home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- package Tie::Hash;
-
- =head1 NAME
-
- Tie::Hash, Tie::StdHash - base class definitions for tied hashes
-
- =head1 SYNOPSIS
-
- package NewHash;
- require Tie::Hash;
-
- @ISA = (Tie::Hash);
-
- sub DELETE { ... } # Provides needed method
- sub CLEAR { ... } # Overrides inherited method
-
-
- package NewStdHash;
- require Tie::Hash;
-
- @ISA = (Tie::StdHash);
-
- # All methods provided by default, define only those needing overrides
- sub DELETE { ... }
-
-
- package main;
-
- tie %new_hash, 'NewHash';
- tie %new_std_hash, 'NewStdHash';
-
- =head1 DESCRIPTION
-
- This module provides some skeletal methods for hash-tying classes. See
- L<perltie> for a list of the functions required in order to tie a hash
- to a package. The basic B<Tie::Hash> package provides a C<new> method, as well
- as methods C<TIEHASH>, C<EXISTS> and C<CLEAR>. The B<Tie::StdHash> package
- provides most methods required for hashes in L<perltie>. It inherits from
- B<Tie::Hash>, and causes tied hashes to behave exactly like standard hashes,
- allowing for selective overloading of methods. The C<new> method is provided
- as grandfathering in the case a class forgets to include a C<TIEHASH> method.
-
- For developers wishing to write their own tied hashes, the required methods
- are briefly defined below. See the L<perltie> section for more detailed
- descriptive, as well as example code:
-
- =over
-
- =item TIEHASH classname, LIST
-
- The method invoked by the command C<tie %hash, classname>. Associates a new
- hash instance with the specified class. C<LIST> would represent additional
- arguments (along the lines of L<AnyDBM_File> and compatriots) needed to
- complete the association.
-
- =item STORE this, key, value
-
- Store datum I<value> into I<key> for the tied hash I<this>.
-
- =item FETCH this, key
-
- Retrieve the datum in I<key> for the tied hash I<this>.
-
- =item FIRSTKEY this
-
- Return the (key, value) pair for the first key in the hash.
-
- =item NEXTKEY this, lastkey
-
- Return the next key for the hash.
-
- =item EXISTS this, key
-
- Verify that I<key> exists with the tied hash I<this>.
-
- The B<Tie::Hash> implementation is a stub that simply croaks.
-
- =item DELETE this, key
-
- Delete the key I<key> from the tied hash I<this>.
-
- =item CLEAR this
-
- Clear all values from the tied hash I<this>.
-
- =back
-
- =head1 CAVEATS
-
- The L<perltie> documentation includes a method called C<DESTROY> as
- a necessary method for tied hashes. Neither B<Tie::Hash> nor B<Tie::StdHash>
- define a default for this method. This is a standard for class packages,
- but may be omitted in favor of a simple default.
-
- =head1 MORE INFORMATION
-
- The packages relating to various DBM-related implementations (F<DB_File>,
- F<NDBM_File>, etc.) show examples of general tied hashes, as does the
- L<Config> module. While these do not utilize B<Tie::Hash>, they serve as
- good working examples.
-
- =cut
-
- use Carp;
- use warnings::register;
-
- sub new {
- my $pkg = shift;
- $pkg->TIEHASH(@_);
- }
-
- # Grandfather "new"
-
- sub TIEHASH {
- my $pkg = shift;
- if (defined &{"${pkg}::new"}) {
- warnings::warn "WARNING: calling ${pkg}->new since ${pkg}->TIEHASH is missing"
- if warnings::enabled();
- $pkg->new(@_);
- }
- else {
- croak "$pkg doesn't define a TIEHASH method";
- }
- }
-
- sub EXISTS {
- my $pkg = ref $_[0];
- croak "$pkg doesn't define an EXISTS method";
- }
-
- sub CLEAR {
- my $self = shift;
- my $key = $self->FIRSTKEY(@_);
- my @keys;
-
- while (defined $key) {
- push @keys, $key;
- $key = $self->NEXTKEY(@_, $key);
- }
- foreach $key (@keys) {
- $self->DELETE(@_, $key);
- }
- }
-
- # The Tie::StdHash package implements standard perl hash behaviour.
- # It exists to act as a base class for classes which only wish to
- # alter some parts of their behaviour.
-
- package Tie::StdHash;
- @ISA = qw(Tie::Hash);
-
- sub TIEHASH { bless {}, $_[0] }
- sub STORE { $_[0]->{$_[1]} = $_[2] }
- sub FETCH { $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
- sub FIRSTKEY { my $a = scalar keys %{$_[0]}; each %{$_[0]} }
- sub NEXTKEY { each %{$_[0]} }
- sub EXISTS { exists $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
- sub DELETE { delete $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
- sub CLEAR { %{$_[0]} = () }
-
- 1;
-