xref: /openbsd-src/gnu/usr.bin/perl/lib/Tie/Hash.pm (revision e2e5c5d36e4398ba94879f0a31b0307421edcfdb)
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 for the hash.
71
72=item EXISTS this, key
73
74Verify that I<key> exists with the tied hash I<this>.
75
76The B<Tie::Hash> implementation is a stub that simply croaks.
77
78=item DELETE this, key
79
80Delete the key I<key> from the tied hash I<this>.
81
82=item CLEAR this
83
84Clear all values from the tied hash I<this>.
85
86=back
87
88=head1 CAVEATS
89
90The L<perltie> documentation includes a method called C<DESTROY> as
91a necessary method for tied hashes. Neither B<Tie::Hash> nor B<Tie::StdHash>
92define a default for this method. This is a standard for class packages,
93but may be omitted in favor of a simple default.
94
95=head1 MORE INFORMATION
96
97The packages relating to various DBM-related implementations (F<DB_File>,
98F<NDBM_File>, etc.) show examples of general tied hashes, as does the
99L<Config> module. While these do not utilize B<Tie::Hash>, they serve as
100good working examples.
101
102=cut
103
104use Carp;
105use warnings::register;
106
107sub new {
108    my $pkg = shift;
109    $pkg->TIEHASH(@_);
110}
111
112# Grandfather "new"
113
114sub TIEHASH {
115    my $pkg = shift;
116    if (defined &{"${pkg}::new"}) {
117	warnings::warn "WARNING: calling ${pkg}->new since ${pkg}->TIEHASH is missing"
118	    if warnings::enabled();
119	$pkg->new(@_);
120    }
121    else {
122	croak "$pkg doesn't define a TIEHASH method";
123    }
124}
125
126sub EXISTS {
127    my $pkg = ref $_[0];
128    croak "$pkg doesn't define an EXISTS method";
129}
130
131sub CLEAR {
132    my $self = shift;
133    my $key = $self->FIRSTKEY(@_);
134    my @keys;
135
136    while (defined $key) {
137	push @keys, $key;
138	$key = $self->NEXTKEY(@_, $key);
139    }
140    foreach $key (@keys) {
141	$self->DELETE(@_, $key);
142    }
143}
144
145# The Tie::StdHash package implements standard perl hash behaviour.
146# It exists to act as a base class for classes which only wish to
147# alter some parts of their behaviour.
148
149package Tie::StdHash;
150@ISA = qw(Tie::Hash);
151
152sub TIEHASH  { bless {}, $_[0] }
153sub STORE    { $_[0]->{$_[1]} = $_[2] }
154sub FETCH    { $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
155sub FIRSTKEY { my $a = scalar keys %{$_[0]}; each %{$_[0]} }
156sub NEXTKEY  { each %{$_[0]} }
157sub EXISTS   { exists $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
158sub DELETE   { delete $_[0]->{$_[1]} }
159sub CLEAR    { %{$_[0]} = () }
160
1611;
162