NAME

File::PathInfo::Ext - metadata files, renaming, some other things on top of PathInfo

SYNOPSIS

	use File::PathInfo::Ext;

	my $f = new File::PathInfo::Ext('/home/myself/thisfile.pdf');
   
	$f->meta_save({ keywords => 'salt, pepper, lemon, ginger' });
   
	printf "keywords are: %s\n", $f->meta->{keywords};
   
	$f->rename('thatfile.pdf');
   
	printf "filename is now %s\n", $f->filename;
	printf "keywords are still: %s\n", $f->meta->{keywords};	
	

DESCRIPTION

This extends File::PathInfo. Added is a simple api for YAML metadata files associated to the file the object instance is based on. Also a way to rename the file, and move the file- maintaining the metadata YAML file association.

This software is still under development.

METHODS

These are added methods to the usual File::PathInfo methods.

md5_hex()

returns md5 sum of file contents, cached in object {_data} if getting the md5sum digest does not work, returns undef see Digest::MD5

ls() and lsa()

Takes no argument Returns array ref of files (and dirs and everything else). No . and .. Returns undef if it's not a dir.

lsa() returns absolute paths, not just filename.

lsf() and lsfa()

returns array ref of files (-f) in dir. returns undef if it's not a dir.

lsfa() returns absolute paths, not just filename.

lsd() and lsda()

returns array ref of dirs (-d) in dir. returns undef if it's not a dir.

lsda() returns absolute paths, not just filename.

ls_count()

number of entries in directory, returns undef if not a dir

lsd_count()

number of directory entries in directory, returns undef if not a dir

lsf_count()

number of file entries in directory, returns undef if not a dir

meta()

takes no argument, like get_meta() returns hash ref with metadata for file.

meta_save()

takes no argument, like set_meta returns true. Saves the current metadata to disk.

meta_delete()

Takes no argument. Makes sure file does not have a meta file associated with it.

move()

Argument is absolute path destination to move to. It can be a directory, or a new absolute path.

$f->move('/home/myself/newdocs/');

$f->move('/home/myself/newdocs/great.pdf');

If the destination exists, and is a directory, we move into there. Works with File::Copy::move().

If the destination exists and is not a dir, it will warn and return undef.

(Note that after moving or renaming, the other file info is automatically updated, such as abs_loc() and rel_path() etc.) The meta file is moved also if it exists. That is part why one would consider using this move instead of File::Copy::move(). Also, this will not overrite existing.

Returns abs path of where the file moved to.

rename()

Argument is new filename. New filename cannot have /\ characters, etc. This rename makes it so if you have a meta file, it is renamed also.

$f->rename('blah') or die'cant rename';

If the file you are renaming to already exists, carps and returns false. It will not overrite an existing file. You must first delete the exisitng file or rename to something else.

USAGE EXAMPLES

I adore this little module. I use it a lot. Here are some examples of how to use it, and you'll see why I like it.

using meta() and meta_save()

Example 1

use File::PathInfo::Ext;

my $f = new File::PathInfo::Ext('/home/myself/documents/doc1.pdf');

$f->meta_save({ title => 'great title here', keywords => [qw(food spices mice cats)]});

This creates the YAML file '/home/myself/documents/.doc1.pdf.meta':

---
title: 'great title here'
keywords:
 - food
 - spices
 - mice
 - cats

So if you call meta(), you get the title. This is really useful if you want to be able to simply add info to a file via vim or notepad.

Example 2

What if you don't want to have the files hidden, and you want to use another extension?

use File::PathInfo;
File::PathInfo::Ext::META_EXT = 'data';
File::PathInfo::Ext::META_HIDDEN = 0;	

my $f = new File::PathInfo('/home/myself/documents/doc1.pdf');
$f->meta_save({ title => 'great title here', keywords => [qw(food spices mice cats)]});

And then..

printf "Title for this file %s\n", $f->meta->{title};

Add some more stuff

$f->meta->{age} = 24;
$f->meta->{state} = 'WY';

And save it

$f->meta_save;	

To erase it

$f->meta_delete

Furthermore what if you want to rename the file without losing the metadata (which is associated by filename)

$f->rename('newname.whatever');

Example 3

A more real world example. If you're a unix minion like me, you swear by the cli. So, I want to be able to edit metadata with vim for anything. Maybe I'm keeping an archive of scanned documents.. and I want to remember that file /home/docs/document1.pdf is authored by Joe, and that it's a replacement for another file. So I simply do 'vim /home/docs/.document1.pdf.meta' and enter:

---
author:joe
description: this is not the original. The other one got eaten by my dog.

You can see how useful this can be if you're maintaining a client website, or a large archive of mundane data.

PROCEDURAL SUBROUTINES

None of these are exported by default.

get_meta()

argument is absolute path to a file on disk returns metadata hash if found. (YAML).

set_meta()

argument is absolute path and hash ref with metadata if the hash ref is empty, will attempt to delete existing metadata file.

does NOT check to see if the file exists.

set_meta('/home/file',{ name => 'hi', age => 4 });

Above example creates meta file '/home/file.meta' :

---
name: hi
age: 4

If you wish all metadata files to be hidden;

use File::PathInfo;
File::PathInfo::META_HIDDEN = 1;	

See also: YAML

delete_meta()

argument is absolute path to file the meta is for. will delete hidden as well as non-hidden meta.

delete_meta('/home/myself/document');

Deletes /home/myself/document.meta and /home/myself/.document.meta This is just to assure a file does not have metadata anymore.

SEE ALSO

See also File::PathInfo, YAML, File::Attributes, File::Copy.

PACKAGE SETTINGS

Metadata files can be hidden (prepended by period).

File::PathInfo::Ext::META_HIDDEN = 1;	

Metadata ext, by default .meta

File::PathInfo::Ext::META_EXT = meta;

BUGS

Yes. No doubt. Please forwards any bug detection to author.

CAVEATS

Will not work on non-posix systems.

AUTHOR

Leo Charre leocharre at cpan dot org

LICENSE

This package is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, i.e., under the terms of the "Artistic License" or the "GNU General Public License".

DISCLAIMER

This package 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.

cpanm File::PathInfo::Ext

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install File::PathInfo::Ext