whereas in Tie::Hash::MultiValue you use 'tie'.

  • Setting of initial values

    It is possible to set initial values when constructing the object by providing key=>value pairs to the 'new' method.

  • Flattening of ARRAY values

    When assigning an ARRAY to an element, this class flattens the reference.

  • Setting of duplicate-removal function

    The duplicate-removal function can be set after the fact, when the object already contains data. In Tie::Hash::MultiValue it can only be set when constructing the object.

  • Filtering

    Filtering is a new feature.

SEE ALSO

This class was inspired by Tie::Hash::MultiValue.

perltie and Tie::Hash present background on tied hashes.

Hash::AutoHash provides the object wrapping machinery. The documentation of that class includes a detailed list of caveats and cautions. Hash::AutoHash::Args, Hash::AutoHash::AVPairsSingle, Hash::AutoHash::AVPairsMulti, Hash::AutoHash::Record are other subclasses of Hash::AutoHash.

AUTHOR

Nat Goodman, <natg at shore.net>

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-hash-autohash-multivalued at rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Hash-AutoHash-MultiValued. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

    perldoc Hash::AutoHash::MultiValued

You can also look for information at:

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE

Copyright 2009 Nat Goodman.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License.

See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.