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File::Basename(3)      Perl Programmers Reference Guide      File::Basename(3)



NAME
       fileparse - split(1,n) a pathname into pieces

       basename(1,3,3 File::Basename) - extract just the filename from a path

       dirname - extract just the directory from a path

SYNOPSIS
           use File::Basename;

           ($name,$path,$suffix) = fileparse($fullname,@suffixlist);
           $name = fileparse($fullname,@suffixlist);
           fileparse_set_fstype($os_string);
           $basename(1,3,3 File::Basename) = basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)($fullname,@suffixlist);
           $dirname = dirname($fullname);

           ($name,$path,$suffix) = fileparse("lib/File/Basename.pm",qr{\.pm});
           fileparse_set_fstype("VMS");
           $basename(1,3,3 File::Basename) = basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)("lib/File/Basename.pm",".pm");
           $dirname = dirname("lib/File/Basename.pm");

DESCRIPTION
       These routines allow you to parse file(1,n) specifications into useful
       pieces using the syntax of different operating systems.

       fileparse_set_fstype
           You select(2,7,2 select_tut) the syntax via the routine fileparse_set_fstype().

           If the argument passed to it contains one of the substrings "VMS",
           "MSDOS", "MacOS", "AmigaOS" or "MSWin32", the file(1,n) specification
           syntax of that operating system is used in(1,8) future calls to
           fileparse(), basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)(), and dirname().  If it contains none of
           these substrings, Unix syntax is used.  This pattern matching is
           case-insensitive.  If you've selected VMS syntax, and the file(1,n)
           specification you pass to one of these routines contains a "/",
           they assume you are using Unix emulation and apply the Unix syntax
           rules instead, for that function call only.

           If the argument passed to it contains one of the substrings "VMS",
           "MSDOS", "MacOS", "AmigaOS", "os2", "MSWin32" or "RISCOS", then the
           pattern matching for suffix removal is performed without regard for
           case, since those systems are not case-sensitive when opening
           existing files (though some of them preserve case on file(1,n) cre-
           ation).

           If you haven't called fileparse_set_fstype(), the syntax is chosen
           by examining the builtin variable $^O according to these rules.

       fileparse
           The fileparse() routine divides a file(1,n) specification into three
           parts: a leading path, a file(1,n) name, and a suffix.  The path con-
           tains everything up to and including the last directory separator
           in(1,8) the input file(1,n) specification.  The remainder of the input file(1,n)
           specification is then divided into name and suffix based on the
           optional patterns you specify in(1,8) @suffixlist.  Each element of this
           list can be a qr-quoted pattern (or a string(3,n) which is interpreted
           as a regular expression), and is matched against the end of name.
           If this succeeds, the matching portion of name is removed and
           prepended to suffix.  By proper use of @suffixlist, you can remove
           file(1,n) types or versions for examination.

           You are guaranteed that if(3,n) you concatenate path, name, and suffix
           together in(1,8) that order, the result will denote the same file(1,n) as the
           input file(1,n) specification.

           In scalar context, fileparse() returns only the name part of the
           filename.

EXAMPLES
       Using Unix file(1,n) syntax:

           ($base,$path,$type) = fileparse('/virgil/aeneid/draft.book7',
                                           qr{\.book\d+});

       would yield

           $base eq 'draft'
           $path eq '/virgil/aeneid/',
           $type eq '.book7'

       Similarly, using VMS syntax:

           ($name,$dir,$type) = fileparse('Doc_Root:[Help]Rhetoric.Rnh',
                                          qr{\..*});

       would yield

           $name eq 'Rhetoric'
           $dir  eq 'Doc_Root:[Help]'
           $type eq '.Rnh'

       "basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)"
           The basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)() routine returns the first element of the list pro-
           duced by calling fileparse() with the same arguments, except that
           it always quotes metacharacters in(1,8) the given suffixes.  It is pro-
           vided for programmer compatibility with the Unix shell command
           basename(1,3,3 File::Basename)(1).

       "dirname"
           The dirname() routine returns the directory portion of the input
           file(1,n) specification.  When using VMS or MacOS syntax, this is iden-
           tical to the second element of the list produced by calling
           fileparse() with the same input file(1,n) specification.  (Under VMS, if(3,n)
           there is no directory information in(1,8) the input file(1,n) specification,
           then the current default device and directory are returned.)  When
           using Unix or MSDOS syntax, the return value conforms to the behav-
           ior of the Unix shell command dirname(1).  This is usually the same
           as the behavior of fileparse(), but differs in(1,8) some cases.  For
           example, for the input file(1,n) specification lib/, fileparse() consid-
           ers the directory name to be lib/, while dirname() considers the
           directory name to be .).



perl v5.8.5                       2001-09-21                 File::Basename(3)