/ 
File-pushd-0.30
River stage four • 135 direct dependents • 2781 total dependents
/ File::pushd

NAME

File::pushd - change directory temporarily for a limited scope

SYNOPSIS

use File::pushd;

chdir $ENV{HOME};

# change directory again for a limited scope
{
    my $dir = pushd( '/tmp' );
    # working directory changed to /tmp
}
# working directory has reverted to $ENV{HOME}

# tempd() is equivalent to pushd( File::Temp::tempdir )
{
    my $dir = tempd();
}

# object stringifies naturally as an absolute path
{
   my $dir = pushd( '/tmp' );
   my $filename = File::Spec->catfile( $dir, "somefile.txt" );
   # gives /tmp/somefile.txt
}

DESCRIPTION

File::pushd does a temporary chdir that is easily and automatically reverted, similar to pushd in some Unix command shells. It works by creating an object that caches the original working directory. When the object is destroyed, the destructor calls chdir to revert to the original working directory. By storing the object in a lexical variable with a limited scope, this happens automatically at the end of the scope.

This is very handy when working with temporary directories for tasks like testing; a function is provided to streamline getting a temporary directory from File::Temp.

For convenience, the object stringifies as the canonical form of the absolute pathname of the directory entered.

USAGE

use File::pushd;

Using File::pushd automatically imports the pushd and tempd functions.

pushd

{
    my $dir = pushd( $target_directory );
}

Caches the current working directory, calls chdir to change to the target directory, and returns a File::pushd object. When the object is destroyed, the working directory reverts to the original directory.

The provided target directory can be a relative or absolute path. If called with no arguments, it uses the current directory as its target and returns to the current directory when the object is destroyed.

tempd

{
    my $dir = tempd();
}

This function is like pushd but automatically creates and calls chdir to a temporary directory as created by File::Temp. Unlike normal File::Temp cleanup which happens at the end of the program, this temporary directory is removed when the object is destroyed. (But also see preserve.) A warning will be issued if the directory cannot be removed.

preserve

{
    my $dir = tempd();
    $dir->preserve;      # mark to preserve at end of scope
    $dir->preserve(0);   # mark to delete at end of scope
}

Controls whether a temporary directory will be cleaned up when the object is destroyed. With no arguments, preserve sets the directory to be preserved. With an argument, the directory will be preserved if the argument is true, or marked for cleanup if the argument is false. Only tempd objects may be marked for cleanup. (Target directories to pushd are always preserved.) preserve returns true if the directory will be preserved, and false otherwise.

SEE ALSO

File::chdir

BUGS

Please report bugs using the CPAN Request Tracker at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=File-pushd

When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.

AUTHOR

David A Golden (DAGOLDEN)

dagolden@cpan.org

http://dagolden.com/

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2005 by David A Golden

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module.