Provided by: libpath-iterator-rule-perl_1.015-2_all 
NAME
Path::Iterator::Rule - Iterative, recursive file finder
VERSION
version 1.015
SYNOPSIS
use Path::Iterator::Rule;
my $rule = Path::Iterator::Rule->new; # match anything
$rule->file->size(">10k"); # add/chain rules
# iterator interface
my $next = $rule->iter( @dirs );
while ( defined( my $file = $next->() ) ) {
...
}
# list interface
for my $file ( $rule->all( @dirs ) ) {
...
}
DESCRIPTION
This module iterates over files and directories to identify ones matching a user-defined set of rules.
The API is based heavily on File::Find::Rule, but with more explicit distinction between matching rules
and options that influence how directories are searched. A "Path::Iterator::Rule" object is a collection
of rules (match criteria) with methods to add additional criteria. Options that control directory
traversal are given as arguments to the method that generates an iterator.
Here is a summary of features for comparison to other file finding modules:
• provides many "helper" methods for specifying rules
• offers (lazy) iterator and flattened list interfaces
• custom rules implemented with callbacks
• breadth-first (default) or pre- or post-order depth-first searching
• follows symlinks (by default, but can be disabled)
• directories visited only once (no infinite loop; can be disabled)
• doesn't chdir during operation
• provides an API for extensions
As a convenience, the PIR module is an empty subclass of this one that is less arduous to type for one-
liners.
Note: paths are constructed with unix-style forward-slashes for efficiency rather than using File::Spec.
If proper path separators are needed, call canonpath on the search results.
USAGE
Constructors
"new"
my $rule = Path::Iterator::Rule->new;
Creates a new rule object that matches any file or directory. It takes no arguments. For convenience, it
may also be called on an object, in which case it still returns a new object that matches any file or
directory.
"clone"
my $common = Path::Iterator::Rule->new->file->not_empty;
my $big_files = $common->clone->size(">1M");
my $small_files = $common->clone->size("<10K");
Creates a copy of a rule object. Useful for customizing different rule objects against a common base.
Matching and iteration
"iter"
my $next = $rule->iter( @dirs, \%options);
while ( defined( my $file = $next->() ) ) {
...
}
Creates a subroutine reference iterator that returns a single result when dereferenced. This iterator is
"lazy" -- results are not pre-computed.
It takes as arguments a list of directories to search and an optional hash reference of control options.
If no search directories are provided, the current directory is used ("."). Valid options include:
• "depthfirst" -- Controls order of results. Valid values are "1" (post-order, depth-first search),
"0" (breadth-first search) or "-1" (pre-order, depth-first search). Default is 0.
• "error_handler" -- Catches errors during execution of rule tests. Default handler dies with the
filename and error. If set to undef, error handling is disabled.
• "follow_symlinks" -- Follow directory symlinks when true. Default is 1.
• "report_symlinks" -- Includes symlinks in results when true. Default is equal to "follow_symlinks".
• "loop_safe" -- Prevents visiting the same directory more than once when true. Default is 1.
• "relative" -- Return matching items relative to the search directory. Default is 0.
• "sorted" -- Whether entries in a directory are sorted before processing. Default is 1.
• "visitor" -- An optional coderef that will be called on items matching all rules.
Filesystem loops might exist from either hard or soft links. The "loop_safe" option prevents infinite
loops, but adds some overhead by making "stat" calls. Because directories are visited only once when
"loop_safe" is true, matches could come from a symlinked directory before the real directory depending on
the search order.
To get only the real files, turn off "follow_symlinks". You can have symlinks included in results, but
not descend into symlink directories if you turn off "follow_symlinks", but turn on "report_symlinks".
Turning "loop_safe" off and leaving "follow_symlinks" on avoids "stat" calls and will be fastest, but
with the risk of an infinite loop and repeated files. The default is slow, but safe.
The "error_handler" parameter must be a subroutine reference. It will be called when a rule test throws
an exception. The first argument will be the file name being inspected and the second argument will be
the exception.
The optional "visitor" parameter must be a subroutine reference. If set, it will be called for any
result that matches. It is called the same way a custom rule would be (see "EXTENDING") but its return
value is ignored. It is called when an item is first inspected -- "postorder" is not respected.
The paths inspected and returned will be relative to the search directories provided. If these are
absolute, then the paths returned will have absolute paths. If these are relative, then the paths
returned will have relative paths.
If the search directories are absolute and the "relative" option is true, files returned will be relative
to the search directory. Note that if the search directories are not mutually exclusive (whether
containing subdirectories like @INC or symbolic links), files found could be returned relative to
different initial search directories based on "depthfirst", "follow_symlinks" or "loop_safe".
