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Path(3)		      User Contributed Perl Documentation	       Path(3)

NAME
       File::Path - Create or remove directory trees

VERSION
       This document describes version 2.09 of File::Path, released
       2013-01-17.

SYNOPSIS
	 use File::Path qw(make_path remove_tree);

	 make_path('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang');
	 make_path('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang', {
	     verbose => 1,
	     mode => 0711,
	 });

	 remove_tree('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang');
	 remove_tree('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang', {
	     verbose => 1,
	     error  => \my $err_list,
	 });

	 # legacy (interface promoted before v2.00)
	 mkpath('/foo/bar/baz');
	 mkpath('/foo/bar/baz', 1, 0711);
	 mkpath(['/foo/bar/baz', 'blurfl/quux'], 1, 0711);
	 rmtree('foo/bar/baz', 1, 1);
	 rmtree(['foo/bar/baz', 'blurfl/quux'], 1, 1);

	 # legacy (interface promoted before v2.06)
	 mkpath('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang', { verbose => 1, mode => 0711 });
	 rmtree('foo/bar/baz', '/zug/zwang', { verbose => 1, mode => 0711 });

DESCRIPTION
       This module provide a convenient way to create directories of arbitrary
       depth and to delete an entire directory subtree from the filesystem.

       The following functions are provided:

       make_path( $dir1, $dir2, .... )
       make_path( $dir1, $dir2, ...., \%opts )
	   The "make_path" function creates the given directories if they
	   don't exists before, much like the Unix command "mkdir -p".

	   The function accepts a list of directories to be created. Its
	   behaviour may be tuned by an optional hashref appearing as the last
	   parameter on the call.

	   The function returns the list of directories actually created
	   during the call; in scalar context the number of directories
	   created.

	   The following keys are recognised in the option hash:

	   mode => $num
	       The numeric permissions mode to apply to each created directory
	       (defaults to 0777), to be modified by the current "umask". If
	       the directory already exists (and thus does not need to be
	       created), the permissions will not be modified.

	       "mask" is recognised as an alias for this parameter.

	   verbose => $bool
	       If present, will cause "make_path" to print the name of each
	       directory as it is created. By default nothing is printed.

	   error => \$err
	       If present, it should be a reference to a scalar.  This scalar
	       will be made to reference an array, which will be used to store
	       any errors that are encountered.	 See the "ERROR HANDLING"
	       section for more information.

	       If this parameter is not used, certain error conditions may
	       raise a fatal error that will cause the program will halt,
	       unless trapped in an "eval" block.

	   owner => $owner
	   user => $owner
	   uid => $owner
	       If present, will cause any created directory to be owned by
	       $owner.	If the value is numeric, it will be interpreted as a
	       uid, otherwise as username is assumed. An error will be issued
	       if the username cannot be mapped to a uid, or the uid does not
	       exist, or the process lacks the privileges to change ownership.

	       Ownwership of directories that already exist will not be
	       changed.

	       "user" and "uid" are aliases of "owner".

	   group => $group
	       If present, will cause any created directory to be owned by the
	       group $group.  If the value is numeric, it will be interpreted
	       as a gid, otherwise as group name is assumed. An error will be
	       issued if the group name cannot be mapped to a gid, or the gid
	       does not exist, or the process lacks the privileges to change
	       group ownership.

	       Group ownwership of directories that already exist will not be
	       changed.

		   make_path '/var/tmp/webcache', {owner=>'nobody', group=>'nogroup'};

       mkpath( $dir )
       mkpath( $dir, $verbose, $mode )
       mkpath( [$dir1, $dir2,...], $verbose, $mode )
       mkpath( $dir1, $dir2,..., \%opt )
	   The mkpath() function provide the legacy interface of make_path()
	   with a different interpretation of the arguments passed.  The
	   behaviour and return value of the function is otherwise identical
	   to make_path().

       remove_tree( $dir1, $dir2, .... )
       remove_tree( $dir1, $dir2, ...., \%opts )
	   The "remove_tree" function deletes the given directories and any
	   files and subdirectories they might contain, much like the Unix
	   command "rm -r" or "del /s" on Windows.

