1File::HomeDir(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation File::HomeDir(3)
2
6 File::HomeDir - Find your home and other directories, on any platform
7
9 use File::HomeDir;
10 # Modern Interface (Current User)
12 $home = File::HomeDir->my_home;
13 $desktop = File::HomeDir->my_desktop;
14 $docs = File::HomeDir->my_documents;
15 $music = File::HomeDir->my_music;
16 $pics = File::HomeDir->my_pictures;
17 $videos = File::HomeDir->my_videos;
18 $data = File::HomeDir->my_data;
19 # Modern Interface (Other Users)
21 $home = File::HomeDir->users_home('foo');
22 $desktop = File::HomeDir->users_desktop('foo');
23 $docs = File::HomeDir->users_documents('foo');
24 $music = File::HomeDir->users_music('foo');
25 $pics = File::HomeDir->users_pictures('foo');
26 $video = File::HomeDir->users_videos('foo');
27 $data = File::HomeDir->users_data('foo');
28 # Legacy Interfaces
30 print "My dir is ", home(), " and root's is ", home('root'), "\n";
31 print "My dir is $~{''} and root's is $~{root}\n";
32 # These both print the same thing, something like:
33 # "My dir is /home/user/mojo and root's is /"
34
36 File::HomeDir is a module for dealing with issues relating to the loca‐
37 tion of directories that are "owned" by a user, primarily your user,
38 and to solve these issues consistently across a wide variety of plat‐
39 forms.
40 Thus, a single API is presented that can find your resources on any
42 platform.
43 This module provides two main interfaces.
45 The first is a modern File::Spec-style interface with a consistent OO
47 API and different implementation modules to support various platforms.
48 You are strongly recommended to use this interface.
49 The second interface is for legacy support of the original 0.07 inter‐
51 face that exported a "home()" function by default and tied the "%~"
52 variable.
53 It is generally not recommended that you use this interface, but due to
55 back-compatibility reasons they will remain supported until at least
56 2010.
57 After this date, the home() function will remain, but we will consider
59 deprecating the (namespace-polluting) "%~" tied hash, to be removed by
60 2015 (maintaining the general Perl convention of a 10 year support
61 period for legacy APIs potentially or actually in common use).
62 Platform Neutrality
64 In the Unix world, many different types of data can be mixed together
66 in your home directory (although on some Unix platforms this is no
67 longer the case, particularly for "desktop"-oriented platforms).
68 On some non-Unix platforms, seperate directories are allocated for dif‐
70 ferent types of data and have been for a long time.
71 When writing applications on top of File::HomeDir, you should thus
73 always try to use the most specific method you can. User documents
74 should be saved in "my_documents", data that supports an application
75 but isn't normally editing by the user directory should go into
76 "my_data".
77 On platforms that do not make any distinction, all these different
79 methods will harmlessly degrade to the main home directory, but on
80 platforms that care File::HomeDir will always try to Do The Right
81 Thing(tm).
82
84 Two types of methods are provided. The "my_method" series of methods
85 for finding resources for the current user, and the "users_method"
86 (read as "user's method") series for finding resources for arbitrary
87 users.
88 This split is necesary, as on most platforms it is much easier to find
90 information about the current user compared to other users, and indeed
91 on a number you cannot find out information such as "users_desktop" at
92 all, due to security restrictions.
93 All methods will double check (using a "-d" test) that a directory
95 actually exists before returning it, so you may trust in the values
96 that are returned (subject to the usual caveats of race conditions of
97 directories being deleted at the moment between a directory being
98 returned and you using it).
99 However, because in some cases platforms may not support the concept of
101 home directories at all, any method may return "undef" (both in scalar
102 and list context) to indicate that there is no matching directory on
103 the system.
104 For example, most untrusted 'nobody'-type users do not have a home
106 directory. So any modules that are used in a CGI application that at
107 some level of recursion use your code, will result in calls to
108 File::HomeDir returning undef, even for a basic home() call.
109 my_home
111 The "my_home" method takes no arguments and returns the main home/pro‐
113 file directory for the current user.
114 If the distinction is important to you, the term "current" refers to
116 the real user, and not the effective user.
117 This is also the case for all of the other "my" methods.
119 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
121 does not have a home directory, or dies on error.
122 my_desktop
124 The "my_desktop" method takes no arguments and returns the "desktop"
126 directory for the current user.
127 Due to the diversity and complexity of implementions required to deal
129 with implementing the required functionality fully and completely, for
130 the moment "my_desktop" is not going to be implemented.
131 That said, I am extremely interested in code to implement "my_desktop"
133 on Unix, as long as it is capable of dealing (as the Windows implemen‐
134 tation does) with internationalisation. It should also avoid false pos‐
135 itive results by making sure it only returns the appropriate directo‐
136 ries for the appropriate platforms.
137 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
139 does not have a desktop directory, or dies on error.
140 my_documents
142 The "my_documents" method takes no arguments and returns the directory
144 (for the current user) where the user's documents are stored.
145 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
147 does not have a documents directory, or dies on error.
148 my_music
150 The "my_music" method takes no arguments and returns the directory
152 where the current user's music is stored.
153 No bias is made to any particular music type or music program, rather
155 the concept of a directory to hold the user's music is made at the
156 level of the underlying operating system or (at least) desktop environ‐
157 ment.
158 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
160 does not have a suitable directory, or dies on error.
161 my_pictures
163 The "my_pictures" method takes no arguments and returns the directory
165 where the current user's pictures are stored.