When the iterator is exhausted, it will return undef.
"iter_fast"
This works just like "iter", except that it optimizes for speed over safety. Don't do this unless you're
sure you need it and accept the consequences. See "PERFORMANCE" for details.
"all"
my @matches = $rule->all( @dir, \%options );
Returns a list of paths that match the rule. It takes the same arguments and has the same behaviors as
the "iter" method. The "all" method uses "iter" internally to fetch all results.
In scalar context, it will return the count of matched paths.
In void context, it is optimized to iterate over everything, but not store results. This is most useful
with the "visitor" option:
$rule->all( $path, { visitor => \&callback } );
"all_fast"
This works just like "all", except that it optimizes for speed over safety. Don't do this unless you're
sure you need it and accept the consequences. See "PERFORMANCE" for details.
"test"
if ( $rule->test( $path, $basename, $stash ) ) { ... }
Test a file path against a rule. Used internally, but provided should someone want to create their own,
custom iteration algorithm.
Logic operations
"Path::Iterator::Rule" provides three logic operations for adding rules to the object. Rules may be
either a subroutine reference with specific semantics (described below in "EXTENDING") or another
"Path::Iterator::Rule" object.
"and"
$rule->and( sub { -r -w -x $_ } ); # stacked filetest example
$rule->and( @more_rules );
Adds one or more constraints to the current rule. E.g. "old rule AND new1 AND new2 AND ...". Returns the
object to allow method chaining.
"or"
$rule->or(
$rule->new->name("foo*"),
$rule->new->name("bar*"),
sub { -r -w -x $_ },
);
Takes one or more alternatives and adds them as a constraint to the current rule. E.g. "old rule AND (
new1 OR new2 OR ... )". Returns the object to allow method chaining.
"not"
$rule->not( sub { -r -w -x $_ } );
Takes one or more alternatives and adds them as a negative constraint to the current rule. E.g. "old rule
AND NOT ( new1 AND new2 AND ...)". Returns the object to allow method chaining.
"skip"
$rule->skip(
$rule->new->dir->not_writeable,
$rule->new->dir->name("foo"),
);
Takes one or more alternatives and will prune a directory if any of the criteria match or if any of the
rules already indicate the directory should be pruned. Pruning means the directory will not be returned
by the iterator and will not be searched.
For files, it is equivalent to "$rule->not($rule->or(@rules))". Returns the object to allow method
chaining.
This method should be called as early as possible in the rule chain. See "skip_dirs" below for further
explanation and an example.
RULE METHODS
Rule methods are helpers that add constraints. Internally, they generate a closure to accomplish the
desired logic and add it to the rule object with the "and" method. Rule methods return the object to
allow for method chaining.
File name rules
"name"
$rule->name( "foo.txt" );
$rule->name( qr/foo/, "bar.*");
The "name" method takes one or more patterns and creates a rule that is true if any of the patterns match
the basename of the file or directory path. Patterns may be regular expressions or glob expressions (or
literal names).
"iname"
$rule->iname( "foo.txt" );
$rule->iname( qr/foo/, "bar.*");
The "iname" method is just like the "name" method, but matches case-insensitively.
"skip_dirs"
$rule->skip_dirs( @patterns );
The "skip_dirs" method skips directories that match one or more patterns. Patterns may be regular
expressions or globs (just like "name"). Directories that match will not be returned from the iterator
and will be excluded from further search. This includes the starting directories. If that isn't what
you want, see "skip_subdirs" instead.
Note: this rule should be specified early so that it has a chance to operate before a logical shortcut.
E.g.
$rule->skip_dirs(".git")->file; # OK
$rule->file->skip_dirs(".git"); # Won't work
In the latter case, when a ".git" directory is seen, the "file" rule shortcuts the rule before the
"skip_dirs" rule has a chance to act.
"skip_subdirs"
$rule->skip_subdirs( @patterns );
This works just like "skip_dirs", except that the starting directories (depth 0) are not skipped and may
be returned from the iterator unless excluded by other rules.
File test rules
Most of the "-X" style filetest are available as boolean rules. The table below maps the filetest to its
corresponding method name.
