NAME
Data::Interactive::Inspect - Inspect and manipulate perl data structures interactively
SYNOPSIS
use Data::Interactive::Inspect;
my $data = foo(); # get a hash ref from somewhere
# new shell object, the simple way
my $shell = Data::Interactive::Inspect->new($data);
# or
my $shell = Data::Interactive::Inspect->new(
struct => $data,
name => 'verkehrswege',
begin => sub { .. },
commit => sub { .. },
rollback => sub { .. },
editor => 'emacs',
more => 'less'
);
$data = $shell->inspect(); # opens a shell and returns modified hash ref on quit
DESCRIPTION
This module provides an interactive shell which can be used to inspect and modify a perl data structure.
METHODS
new
The new() function takes either one parameter (a hash reference) or a hash reference with parameters. The following parameters are supported:
- struct
-
The hash reference to inspect.
- name
-
Will be displayed on the prompt of the shell.
- editor
-
By default Data::Interactive::Inspect opens vi if the user issues the edit command. Use this parameter to instruct it otherwise.
- more
-
By default Data::Interactive::Inspect uses more to display data which doesn't fit the terminal window. Use this parameter to instruct it otherwise.
- begin commit rollback
-
If your data is tied to some backend which supports transactions, you can provide functions to implement this. If all three are defined, the user can use transaction commands in the shell.
inspect
The inspect method starts the shell. Ii does return if the user leaves it, otherwise it runs forever.
The shell runs on a terminal and with STDIN.
The interactive shell supports command line editing, history and completion (for commands and hash keys), if Term::ReadLine::GNU or Term::ReadLine::Perl is installed.
INTERACTIVE COMMANDS
DISPLAY COMMANDS
- list
-
Lists the keys of the current level of the structure.
Shortcut: l.
- show
-
Does nearly the same as list but also shows the content of the keys. If a key points to a structure (like a hash or an array), show whill not display anything of it, but instead indicate, that there'e more behind that key.
Shortcut: sh.
- dump
-
Dumps out everything of the current level of the structure.
Shortcut: d.
- get key | /regex>
-
Displays the value of key. If you specify a regex, the values of all matching keys will be shown.
NAVIGATION COMMANDS
- enter key
-
You can use this command to enter a sub hash of the current hash. It works like browsing a directory structure. You can only enter keys which point to sub hashes.
Shortcuts: cd
If the key you want to enter doesn't collide with a command, then you can also just directly enter the key without 'enter' or 'cd' in front of it, eg:
my.db> list subhash my.db> subhash my.db subhash> dump my.db subhash> .. my.db>^D
If you specify .. as parameter (or as its own command like in the example below), you go one level up and leave the current sub hash.
EDIT COMMANDS
- set key value
-
Use the set command to add a new key or to modify the value of a key. value may be a valid perl structure, which you can use to create sub hashes or arrays. Example:
my.db> set users [ { name => 'max'}, { name => 'joe' } ] ok mydb> get users users => { 'name' => 'max' }, { 'name' => 'joe' }
Please note that the set command overwrites existing values without asking.
- edit key
-
You can edit a whole structure pointed at by key with the edit command. It opens an editor with the structure converted to YAML. Modify whatever you wish, save, and the structure will be saved to the database.
- append key value
-
This command can be used to append a value to an array. As with the set command, value can be any valid perl structure.
- drop key
-
Delete a key.
Again, note that all commands are executed without further asking or warning!
- pop key
-
Remove the last element of the array pointed at by key.
- shift key
-
Remove the first element of the array pointed at by key.
TRANSACTION COMMANDS
Only available if transaction support has been enabled, see below.
- begin
-
Start a transaction.
- commit
-
Save all changes made since the transaction began.
- rollback
-
Discard all changes of the transaction.
MISC COMMANDS
- help
-
Display a short command help.
Shortcuts: h or ?.
- CTRL-D
-
Quit the interactive shell
Shortcuts: quit.
LIMITATIONS
The data structure you are inspecting with Data::Interactive::Inspect may contain code refs. That's not a problem as long as you don't touch them.
Sample:
my $c = {
opt => 'value',
hook => sub { return 1; },
};
my $shell = Data::Interactive::Inspect->new($c);
$shell->inspect();
Execute:
data@0x80140a468> dump
---
hook: !!perl/code '{ "DUMMY" }'
opt: value
data@0x80140a468> set hook blah
data@0x80140a468> edit hook
Both commands would destroy the code ref. The first one would just overwrite it while the other one would remove the code (in fact it remains a code ref but it will contain dummy code only).
TODO
- Add some kind of select command
-
Example:
struct:
{ users => [ { login => 'max', uid => 1 }, { login => 'leo', uid => 2 }, ] } > select login from users where uid = 1
which should return 'max'.
(may require a real world parser)
- Add some kind of schema support
-
Given the same structure as above:
> update users set uid = 4 where login = 'max'
AUTHOR
T.v.Dein <tlinden@cpan.org>
BUGS
Report bugs to http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Data::Interactive::Inspect
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2015 by T.v.Dein <tlinden@cpan.org>. All rights reserved.
LICENSE
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
VERSION
This is the manual page for Data::Interactive::Inspect Version 0.01.