	   The function accepts a list of directories to be removed. Its
	   behaviour may be tuned by an optional hashref appearing as the last
	   parameter on the call.

	   The functions returns the number of files successfully deleted.

	   The following keys are recognised in the option hash:

	   verbose => $bool
	       If present, will cause "remove_tree" to print the name of each
	       file as it is unlinked. By default nothing is printed.

	   safe => $bool
	       When set to a true value, will cause "remove_tree" to skip the
	       files for which the process lacks the required privileges
	       needed to delete files, such as delete privileges on VMS. In
	       other words, the code will make no attempt to alter file
	       permissions. Thus, if the process is interrupted, no filesystem
	       object will be left in a more permissive mode.

	   keep_root => $bool
	       When set to a true value, will cause all files and
	       subdirectories to be removed, except the initially specified
	       directories. This comes in handy when cleaning out an
	       application's scratch directory.

		 remove_tree( '/tmp', {keep_root => 1} );

	   result => \$res
	       If present, it should be a reference to a scalar.  This scalar
	       will be made to reference an array, which will be used to store
	       all files and directories unlinked during the call. If nothing
	       is unlinked, the array will be empty.

		 remove_tree( '/tmp', {result => \my $list} );
		 print "unlinked $_\n" for @$list;

	       This is a useful alternative to the "verbose" key.

	   error => \$err
	       If present, it should be a reference to a scalar.  This scalar
	       will be made to reference an array, which will be used to store
	       any errors that are encountered.	 See the "ERROR HANDLING"
	       section for more information.

	       Removing things is a much more dangerous proposition than
	       creating things. As such, there are certain conditions that
	       "remove_tree" may encounter that are so dangerous that the only
	       sane action left is to kill the program.

	       Use "error" to trap all that is reasonable (problems with
	       permissions and the like), and let it die if things get out of
	       hand. This is the safest course of action.

       rmtree( $dir )
       rmtree( $dir, $verbose, $safe )
       rmtree( [$dir1, $dir2,...], $verbose, $safe )
       rmtree( $dir1, $dir2,..., \%opt )
	   The rmtree() function provide the legacy interface of remove_tree()
	   with a different interpretation of the arguments passed. The
	   behaviour and return value of the function is otherwise identical
	   to remove_tree().

   ERROR HANDLING
       NOTE:
	   The following error handling mechanism is considered experimental
	   and is subject to change pending feedback from users.

       If "make_path" or "remove_tree" encounter an error, a diagnostic
       message will be printed to "STDERR" via "carp" (for non-fatal errors),
       or via "croak" (for fatal errors).

       If this behaviour is not desirable, the "error" attribute may be used
       to hold a reference to a variable, which will be used to store the
       diagnostics. The variable is made a reference to an array of hash
       references.  Each hash contain a single key/value pair where the key is
       the name of the file, and the value is the error message (including the
       contents of $! when appropriate).  If a general error is encountered
       the diagnostic key will be empty.

       An example usage looks like:

	 remove_tree( 'foo/bar', 'bar/rat', {error => \my $err} );
	 if (@$err) {
	     for my $diag (@$err) {
		 my ($file, $message) = %$diag;
		 if ($file eq '') {
		     print "general error: $message\n";
		 }
		 else {
		     print "problem unlinking $file: $message\n";
		 }
	     }
	 }
	 else {
	     print "No error encountered\n";
	 }

       Note that if no errors are encountered, $err will reference an empty
       array.  This means that $err will always end up TRUE; so you need to
       test @$err to determine if errors occured.

   NOTES
       "File::Path" blindly exports "mkpath" and "rmtree" into the current
       namespace. These days, this is considered bad style, but to change it
       now would break too much code. Nonetheless, you are invited to specify
       what it is you are expecting to use:

	 use File::Path 'rmtree';

       The routines "make_path" and "remove_tree" are not exported by default.
       You must specify which ones you want to use.

	 use File::Path 'remove_tree';

       Note that a side-effect of the above is that "mkpath" and "rmtree" are
       no longer exported at all. This is due to the way the "Exporter" module
       works. If you are migrating a codebase to use the new interface, you
       will have to list everything explicitly. But that's just good practice
       anyway.

	 use File::Path qw(remove_tree rmtree);

       API CHANGES

       The API was changed in the 2.0 branch. For a time, "mkpath" and
       "rmtree" tried, unsuccessfully, to deal with the two different calling
       mechanisms. This approach was considered a failure.