Test | Method Test | Method
------|------------- ------|----------------
-r | readable -R | r_readable
-w | writeable -W | r_writeable
-w | writable -W | r_writable
-x | executable -X | r_executable
-o | owned -O | r_owned
| |
-e | exists -f | file
-z | empty -d | directory, dir
-s | nonempty -l | symlink
| -p | fifo
-u | setuid -S | socket
-g | setgid -b | block
-k | sticky -c | character
| -t | tty
-T | ascii
-B | binary
For example:
$rule->file->nonempty; # -f -s $file
The -X operators for timestamps take a single argument in a form that Number::Compare can interpret.
Test | Method
------|-------------
-A | accessed
-M | modified
-C | changed
For example:
$rule->modified(">1"); # -M $file > 1
Stat test rules
All of the "stat" elements have a method that takes a single argument in a form understood by
Number::Compare.
stat() | Method
--------------------
0 | dev
1 | ino
2 | mode
3 | nlink
4 | uid
5 | gid
6 | rdev
7 | size
8 | atime
9 | mtime
10 | ctime
11 | blksize
12 | blocks
For example:
$rule->size(">10K")
Depth rules
$rule->min_depth(3);
$rule->max_depth(5);
The "min_depth" and "max_depth" rule methods take a single argument and limit the paths returned to a
minimum or maximum depth (respectively) from the starting search directory. A depth of 0 means the
starting directory itself. A depth of 1 means its children. (This is similar to the Unix "find"
utility.)
Perl file rules
# All perl rules
$rule->perl_file;
# Individual perl file rules
$rule->perl_module; # .pm files
$rule->perl_pod; # .pod files
$rule->perl_test; # .t files
$rule->perl_installer; # Makefile.PL or Build.PL
$rule->perl_script; # .pl or 'perl' in the shebang
These rule methods match file names (or a shebang line) that are typical of Perl distribution files.
Version control file rules
# Skip all known VCS files
$rule->skip_vcs;
# Skip individual VCS files
$rule->skip_cvs;
$rule->skip_rcs;
$rule->skip_svn;
$rule->skip_git;
$rule->skip_bzr;
$rule->skip_hg;
$rule->skip_darcs;
Skips files and/or prunes directories related to a version control system. Just like "skip_dirs", these
rules should be specified early to get the correct behavior.
File content rules
"contents_match"
$rule->contents_match(qr/BEGIN .* END/xs);
The "contents_match" rule takes a list of regular expressions and returns files that match one of the
expressions.
The expressions are applied to the file's contents as a single string. For large files, this is likely to
take significant time and memory.
Files are assumed to be encoded in UTF-8, but alternative Perl IO layers can be passed as the first
argument:
$rule->contents_match(":encoding(iso-8859-1)", qr/BEGIN .* END/xs);
See perlio for further details.
"line_match"
$rule->line_match(qr/^new/i, qr/^Addition/);
The "line_match" rule takes a list of regular expressions and returns files with at least one line that
matches one of the expressions.
Files are assumed to be encoded in UTF-8, but alternative Perl IO layers can be passed as the first
argument.
"shebang"
$rule->shebang(qr/#!.*\bperl\b/);
The "shebang" rule takes a list of regular expressions or glob patterns and checks them against the first
line of a file.
Other rules
"dangling"
$rule->symlink->dangling;
$rule->not_dangling;
The "dangling" rule method matches dangling symlinks. Use it or its inverse to control how dangling
symlinks should be treated.
Negated rules
Most rule methods have a negated form preceded by "not_".
$rule->not_name("foo.*")
Because this happens automatically, it includes somewhat silly ones like "not_nonempty" (which is thus a
less efficient way of saying "empty").
Rules that skip directories or version control files do not have a negated version.
EXTENDING
Custom rule subroutines
Rules are implemented as (usually anonymous) subroutine callbacks that return a value indicating whether
or not the rule matches. These callbacks are called with three arguments. The first argument is a path,
which is also locally aliased as the $_ global variable for convenience in simple tests.
$rule->and( sub { -r -w -x $_ } ); # tests $_
The second argument is the basename of the path, which is useful for certain types of name checks:
$rule->and( sub { $_[1] =~ /foo|bar/ } ); "foo" or "bar" in basename;
The third argument is a hash reference that can be used to maintain state. Keys beginning with an
underscore are reserved for "Path::Iterator::Rule" to provide additional data about the search in
progress. For example, the "_depth" key is used to support minimum and maximum depth checks.
The custom rule subroutine must return one of four values:
• A true value -- indicates the constraint is satisfied
• A false value -- indicates the constraint is not satisfied
• "\1" -- indicate the constraint is satisfied, and prune if it's a directory
• "\0" -- indicate the constraint is not satisfied, and prune if it's a directory
A reference is a special flag that signals that a directory should not be searched recursively,
regardless of whether the directory should be returned by the iterator or not.
