NAME

Directory::Scratch::Structured - creates temporary files and directories from a structured description

SYNOPSIS

  my %tree_structure =
		(
		dir_1 =>
			{
			subdir_1 =>{},
			file_1 =>[],
			file_a => [],
			},
		dir_2 =>
			{
			subdir_2 =>
				{
				file_22 =>[],
				file_2a =>[],
				},
			file_2 =>[],
			file_a =>['12345'],
			file_b =>[],
			},
			
		file_0 => [] ,
		) ;
		
  use Directory::Scratch::Structured qw(create_structured_tree) ;
  my $temporary_directory = create_structured_tree(%tree_structure) ;
  
  or 
  
  use Directory::Scratch ;
  use Directory::Scratch::Structured  qw(piggyback_directory_scratch) ;
 
  my $temporary_directory = Directory::Scratch->new;
  $temporary_directory->create_structured_tree(%tree_structure) ;

DESCRIPTION

This module adds a create_structured_tree subroutine to the Directory::Scratch.

DOCUMENTATION

I needed a subroutine to create a bunch of temporary directories and files while running tests. I used the excellent Directory::Scratch to implement such a functionality. I proposed the subroutine to the Directory::Scratch author but he preferred to implement a subroutine using an unstructured input data based on the fact that Directory::Scratch didn't use structured data. This is, IMHO, flawed design, though it may require slightly less typing.

I proposed a hybrid solution to reduce the amount of subroutines and integrate the subroutine using structured input into Directory::Scratch but we didn't reach an agreement on the API. Instead I decided that I would piggyback on Directory::Scratch.

You can access create_structured_tree through a subroutine or a method through a Directory::Scratch object.

Whichever interface you choose, the argument to the create_structured_tree consists of tuples (hash entries). The key represents the name of the object to create in the directory.

If the value is of type:

ARRAY

A file will be created, it's contents are the contents of the array (See Directory::Scratch)

HASH

A directory will be created. the element of the hash will also be , recursively, created

OTHER

The subroutine will croak.

SUBROUTINES/METHODS

create_structured_tree

use Directory::Scratch::Structured qw(create_structured_tree) ;

my $temporary_directory = create_structured_tree(%tree_structure) ;
my $base = $temporary_directory->base() ;

Returns a default Directory::Scratch object.

directory_scratch_create_structured_tree

Adds create_structured_tree to Directory::Scratch when you Load Directory::Scratch::Structured with the piggyback_directory_scratch option.

 use Directory::Scratch ;
 use Directory::Scratch::Structured qw(piggyback_directory_scratch) ;

 my $temporary_directory = Directory::Scratch->new;
 $temporary_directory->create_structured_tree(%tree_structure) ;

_create_structured_tree

Used internally by both interfaces

piggyback

Used internally to piggyback Directory::Scratch.

BUGS AND LIMITATIONS

None so far.

AUTHOR

Khemir Nadim ibn Hamouda
CPAN ID: NKH
mailto:nadim@khemir.net

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

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

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc Directory::Scratch::Structured

You can also look for information at:

SEE ALSO

Directory::Scratch