NAME
HTML::Location - Working with disk to URI file mappings (deprecated: see
URI::ToDisk)
STATUS
As correctly noted by several users, "HTML::Location" is a really stupid
name for this module. I apologise, I was new to the whole CPAN game at
the time I first wrote it.
This module has been relocated to URI::ToDisk. This module will remain
indefinately for back-compatibility, but should otherwise be considered
deprecated.
Please convert your code to the otherwise identical URI::ToDisk at your
leisure.
SYNOPSIS
# We have a directory on disk that is accessible via a web server
my $authors = HTML::Location->new( '/var/www/AUTHORS', 'http://ali.as/AUTHORS' );
# We know where a particular generated file needs to go
my $about = $authors->catfile( 'A', 'AD', 'ADAMK', 'about.html' );
# Save the file to disk
my $file = $about->path;
open( FILE, ">$file" ) or die "open: $!";
print FILE, $content;
close FILE;
# Show the user where to see the file
my $uri = $about->uri;
print "Author information is at $uri\n";
DESCRIPTION
In several process relating to working with the web, we may need to keep
track of an area of disk that maps to a particular URL. From this
location, we should be able to derived both a filesystem path and URL
for any given directory or file under this location that we might need
to work with.
Implementation
Internally each "HTML::Location" object contains both a filesystem path,
which is altered using File::Spec, and a URI object. When making a
change, the path section of the URI is altered using .
Method Calling Conventions
The main functional methods, such as "catdir" and "catfile", do not
modify the original object, instead returning a new object containing
the new location.
This means that it should be used in a somewhat similar way to
File::Spec.
# The File::Spec way
my $path = '/some/path';
$path = File::Spec->catfile( $path, 'some', 'file.txt' );
# The HTML::Location way
my $location = HTML::Location->new( '/some/path', 'http://foo.com/blah' );
$location = $location->catfile( 'some', 'file.txt' );
OK, well it's not exactly THAT close, but you get the idea. It also
allows you to do method chaining, which is basically
HTML::Location->new( '/foo', 'http://foo.com/' )->catfile( 'bar.txt' )->uri
Which may seem a little trivial now, but I expect it to get more useful
later. It also means you can do things like this.
my $base = HTML::Location->new( '/my/cache', 'http://foo.com/' );
foreach my $path ( @some_files ) {
my $file = $base->catfile( $path );
print $file->path . ': ' . $file->uri . "\n";
}
In the above example, you don't have to be continuously cloning the
location, because all that stuff happens internally as needed.
METHODS
new $path, $http_url
The "new" constructor takes as argument a filesystem path and a http(s)
URL. Both are required, and the method will return "undef" is either is
illegal. The URL is not required to have protocol, host or port
sections, and as such allows for host-relative URL to be used.
Returns a new "HTML::Location" object on success, or "undef" on failure.
param $various
"param" is provided as a mechanism for higher order modules to flexibly
accept HTML::Location's as parameters. In this case, it accepts either
an existing HTML::Location object, two arguments ($path, $http_url), or
a reference to an array containing the same two arguments.
Returns a HTML::Location if possible, or "undef" if one cannot be
provided.
uri
The "uri" method gets and returns the current URI of the location, in
string form.
URI
The capitalised "URI" method gets and returns a copy of the raw URI,
held internally by the location. Note that only a copy is returned, and
as such as safe to further modify yourself without effecting the
location.
path
The "path" method returns the filesystem path componant of the location.
catdir 'dir', 'dir', ...
A File::Spec workalike, the "catdir" method acts in the same way as for
File::Spec, modifying both componants of the location. The "catdir"
method returns a new HTML::Location object representing the new
location, or "undef" on error.
catfile [ 'dir', ..., ] $file
Like "catdir", the "catfile" method acts in the same was as for
File::Spec, and returns a new HTML::Location object representing the
file, or "undef" on error.
TO DO
Add more File::Spec-y methods as needed. Ask if you need one.
SUPPORT
Bugs should be reported via the CPAN bug tracker at
For other issues, or commercial enhancement or support, contact the
author.
AUTHORS
Adam Kennedy , cpan@ali.as
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2003 - 2005 Adam Kennedy. All rights reserved.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
with this module.