166 No bias is made to any particular picture type or picture program,
168 rather the concept of a directory to hold the user's pictures is made
169 at the level of the underlying operating system or (at least) desktop
170 environment.
171 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
173 does not have a suitable directory, or dies on error.
174 my_videos
176 The "my_videos" method takes no arguments and returns the directory
178 where the current user's videos are stored.
179 No bias is made to any particular video type or video program, rather
181 the concept of a directory to hold the user's videos is made at the
182 level of the underlying operating system or (at least) desktop environ‐
183 ment.
184 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
186 does not have a suitable directory, or dies on error.
187 my_data
189 The "my_data" takes no arguments and returns the directory where local
191 applications should stored their internal data for the current user.
192 Generally an application would create a subdirectory such as ".foo",
194 beneath this directory, and store its data there. By creating your
195 directory this way, you get an accurate result on the maximum number of
196 platforms.
197 For example, on Unix you get "~/.foo" and on Win32 you get "~/Local
199 Settings/Application Data/.foo"
200 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if the current user
202 does not have a data directory, or dies on error.
203 users_home
205 $home = File::HomeDir->users_home('foo');
207 The "users_home" method takes a single param and is used to locate the
209 parent home/profile directory for an identified user on the system.
210 While most of the time this identifier would be some form of user name,
212 it is permitted to vary per-platform to support user ids or UUIDs as
213 applicable for that platform.
214 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if that user does not
216 have a home directory, or dies on error.
217 users_documents
219 $docs = File::HomeDir->users_documents('foo');
221 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if that user does not
223 have a documents directory, or dies on error.
224 users_data
226 $data = File::HomeDir->users_data('foo');
228 Returns the directory path as a string, "undef" if that user does not
230 have a data directory, or dies on error.
231
233 home
234 use File::HomeDir;
236 $home = home();
237 $home = home('foo');
238 $home = File::HomeDir::home();
239 $home = File::HomeDir::home('foo');
240 The "home" function is exported by default and is provided for compati‐
242 bility with legacy applications. In new applications, you should use
243 the newer method-based interface above.
244 Returns the directory path to a named user's home/profile directory.
246 If provided no param, returns the directory path to the current user's
248 home/profile directory.
249
251 %~
252 $home = $~{""};
254 $home = $~{undef};
255 $home = $~{$user};
256 $home = $~{username};
257 print "... $~{''} ...";
258 print "... $~{$user} ...";
259 print "... $~{username} ...";
260 This calls "home($user)" or "home('username')" -- except that if you
262 ask for $~{some_user} and there is no such user, it will die.
263 Note that this is especially useful in double-quotish strings, like:
265 print "Jojo's .newsrc is ", -s "$~{jojo}/.newsrc", "b long!\n";
267 # (helpfully dies if there is no user 'jojo')
268 If you want to avoid the fatal errors, first test the value of
270 "home('jojo')", which will return undef (instead of dying) in case of
271 there being no such user.
272 Note, however, that if the hash key is "" or undef (whether thru being
274 a literal "", or a scalar whose value is empty-string or undef), then
275 this returns zero-argument "home()", i.e., your home directory:
276 Further, please note that because the %~ hash compulsorily modifies a
278 hash outside of it's namespace, and presents an overly simplistic
279 approach to home directories, it is likely to ultimately be removed.
280 The interface is currently expected to be formally deprecated from 2010
282 (but no earlier) and removed from 2015 (but no earlier). If very heavy
283 use is found in the wild, these plans may be pushed back.
284
286 * Become generally clearer on situations in which a user might not have
287 a particular resource.
288 * Merge remaining edge case code in File::HomeDir::Win32
289 * Add more granularity to Unix, and add support to VMS and other eso‐
290 teric platforms, so we can consider going core.
291 * Add consistent support for users_* methods
292
294 This module is stored in an Open Repository at the following address.
295 <http://svn.phase-n.com/svn/cpan/trunk/File-HomeDir>
297 Write access to the repository is made available automatically to any
299 published CPAN author, and to most other volunteers on request.
300 If you are able to submit your bug report in the form of new (failing)
302 unit tests, or can apply your fix directly instead of submitting a
303 patch, you are strongly encouraged to do so as the author currently
304 maintains over 100 modules and it can take some time to deal with non-
305 Critical bug reports or patches.
306 This will guarentee that your issue will be addressed in the next
308 release of the module.
309 If you cannot provide a direct test or fix, or don't have time to do
311 so, then regular bug reports are still accepted and appreciated via the
312 CPAN bug tracker.
313 <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=File-HomeDir>
315 For other issues, for commercial enhancement or support, or to have
317 your write access enabled for the repository, contact the author at the
318 email address above.
319
321 The biggest acknowledgement must go to Chris Nandor, who wielded his
322 legendary Mac-fu and turned my initial fairly ordinary Darwin implemen‐
323 tation into something that actually worked properly everywhere, and
324 then donated a Mac OS X license to allow it to be maintained properly.
325
327 Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
328 Sean M. Burke <sburke@cpan.org>
330 Chris Nandor <cnandor@cpan.org>
332 Stephen Steneker <stennie@cpan.org>
334
336 File::ShareDir, File::HomeDir::Win32 (legacy)
337
339 Copyright 2005, 2006 Adam Kennedy.
340 Some parts copyright 2000 Sean M. Burke.
342 Some parts copyright 2006 Chris Nandor.
344 Some parts copyright 2006 Stephen Steneker.
346 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
348 under the same terms as Perl itself.
349 The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
351 with this module.
352perl v5.8.8 2007-02-08 File::HomeDir(3)