The legacy "0 but true" value used previously for pruning is no longer valid and will throw an exception
if it is detected.
Here is an example. This is equivalent to the "max_depth" rule method with a depth of 3:
$rule->and(
sub {
my ($path, $basename, $stash) = @_;
return 1 if $stash->{_depth} < 3;
return \1 if $stash->{_depth} == 3;
return \0; # should never get here
}
);
Files and directories and directories up to depth 3 will be returned and directories will be searched.
Files of depth 3 will be returned. Directories of depth 3 will be returned, but their contents will not
be added to the search.
Returning a reference is "sticky" -- they will propagate through "and" and "or" logic.
0 && \0 = \0 \0 && 0 = \0 0 || \0 = \0 \0 || 0 = \0
0 && \1 = \0 \0 && 1 = \0 0 || \1 = \1 \0 || 1 = \1
1 && \0 = \0 \1 && 0 = \0 1 || \0 = \1 \1 || 0 = \1
1 && \1 = \1 \1 && 1 = \1 1 || \1 = \1 \1 || 1 = \1
Once a directory is flagged to be pruned, it will be pruned regardless of subsequent rules.
$rule->max_depth(3)->name(qr/foo/);
This will return files or directories with "foo" in the name, but all directories at depth 3 will be
pruned, regardless of whether they match the name rule.
Generally, if you want to do directory pruning, you are encouraged to use the "skip" method instead of
writing your own logic using "\0" and "\1".
Extension modules and custom rule methods
One of the strengths of File::Find::Rule is the many CPAN modules that extend it. "Path::Iterator::Rule"
provides the "add_helper" method to provide a similar mechanism for extensions.
The "add_helper" class method takes three arguments, a "name" for the rule method, a closure-generating
callback, and a flag for not generating a negated form of the rule. Unless the flag is true, an inverted
"not_*" method is generated automatically. Extension classes should call this as a class method to
install new rule methods. For example, this adds a "foo" method that checks if the filename is "foo":
package Path::Iterator::Rule::Foo;
use Path::Iterator::Rule;
Path::Iterator::Rule->add_helper(
foo => sub {
my @args = @_; # do this to customize closure with arguments
return sub {
my ($item, $basename) = @_;
return if -d "$item";
return $basename =~ /^foo$/;
}
}
);
1;
This allows the following rule methods:
$rule->foo;
$fule->not_foo;
The "add_helper" method will warn and ignore a helper with the same name as an existing method.
Subclassing
Instead of processing and returning strings, this module may be subclassed to operate on objects that
represent files. Such objects must stringify to a file path.
The following private implementation methods must be overridden:
• _objectify -- given a path, return an object
• _children -- given a directory, return an (unsorted) list of [ basename, full path ] entries within
it, excluding "." and ".."
Note that "_children" should return a list of tuples, where the tuples are array references containing
basename and full path.
See Path::Class::Rule source for an example.
LEXICAL WARNINGS
If you run with lexical warnings enabled, "Path::Iterator::Rule" will issue warnings in certain
circumstances (such as an unreadable directory that must be skipped). To disable these categories, put
the following statement at the correct scope:
no warnings 'Path::Iterator::Rule';
PERFORMANCE
By default, "Path::Iterator::Rule" iterator options are "slow but safe". They ensure uniqueness, return
files in sorted order, and throw nice error messages if something goes wrong.
If you want speed over safety, set these options:
%options = (
loop_safe => 0,
sorted => 0,
depthfirst => -1,
error_handler => undef
);
Alternatively, use the "iter_fast" and "all_fast" methods instead, which set these options for you.
$iter = $rule->iter( @dirs, \%options );
$iter = $rule->iter_fast( @dirs ); # same thing
Depending on the file structure being searched, "depthfirst => -1" may or may not be a good choice. If
you have lots of nested directories and all the files at the bottom, a depth first search might do less
work or use less memory, particularly if the search will be halted early (e.g. finding the first N
matches.)
Rules will shortcut on failure, so be sure to put rules likely to fail early in a rule chain.
Consider:
$r1 = Path::Iterator::Rule->new->name(qr/foo/)->file;
$r2 = Path::Iterator::Rule->new->file->name(qr/foo/);
If there are lots of files, but only a few containing "foo", then $r1 above will be faster.
Rules are implemented as code references, so long chains have some overhead. Consider testing with a
custom coderef that combines several tests into one.
