FileHandle(3pm) Perl Programmers Reference Guide FileHandle(3pm)
NAME
FileHandle - supply object methods for filehandles
SYNOPSIS
use FileHandle; my $fh = FileHandle->new; if ($fh->open("< file")) { print <$fh>; $fh->close; } my $fh = FileHandle->new("> FOO"); if (defined $fh) { print $fh "bar\n"; $fh->close; } my $fh = FileHandle->new("file", "r"); if (defined $fh) { print <$fh>; undef $fh; # automatically closes the file } my $fh = FileHandle->new("file", O_WRONLY|O_APPEND); if (defined $fh) { print $fh "corge\n"; undef $fh; # automatically closes the file } my $pos = $fh->getpos; $fh->setpos($pos); $fh->setvbuf(my $buffer_var, _IOLBF, 1024); my ($readfh, $writefh) = FileHandle::pipe; autoflush STDOUT 1;
DESCRIPTION
NOTE: This class is now a front-end to the IO::* classes. "FileHandle::new" creates a "FileHandle", which is a reference to a newly created symbol (see the Symbol package). If it receives any parameters, they are passed to "FileHandle::open"; if the open fails, the "FileHandle" object is destroyed. Otherwise, it is returned to the caller. "FileHandle::new_from_fd" creates a "FileHandle" like "new" does. It requires two parameters, which are passed to "FileHandle::fdopen"; if the fdopen fails, the "FileHandle" object is destroyed. Otherwise, it is returned to the caller. "FileHandle::open" accepts one parameter or two. With one parameter, it is just a front end for the built-in "open" function. With two parameters, the first parameter is a filename that may include whitespace or other special characters, and the second parameter is the open mode, optionally followed by a file permission value. If "FileHandle::open" receives a Perl mode string (">", "+<", etc.) or a POSIX fopen() mode string ("w", "r+", etc.), it uses the basic Perl "open" operator. If "FileHandle::open" is given a numeric mode, it passes that mode and the optional permissions value to the Perl "sysopen" operator. For convenience, "FileHandle::import" tries to import the O_XXX constants from the Fcntl module. If dynamic loading is not available, this may fail, but the rest of FileHandle will still work. "FileHandle::fdopen" is like "open" except that its first parameter is not a filename but rather a file handle name, a FileHandle object, or a file descriptor number. If the C functions fgetpos() and fsetpos() are available, then "FileHandle::getpos" returns an opaque value that represents the current position of the FileHandle, and "FileHandle::setpos" uses that value to return to a previously visited position. If the C function setvbuf() is available, then "FileHandle::setvbuf" sets the buffering policy for the FileHandle. The calling sequence for the Perl function is the same as its C counterpart, including the macros "_IOFBF", "_IOLBF", and "_IONBF", except that the buffer parameter specifies a scalar variable to use as a buffer. WARNING: A variable used as a buffer by "FileHandle::setvbuf" must not be modified in any way until the FileHandle is closed or until "FileHandle::setvbuf" is called again, or memory corruption may result! See perlfunc for complete descriptions of each of the following supported "FileHandle" methods, which are just front ends for the corresponding built-in functions: close fileno getc gets eof clearerr seek tell See perlvar for complete descriptions of each of the following supported "FileHandle" methods: autoflush output_field_separator output_record_separator input_record_separator input_line_number format_page_number format_lines_per_page format_lines_left format_name format_top_name format_line_break_characters format_formfeed Furthermore, for doing normal I/O you might need these: $fh->print See "print" in perlfunc. $fh->printf See "printf" in perlfunc. $fh->getline This works like <$fh> described in "I/O Operators" in perlop except that it's more readable and can be safely called in a list context but still returns just one line. $fh->getlines This works like <$fh> when called in a list context to read all the remaining lines in a file, except that it's more readable. It will also croak() if accidentally called in a scalar context. There are many other functions available since FileHandle is descended from IO::File, IO::Seekable, and IO::Handle. Please see those respective pages for documentation on more functions.
SEE ALSO
The IO(3) extension, perlfunc(1), "I/O Operators" in perlop(1). perl v5.38.2 2023-11-28 FileHandle(3pm)
perl 5.38.2 - Generated Fri Dec 6 12:53:22 CST 2024