       The new semantics are now only available with "make_path" and
       "remove_tree". The old semantics are only available through "mkpath"
       and "rmtree". Users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to at least 2.08
       in order to avoid surprises.

       SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

       There were race conditions 1.x implementations of File::Path's "rmtree"
       function (although sometimes patched depending on the OS distribution
       or platform). The 2.0 version contains code to avoid the problem
       mentioned in CVE-2002-0435.

       See the following pages for more information:

	 http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=286905
	 http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.perl5.porters/2005/01/msg97623.html
	 http://www.debian.org/security/2005/dsa-696

       Additionally, unless the "safe" parameter is set (or the third
       parameter in the traditional interface is TRUE), should a "remove_tree"
       be interrupted, files that were originally in read-only mode may now
       have their permissions set to a read-write (or "delete OK") mode.

DIAGNOSTICS
       FATAL errors will cause the program to halt ("croak"), since the
       problem is so severe that it would be dangerous to continue. (This can
       always be trapped with "eval", but it's not a good idea. Under the
       circumstances, dying is the best thing to do).

       SEVERE errors may be trapped using the modern interface. If the they
       are not trapped, or the old interface is used, such an error will cause
       the program will halt.

       All other errors may be trapped using the modern interface, otherwise
       they will be "carp"ed about. Program execution will not be halted.

       mkdir [path]: [errmsg] (SEVERE)
	   "make_path" was unable to create the path. Probably some sort of
	   permissions error at the point of departure, or insufficient
	   resources (such as free inodes on Unix).

       No root path(s) specified
	   "make_path" was not given any paths to create. This message is only
	   emitted if the routine is called with the traditional interface.
	   The modern interface will remain silent if given nothing to do.

       No such file or directory
	   On Windows, if "make_path" gives you this warning, it may mean that
	   you have exceeded your filesystem's maximum path length.

       cannot fetch initial working directory: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to determine the initial directory by
	   calling "Cwd::getcwd", but the call failed for some reason. No
	   attempt will be made to delete anything.

       cannot stat initial working directory: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to stat the initial directory (after having
	   successfully obtained its name via "getcwd"), however, the call
	   failed for some reason. No attempt will be made to delete anything.

       cannot chdir to [dir]: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to set the working directory in order to
	   begin deleting the objects therein, but was unsuccessful. This is
	   usually a permissions issue. The routine will continue to delete
	   other things, but this directory will be left intact.

       directory [dir] changed before chdir, expected dev=[n] ino=[n], actual
       dev=[n] ino=[n], aborting. (FATAL)
	   "remove_tree" recorded the device and inode of a directory, and
	   then moved into it. It then performed a "stat" on the current
	   directory and detected that the device and inode were no longer the
	   same. As this is at the heart of the race condition problem, the
	   program will die at this point.

       cannot make directory [dir] read+writeable: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to change the permissions on the current
	   directory to ensure that subsequent unlinkings would not run into
	   problems, but was unable to do so. The permissions remain as they
	   were, and the program will carry on, doing the best it can.

       cannot read [dir]: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" tried to read the contents of the directory in order
	   to acquire the names of the directory entries to be unlinked, but
	   was unsuccessful. This is usually a permissions issue. The program
	   will continue, but the files in this directory will remain after
	   the call.

       cannot reset chmod [dir]: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree", after having deleted everything in a directory,
	   attempted to restore its permissions to the original state but
	   failed. The directory may wind up being left behind.

       cannot remove [dir] when cwd is [dir]
	   The current working directory of the program is /some/path/to/here
	   and you are attempting to remove an ancestor, such as /some/path.
	   The directory tree is left untouched.