Consider:
$r3 = Path::Iterator::Rule->new->and( sub { -x -w -r $_ } );
$r4 = Path::Iterator::Rule->new->executable->writeable->readable;
Rule $r3 above will be much faster, not only because it stacks the file tests, but because it requires
only a single code reference.
CAVEATS
Some features are still unimplemented:
• Untainting options
• Some File::Find::Rule helpers (e.g. "grep")
• Extension class loading via "import()"
Filetest operators and stat rules are subject to the usual portability considerations. See perlport for
details.
SEE ALSO
There are many other file finding modules out there. They all have various features/deficiencies,
depending on your preferences and needs. Here is an (incomplete) list of alternatives, with some
comparison commentary.
Path::Class::Rule and IO::All::Rule are subclasses of "Path::Iterator::Rule" and operate on Path::Class
and IO::All objects, respectively. Because of this, they are substantially slower on large directory
trees than just using this module directly.
File::Find is part of the Perl core. It requires the user to write a callback function to process each
node of the search. Callbacks must use global variables to determine the current node. It only supports
depth-first search (both pre- and post-order). It supports pre- and post-processing callbacks; the former
is required for sorting files to process in a directory. File::Find::Closures can be used to help create
a callback for File::Find.
File::Find::Rule is an object-oriented wrapper around File::Find. It provides a number of helper
functions and there are many more "File::Find::Rule::*" modules on CPAN with additional helpers. It
provides an iterator interface, but precomputes all the results.
File::Next provides iterators for file, directories or "everything". It takes two callbacks, one to
match files and one to decide which directories to descend. It does not allow control over breadth/depth
order, though it does provide means to sort files for processing within a directory. Like File::Find, it
requires callbacks to use global variables.
Path::Class::Iterator walks a directory structure with an iterator. It is implemented as Path::Class
subclasses, which adds a degree of extra complexity. It takes a single callback to define "interesting"
paths to return. The callback gets a Path::Class::Iterator::File or Path::Class::Iterator::Dir object
for evaluation.
File::Find::Object and companion File::Find::Object::Rule are like File::Find and File::Find::Rule, but
without File::Find inside. They use an iterator that does not precompute results. They can return
File::Find::Object::Result objects, which give a subset of the utility of Path::Class objects.
File::Find::Object::Rule appears to be a literal translation of File::Find::Rule, including oddities like
making "-M" into a boolean.
File::chdir::WalkDir recursively descends a tree, calling a callback on each file. No iterator.
Supports exclusion patterns. Depth-first post-order by default, but offers pre-order option. Does not
process symlinks.
File::Find::Iterator is based on iterator patterns in Higher Order Perl. It allows a filtering callback.
Symlinks are followed automatically without infinite loop protection. No control over order. It offers a
"state file" option for resuming interrupted work.
File::Find::Declare has declarative helper rules, no iterator, is Moose-based and offers no control over
ordering or following symlinks.
File::Find::Node has no iterator, does matching via callback and offers no control over ordering.
File::Set builds up a set of files to operate on from a list of directories to include or exclude, with
control over recursion. A callback is applied to each file (or directory) in the set. There is no
iterator. There is no control over ordering. Symlinks are not followed. It has several extra features
for checksumming the set and creating tarballs with /bin/tar.
THANKS
Thank you to Ricardo Signes (rjbs) for inspiring me to write yet another file finder module, for writing
file finder optimization benchmarks, and tirelessly running my code over and over to see if it got
faster.
• See the speed of Perl file finders <http://rjbs.manxome.org/rubric/entry/1981>
SUPPORT
Bugs / Feature Requests
Please report any bugs or feature requests through the issue tracker at
<https://github.com/dagolden/Path-Iterator-Rule/issues>. You will be notified automatically of any
progress on your issue.
Source Code
This is open source software. The code repository is available for public review and contribution under
the terms of the license.
<https://github.com/dagolden/Path-Iterator-Rule>
git clone https://github.com/dagolden/Path-Iterator-Rule.git
AUTHOR
David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>
CONTRIBUTORS
• David Steinbrunner <dsteinbrunner@pobox.com>
• Diab Jerius <djerius@cfa.harvard.edu>
• Edward Betts <edward@4angle.com>
• Gian Piero Carrubba <gpiero@butterfly.fdc.rm-rf.it>
• Graham Knop <haarg@cpan.org>
• Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>
• Slaven Rezic <slaven.rezic@idealo.de>
• Toby Inkster <tobyink@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is Copyright (c) 2013 by David Golden.
This is free software, licensed under:
The Apache License, Version 2.0, January 2004
perl v5.36.0 2022-11-19 Path::Iterator::Rule(3pm)