cvs commit: perlfaq perlfaq5.pod

cvsuser     02/03/16 07:37:26

  Modified:    .        perlfaq5.pod
  Log:
  * from 'How can I read in an entire file all at once?'
       + removed answer involving `cat` since it's not Perl
       + added answer involving read(), since it's another way
       to do it.
  
  Revision  Changes    Path
  1.13      +9 -16     perlfaq/perlfaq5.pod
  
  Index: perlfaq5.pod
  ===================================================================
  RCS file: /cvs/public/perlfaq/perlfaq5.pod,v
  retrieving revision 1.12
  retrieving revision 1.13
  diff -u -w -r1.12 -r1.13
  --- perlfaq5.pod	11 Mar 2002 22:25:25 -0000	1.12
  +++ perlfaq5.pod	16 Mar 2002 15:37:26 -0000	1.13
  @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
   =head1 NAME
   
  -perlfaq5 - Files and Formats ($Revision: 1.12 $, $Date: 2002/03/11 22:25:25 $)
  +perlfaq5 - Files and Formats ($Revision: 1.13 $, $Date: 2002/03/16 15:37:26 $)
   
   =head1 DESCRIPTION
   
  @@ -764,21 +764,7 @@
   which allow you to tie an array to a file so that accessing an element
   the array actually accesses the corresponding line in the file.
   
  -On very rare occasion, you may have an algorithm that demands that
  -the entire file be in memory at once as one scalar.  The simplest solution
  -to that is
  -
  -    $var = `cat $file`;
  -
  -Being in scalar context, you get the whole thing.  In list context,
  -you'd get a list of all the lines:
  -
  -    @lines = `cat $file`;
  -
  -This tiny but expedient solution is neat, clean, and portable to
  -all systems on which decent tools have been installed.  For those
  -who prefer not to use the toolbox, you can of course read the file
  -manually, although this makes for more complicated code.
  +You can read the entire filehandle contents into a scalar.
   
       {
   	local(*INPUT, $/);
  @@ -790,6 +776,13 @@
   close the file at block exit.  If the file is already open, just use this:
   
       $var = do { local $/; <INPUT> };
  +
  +For ordinary files you can also use the read function.
  +
  +	read( INPUT, $var, -s INPUT );
  +
  +The third argument tests the byte size of the data on the INPUT filehandle
  +and reads that many bytes into the buffer $var.
   
   =head2 How can I read in a file by paragraphs?