NAME

Unix::Conf - Front end for class methods in various utility modules under the Unix::Conf namespace.

DESCRIPTION

Methods in Unix::Conf are intended as a gateway into the various utility modules like Unix::Conf::ConfIO, Unix::Conf::Err. Unix::Conf is the preferred way to access class constructors in the above mentioned modules. Methods starting with a '_' are intended for use from other modules under the Unix::Conf namespace. Those without the '_' prefix are for general users of the Unix::Conf suite of modules.

METHODS

debuglevel ()

 Arguments 
 DEBUGLEVEL,
Set the class debuglevel variable in Unix::Conf::Err. This enables 
debugging messages to be printed for all class objects. The actual 
level at which debug messages are printed is the maximum of class 
debuglevel variable and the object specific debuglevel variable. 
Refer to Unix::Conf::Err for the behaviour of the three debuglevels.

   Example
   Unix::Conf->debuglevel (2);

_open_conf ()

 Arguments
 NAME        => 'PATHNAME',
 MODE        => FILE_OPEN_MODE,     # default is O_RDWR | O_CREAT 
 PERMS       => FILE_CREATION_PERMS,# default is 0600
 LOCK_STYLE  => 'flock'/'dotlock',  # default is 'flock'
 SECURE_OPEN => 0/1,                # default is 0 (disabled)
 PERSIST=> 0/1,                     # default is 0 (disabled)
Open a configuration file and return a Unix::Conf::ConfIO object.
A LOCK_STYLE of 'dotlock' is used to access /etc/passwd,
/etc/shadow, /etc/group, /etc/gshadow. Refer to Unix::Conf::ConfIO 
for the various methods that this object offers. Returns a new 
ConfIO object in case of success, or an Err object in case of 
failure. Refer to documentation for 

   Example
   my $conf = Unix::Conf->_open_conf (
      NAME        => '/etc/passwd',
      SECURE_OPEN => 1,
      LOCK_STYLE  => 'dotlock',
   );

_release_all ()

Release all objects which have been opened persistently by the calling class.

   Example
   my $conf = Unix::Conf->_open_conf (
      NAME       => 'some_conf',
      PERSISTENT => 1,
      LOCK       => 'flock',
   );
   # Now this object will be held in the Unix:Conf::ConfIO 
   # object cache even though $conf passes out of scope. 
   # This is for ancillary files which need to be held open 
   # so that they remain locked. It eases the user from 
   # having to prevent the user of these objects from going 
   # out of scope. Call this from the destructor to release 
   # all such objects.

   sub DESTROY 
   { 
      # do stuff 
      Unix::Conf->_release_all (); 
   }

   # Now all persistently held Unix::Conf::ConfIO objects 
   # will be released this triggering their destructors 
   # which will effectively sync the files and release 
   # the locks.

_err ()

 Arguments
 PREFIX, 
 ERRMSG,
Create a new Unix::Conf::Err object. This object remembers the stack 
at the creation. The returned object can thrown or returned to 
indicate an error condition as it evaluates to false in a boolean 
context. Refer to Unix::Conf::Err for the various methods that this 
object offers. If error message is missing, a stringified version of 
$! is stored as the error message.

   Example
   return (Unix::Conf::->_err ('chdir')) unless (chdir ('/etc'));

   return (
      Unix::Conf::->_err (
         'object_method', 'argument not an object of class BLAH'
      )
   ) unless (ref ($obj) eq 'BLAH');

STATUS

Beta

BUGS

None that I know of.

AVAILABILITY

This module is available from http://www.extremix.net/UnixConf/

It is also available from CPAN http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-authors/id/K/KA/KARTHIKK/

LICENCE

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with the program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc. :

59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2002, Karthik Krishnamurthy <karthik.k@extremix.net>.