xref: /openbsd-src/gnu/usr.bin/perl/lib/Tie/Hash.pm (revision a4afd6dad3fba28f80e70208181c06c482259988)
1package Tie::Hash;
2
3=head1 NAME
4
5Tie::Hash, Tie::StdHash - base class definitions for tied hashes
6
7=head1 SYNOPSIS
8
9    package NewHash;
10    require Tie::Hash;
11
12    @ISA = (Tie::Hash);
13
14    sub DELETE { ... }		# Provides needed method
15    sub CLEAR { ... }		# Overrides inherited method
16
17
18    package NewStdHash;
19    require Tie::Hash;
20
21    @ISA = (Tie::StdHash);
22
23    # All methods provided by default, define only those needing overrides
24    sub DELETE { ... }
25
26
27    package main;
28
29    tie %new_hash, NewHash;
30    tie %new_std_hash, NewStdHash;
31
32=head1 DESCRIPTION
33
34This module provides some skeletal methods for hash-tying classes. See
35L<perltie> for a list of the functions required in order to tie a hash
36to a package. The basic B<Tie::Hash> package provides a C<new> method, as well
37as methods C<TIEHASH>, C<EXISTS> and C<CLEAR>. The B<Tie::StdHash> package
38provides most methods required for hashes in L<perltie>. It inherits from
39B<Tie::Hash>, and causes tied hashes to behave exactly like standard hashes,
40allowing for selective overloading of methods. The C<new> method is provided
41as grandfathering in the case a class forgets to include a C<TIEHASH> method.
42
43For developers wishing to write their own tied hashes, the required methods
44are briefly defined below. See the L<perltie> section for more detailed
45descriptive, as well as example code:
46
47=over
48
49=item TIEHASH classname, LIST
50
51The method invoked by the command C<tie %hash, classname>. Associates a new
52hash instance with the specified class. C<LIST> would represent additional
53arguments (along the lines of L<AnyDBM_File> and compatriots) needed to
54complete the association.
55
56=item STORE this, key, value
57
58Store datum I<value> into I<key> for the tied hash I<this>.
59
60=item FETCH this, key
61
62Retrieve the datum in I<key> for the tied hash I<this>.
63
64=item FIRSTKEY this
65
66Return the (key, value) pair for the first key in the hash.
67
68=item NEXTKEY this, lastkey
69
70Return the next (key, value) pair for the hash.
71
72=item EXISTS this, key
73
74Verify that I<key> exists with the tied hash I<this>.
75
76=item DELETE this, key
77
78Delete the key I<key> from the tied hash I<this>.
79
80=item CLEAR this
81
82Clear all values from the tied hash I<this>.
83
84=back
85
86=head1 CAVEATS
87
88The L<perltie> documentation includes a method called C<DESTROY> as
89a necessary method for tied hashes. Neither B<Tie::Hash> nor B<Tie::StdHash>
90define a default for this method. This is a standard for class packages,
91but may be omitted in favor of a simple default.
92
93=head1 MORE INFORMATION
94
95The packages relating to various DBM-related implemetations (F<DB_File>,
96F<NDBM_File>, etc.) show examples of general tied hashes, as does the
97L<Config> module. While these do not utilize B<Tie::Hash>, they serve as
98good working examples.
99
100=cut
101
102use Carp;
103
104sub new {
105    my $pkg = shift;
106    $pkg->TIEHASH(@_);
107}
108
109# Grandfather "new"
110
111sub TIEHASH {
112    my $pkg = shift;
113    if (defined &{"{$pkg}::new"}) {
114	carp "WARNING: calling ${pkg}->new since ${pkg}->TIEHASH is missing"
115	    if $^W;
116	$pkg->new(@_);
117    }
118    else {
119	croak "$pkg doesn't define a TIEHASH method";
120    }
121}
122
123sub EXISTS {
124    my $pkg = ref $_[0];
125    croak "$pkg doesn't define an EXISTS method";
126}
127
128sub CLEAR {
129    my $self = shift;
130    my $key = $self->FIRSTKEY(@_);
131    my @keys;
132
133    while (defined $key) {
134	push @keys, $key;
135	$key = $self->NEXTKEY(@_, $key);
136    }
137    foreach $key (@keys) {
138	$self->DELETE(@_, $key);
139    }
140}
141
142# The Tie::StdHash package implements standard perl hash behaviour.
143# It exists to act as a base class for classes which only wish to
144# alter some parts of their behaviour.
145
146package Tie::StdHash;
147@ISA = qw(Tie::Hash);
148
149sub TIEHASH  { bless {}, $_[0] }
150sub STORE    { $_[0]->{$_[1]} = $_[2] }
151sub FETCH    { $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
152sub FIRSTKEY { my $a = scalar keys %{$_[0]}; each %{$_[0]} }
153sub NEXTKEY  { each %{$_[0]} }
154sub EXISTS   { exists $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
155sub DELETE   { delete $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
156sub CLEAR    { %{$_[0]} = () }
157
1581;
159