file::glob(3)

NAME

File::Glob - Perl extension for BSD glob routine

SYNOPSIS

use File::Glob ':glob';
@list = bsd_glob('*.[ch]');
$homedir = bsd_glob('~gnat', GLOB_TILDE | GLOB_ERR);
if (GLOB_ERROR) {
  # an error occurred reading $homedir
}
## override the core glob (CORE::glob() does this  automatically
## by default anyway, since v5.6.0)
use File::Glob ':globally';
my @sources = <*.{c,h,y}>
## override the core glob, forcing case sensitivity
use File::Glob qw(:globally :case);
my @sources = <*.{c,h,y}>
## override the core glob forcing case insensitivity
use File::Glob qw(:globally :nocase);
my @sources = <*.{c,h,y}>

DESCRIPTION

File::Glob::bsd_glob() implements the FreeBSD glob(3) rou tine, which is a superset of the POSIX glob() (described
in IEEE Std 1003.2 "POSIX.2"). bsd_glob() takes a manda tory "pattern" argument, and an optional "flags" argument,
and returns a list of filenames matching the pattern, with
interpretation of the pattern modified by the "flags"
variable.

Since v5.6.0, Perl's CORE::glob() is implemented in terms of bsd_glob(). Note that they don't share the same proto type--CORE::glob() only accepts a single argument. Due to historical reasons, CORE::glob() will also split its argu ment on whitespace, treating it as multiple patterns,
whereas bsd_glob() considers them as one pattern.

The POSIX defined flags for bsd_glob() are:

"GLOB_ERR"

Force bsd_glob() to return an error when it encounters a directory it cannot open or read. Ordinarily
bsd_glob() continues to find matches.

"GLOB_LIMIT"

Make bsd_glob() return an error (GLOB_NOSPACE) when the pattern expands to a size bigger than the system
constant "ARG_MAX" (usually found in limits.h). If
your system does not define this constant, bsd_glob() uses "sysconf(_SC_ARG_MAX)" or "_POSIX_ARG_MAX" where
available (in that order). You can inspect these val
ues using the standard "POSIX" extension.

"GLOB_MARK"

Each pathname that is a directory that matches the
pattern has a slash appended.

"GLOB_NOCASE"

By default, file names are assumed to be case
sensitive; this flag makes bsd_glob() treat case dif ferences as not significant.

"GLOB_NOCHECK"

If the pattern does not match any pathname, then
bsd_glob() returns a list consisting of only the pat tern. If "GLOB_QUOTE" is set, its effect is present
in the pattern returned.

"GLOB_NOSORT"

By default, the pathnames are sorted in ascending
ASCII order; this flag prevents that sorting (speeding
up bsd_glob()).

The FreeBSD extensions to the POSIX standard are the fol
lowing flags:

"GLOB_BRACE"

Pre-process the string to expand "{pat,pat,...}"
strings like csh(1). The pattern '{}' is left unex
panded for historical reasons (and csh(1) does the
same thing to ease typing of find(1) patterns).

"GLOB_NOMAGIC"

Same as "GLOB_NOCHECK" but it only returns the pattern
if it does not contain any of the special characters
"*", "?" or "[". "NOMAGIC" is provided to simplify
implementing the historic csh(1) globbing behaviour
and should probably not be used anywhere else.

"GLOB_QUOTE"

Use the backslash ('´) character for quoting: every
occurrence of a backslash followed by a character in
the pattern is replaced by that character, avoiding
any special interpretation of the character. (But see
below for exceptions on DOSISH systems).

"GLOB_TILDE"

Expand patterns that start with '~' to user name home
directories.

"GLOB_CSH"

For convenience, "GLOB_CSH" is a synonym for
"GLOB_BRACE | GLOB_NOMAGIC | GLOB_QUOTE | GLOB_TILDE
GLOB_ALPHASORT".

The POSIX provided "GLOB_APPEND", "GLOB_DOOFFS", and the
FreeBSD extensions "GLOB_ALTDIRFUNC", and "GLOB_MAGCHAR"
flags have not been implemented in the Perl version
because they involve more complex interaction with the
underlying C structures.

The following flag has been added in the Perl implementa
tion for csh compatibility:

"GLOB_ALPHASORT"

If "GLOB_NOSORT" is not in effect, sort filenames is
alphabetical order (case does not matter) rather than
in ASCII order.

DIAGNOSTICS

bsd_glob() returns a list of matching paths, possibly zero length. If an error occurred, &File::Glob::GLOB_ERROR
will be non-zero and $! will be set.
&File::Glob::GLOB_ERROR is guaranteed to be zero if no
error occurred, or one of the following values otherwise:

"GLOB_NOSPACE"

An attempt to allocate memory failed.