	   The solution is to "chdir" out of the child directory to a place
	   outside the directory tree to be removed.

       cannot chdir to [parent-dir] from [child-dir]: [errmsg], aborting.
       (FATAL)
	   "remove_tree", after having deleted everything and restored the
	   permissions of a directory, was unable to chdir back to the parent.
	   The program halts to avoid a race condition from occurring.

       cannot stat prior working directory [dir]: [errmsg], aborting. (FATAL)
	   "remove_tree" was unable to stat the parent directory after have
	   returned from the child. Since there is no way of knowing if we
	   returned to where we think we should be (by comparing device and
	   inode) the only way out is to "croak".

       previous directory [parent-dir] changed before entering [child-dir],
       expected dev=[n] ino=[n], actual dev=[n] ino=[n], aborting. (FATAL)
	   When "remove_tree" returned from deleting files in a child
	   directory, a check revealed that the parent directory it returned
	   to wasn't the one it started out from. This is considered a sign of
	   malicious activity.

       cannot make directory [dir] writeable: [errmsg]
	   Just before removing a directory (after having successfully removed
	   everything it contained), "remove_tree" attempted to set the
	   permissions on the directory to ensure it could be removed and
	   failed. Program execution continues, but the directory may possibly
	   not be deleted.

       cannot remove directory [dir]: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to remove a directory, but failed. This may
	   because some objects that were unable to be removed remain in the
	   directory, or a permissions issue. The directory will be left
	   behind.

       cannot restore permissions of [dir] to [0nnn]: [errmsg]
	   After having failed to remove a directory, "remove_tree" was unable
	   to restore its permissions from a permissive state back to a
	   possibly more restrictive setting. (Permissions given in octal).

       cannot make file [file] writeable: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" attempted to force the permissions of a file to
	   ensure it could be deleted, but failed to do so. It will, however,
	   still attempt to unlink the file.

       cannot unlink file [file]: [errmsg]
	   "remove_tree" failed to remove a file. Probably a permissions
	   issue.

       cannot restore permissions of [file] to [0nnn]: [errmsg]
	   After having failed to remove a file, "remove_tree" was also unable
	   to restore the permissions on the file to a possibly less
	   permissive setting. (Permissions given in octal).

       unable to map [owner] to a uid, ownership not changed");
	   "make_path" was instructed to give the ownership of created
	   directories to the symbolic name [owner], but "getpwnam" did not
	   return the corresponding numeric uid. The directory will be
	   created, but ownership will not be changed.

       unable to map [group] to a gid, group ownership not changed
	   "make_path" was instructed to give the group ownership of created
	   directories to the symbolic name [group], but "getgrnam" did not
	   return the corresponding numeric gid. The directory will be
	   created, but group ownership will not be changed.

SEE ALSO
       ·   File::Remove

	   Allows files and directories to be moved to the Trashcan/Recycle
	   Bin (where they may later be restored if necessary) if the
	   operating system supports such functionality. This feature may one
	   day be made available directly in "File::Path".

       ·   File::Find::Rule

	   When removing directory trees, if you want to examine each file to
	   decide whether to delete it (and possibly leaving large swathes
	   alone), File::Find::Rule offers a convenient and flexible approach
	   to examining directory trees.

BUGS
       Please report all bugs on the RT queue:

       <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=File-Path>

       You can also send pull requests to the Github repository:

       <https://github.com/dland/File-Path>

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
       Paul Szabo identified the race condition originally, and Brendan O'Dea
       wrote an implementation for Debian that addressed the problem.  That
       code was used as a basis for the current code. Their efforts are
       greatly appreciated.

       Gisle Aas made a number of improvements to the documentation for 2.07
       and his advice and assistance is also greatly appreciated.

AUTHORS
       Tim Bunce and Charles Bailey. Currently maintained by David Landgren
       <david@landgren.net>.

COPYRIGHT
       This module is copyright (C) Charles Bailey, Tim Bunce and David
       Landgren 1995-2013. All rights reserved.

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

perl v5.16.3			  2013-01-16			       Path(3)
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