"GLOB_ABEND"

The glob was stopped because an error was encountered.

In the case where bsd_glob() has found some matching paths, but is interrupted by an error, it will return a
list of filenames and set &File::Glob::ERROR.

Note that bsd_glob() deviates from POSIX and FreeBSD glob(3) behaviour by not considering "ENOENT" and "ENOT
DIR" as errors - bsd_glob() will continue processing despite those errors, unless the "GLOB_ERR" flag is set.

Be aware that all filenames returned from File::Glob are
tainted.

NOTES

· If you want to use multiple patterns, e.g. "bsd_glob

"a* b*"", you should probably throw them in a set as
in "bsd_glob "{a*,b*}"". This is because the argument
to bsd_glob() isn't subjected to parsing by the C shell. Remember that you can use a backslash to
escape things.

· On DOSISH systems, backslash is a valid directory sep

arator character. In this case, use of backslash as a
quoting character (via GLOB_QUOTE) interferes with the
use of backslash as a directory separator. The best
(simplest, most portable) solution is to use forward
slashes for directory separators, and backslashes for
quoting. However, this does not match "normal prac
tice" on these systems. As a concession to user expec
tation, therefore, backslashes (under GLOB_QUOTE) only
quote the glob metacharacters '[', ']', '{', '}', '-',
'~', and backslash itself. All other backslashes are
passed through unchanged.

· Win32 users should use the real slash. If you really

want to use backslashes, consider using Sarathy's
File::DosGlob, which comes with the standard Perl dis
tribution.

· Mac OS (Classic) users should note a few differences.

Since Mac OS is not Unix, when the glob code encoun
ters a tilde glob (e.g. ~user) and the "GLOB_TILDE"
flag is used, it simply returns that pattern without
doing any expansion.

Glob on Mac OS is case-insensitive by default (if you
don't use any flags). If you specify any flags at all
and still want glob to be case-insensitive, you must
include "GLOB_NOCASE" in the flags.

The path separator is ':' (aka colon), not '/' (aka
slash). Mac OS users should be careful about specify
ing relative pathnames. While a full path always
begins with a volume name, a relative pathname should
always begin with a ':'. If specifying a volume name
only, a trailing ':' is required.

The specification of pathnames in glob patterns
adheres to the usual Mac OS conventions: The path sep
arator is a colon ':', not a slash '/'. A full path
always begins with a volume name. A relative pathname
on Mac OS must always begin with a ':', except when
specifying a file or directory name in the current
working directory, where the leading colon is
optional. If specifying a volume name only, a trailing
':' is required. Due to these rules, a glob like <*:>
will find all mounted volumes, while a glob like <*>
or <:*> will find all files and directories in the
current directory.

Note that updirs in the glob pattern are resolved
before the matching begins, i.e. a pattern like
"*HD:t?p::a*" will be matched as "*HD:a*". Note also,
that a single trailing ':' in the pattern is ignored
(unless it's a volume name pattern like "*HD:"), i.e.
a glob like <:*:> will find both directories and files
(and not, as one might expect, only directories). You
can, however, use the "GLOB_MARK" flag to distinguish
(without a file test) directory names from file names.

If the "GLOB_MARK" flag is set, all directory paths
will have a ':' appended. Since a directory like
'lib:' is not a valid relative path on Mac OS, both a leading and a trailing colon will be added, when the
directory name in question doesn't contain any colons
(e.g. 'lib' becomes ':lib:').

AUTHOR

The Perl interface was written by Nathan Torkington
<gnat@frii.com>, and is released under the artistic
license. Further modifications were made by Greg Bacon
<gbacon@cs.uah.edu>, Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@actives
tate.com>, and Thomas Wegner <wegner_thomas@yahoo.com>.
The C glob code has the following copyright:

Copyright (c) 1989, 1993 The Regents of the University

of California.
All rights reserved.

This code is derived from software contributed to

Berkeley by
Guido van Rossum.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms,

with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the follow

ing conditions
are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the

above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following

disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the

above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following

disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with

the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of

its contributors
may be used to endorse or promote products derived

from this software
without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBU

TORS ``AS IS'' AND
ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT

LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR

A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CON

TRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEM

PLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF

SUBSTITUTE GOODS
OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSI

NESS INTERRUPTION)
HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER

IN CONTRACT, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)

ARISING IN ANY WAY
OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF

THE POSSIBILITY OF
SUCH DAMAGE.

perl v5.8.0 2002-06-01 File::Glob(3)