fileutil::multi::op(n) file utilities fileutil::multi::op(n) ______________________________________________________________________________
NAME
fileutil::multi::op - Multi-file operation, scatter/gather
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.4
package require fileutil::multi::op ?0.5.3?
package require wip ?1.0?
::fileutil::multi::op ?opName? ?word...?
opName option ?arg arg ...?
$opName do ?word...?
into directory
in directory
to directory
from directory
not pattern
for pattern
exclude pattern
but
except
as name
recursive
recursively
copy
move
remove
expand
invoke cmdprefix
reset
(
)
cd directory
up
for-windows
for-win
for-unix
the pattern
the-set varname
-> varname
strict
!strict
files
links
directories
dirs
all
state?
as?
excluded?
from?
into?
operation?
recursive?
strict?
type?
_________________________________________________________________
DESCRIPTION
This package provides objects which are able to perform actions on mul-
tiple files selected by glob patterns.
At the core is a domain specific language allowing the easy specifica-
tion of multi-file copy and/or move and/or deletion operations. Alter-
nate names would be scatter/gather processor, or maybe even assembler.
CLASS API
The main command of the package is:
::fileutil::multi::op ?opName? ?word...?
The command creates a new multi-file operation object with an
associated global Tcl command whose name is opName. This com-
mand can be used to invoke the various possible file operations.
It has the following general form:
opName option ?arg arg ...?
Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the
command.
If the string %AUTO% is used as the opName then the package will gener-
ate a unique name on its own.
If one or more words are specified they are interpreted as an initial
set of file commands to execute. I.e. the method do of the newly con-
structed object is implicitly invoked using the words as its arguments.
OBJECT API
The following methods are possible for multi-file operation objects:
$opName do ?word...?
This method interprets the specified words as file commands to
execute. See the section FILE API for the set of acceptable com-
mands, their syntax, and semantics.
The result of the method is the result generated by the last
file command it executed.
FILE API
Both object constructor and method do take a list of words and inter-
pret them as file commands to execute. The names were chosen to allow
the construction of operations as sentences in near-natural language.
Most of the commands influence just the state of the object, i.e. are
simply providing the configuration used by the command triggering the
actual action.
into directory
Specifies the destination directory for operations.
in directory
Alias for into.
to directory
Alias for into.
from directory
Specifies the source directory for operations.
not pattern
Specifies a glob pattern for paths to be excluded from the oper-
ation.
for pattern
Alias for not.
exclude pattern
Alias for not.
but Has no arguments of its own, but looks ahead in the list of
words and executes all not commands immediately following it.
This allows the construction of "but not" and "but exclude"
clauses for a more natural sounding specification of excluded
paths.
except A semi-alias for but. Has no arguments of its own, but looks
ahead in the list of words and executes all for commands immedi-
ately following it. This allows the construction of "except for"
clauses for a more natural sounding specification of excluded
paths.
as name
Specifies a new name for the first file handled by the current
operation. I.e. for the renaming of a single file during the
operation.
recursive
Signals that file expansion should happen in the whole directory
hierarchy and not just the directory itself.
recursively
An alias for recursive.
copy Signals that the operation is the copying of files from source
to destination directory per the specified inclusion and exclu-
sion patterns.
move Signals that the operation is the moving of files from source to
destination directory per the specified inclusion and exclusion
patterns.
remove Signals that the operation is the removal of files in the desti-
nation directory per the specified inclusion and exclusion pat-
terns.
expand Signals that there is no operation but the calculation of the
set of files from the include and exclude patterns. This opera-
tion is not available if the-set is used.
invoke cmdprefix
Signals that the user-specified command prefix cmdprefix is the
operation to perform. The command prefix is executed at the
global level and given the source directory, destination direc-
tory, and set of files (as dictionary mapping from source to
destination files), in this order.
reset Forces the object into the ground state where all parts of the
configuration have default values.
( Saves a copy of the current object state on a stack.
) Takes the state at the top of the state stack and restores it,
i.e. makes it the new current object state.
cd directory
Changes the destination directory to the sub-directory directory
of the current destination.
up Changes the destination directory to the parent directory of the
current destination.
for-windows
Checks that Windows is the current platform. Aborts processing
if not.
for-win
An alias for for-windows.
for-unix
Checks that Unix is the current platform. Aborts processing if
not.
the pattern
This command specifies the files to operate on per a glob pat-
tern, and is also the active element, i.e. the command which
actually performs the specified operation. All the other com-
mands only modified the object state to set the operation up,
but di nothing else.
To allow for a more natural sounding syntax this command also
looks ahead in the list of words looks and executes several com-
mands immediately following it before performing its own
actions. These commands are as, but, exclude, except, from, and
into (and aliases). That way these commands act like qualifiers,
and still take effect as if they had been written before this
command.
After the operation has been performed the object state the
exclude patterns and the alias name, if specified, are reset to
their default values (i.e. empty), but nothing else.
the-set varname
Like the, however the set of files to use is not specified
implicitly per a glob pattern, but contained and loaded from the
specified variable. The operation expand is not available if
this command is used.
-> varname
Saves the set of files from the last expansion into the speci-
fied variable.
strict Make file expansion and definition of destination directory (in
and aliases) strict, i.e. report errors for missing directories,
and empty expansion.
!strict
Complement of strict. A missing destination directory or empty
expansion are not reported as errors.
files Limit the search to files. Default is to accept every type of
path.
links Limit the search to symbolic links. Default is to accept every
type of path.
directories
Limit the search to directories. Default is to accept every type
of path.
dirs An alias for directories.
all Accept all types of paths (default).
state? Returns the current state of the object as dictionary. The dic-
tionary keys and their meanings are:
as Last setting made by as.
excluded
List of currently known exclusion patterns.
from Current source directory, set by from.
into Current destination directory, set by into (and aliases).
operation
Current operation to perform, set by copy, move, remove,
expand, or invoke.
recursive
Current recursion status. Set/unset by recursive and
!recursive.
strict Current strictness. Set/unset by strict and !strict.
type Current path type limiter. Set by either files, directo-
ries, links, or all.
as? Returns the current alias name.
excluded?
Returns the current set of exclusion patterns.
from? Returns the current source directory.
into? Returns the current destination directory.
operation?
Returns the current operation to perform.
recursive?
Returns the current recursion status.
strict?
Returns the current strictness.
type? Returns the current path type limiter.
EXAMPLES
The following examples assume that the variable F contains a reference
to a multi-file operation object.
$F do copy \\
the *.dll \\
from c:/TDK/PrivateOpenSSL/bin \\
to [installdir_of tls]
$F do move \\
the * \\
from /sources \\
into /scratch \\
but not *.html
# Alternatively use 'except for *.html'.
$F do \\
move \\
the index \\
from /sources \\
into /scratch \\
as pkgIndex.tcl
$F do \\
remove \\
the *.txt \\
in /scratch
Note that the fact that most commands just modify the object state
allows us to use more off forms as specifications instead of just
nearly-natural language sentences. For example the second example in
this section can re-arranged into:
$F do \\
from /sources \\
into /scratch \\
but not *.html \\
move \\
the *
and the result is not only still a valid specification, but even stays
relatively readable.
Further note that the information collected by the commands but,
except, and as is automatically reset after the associated the was exe-
cuted. However no other state is reset in that manner, allowing the
user to avoid repetitions of unchanging information. For example the
second and third examples of this section can be merged and rewritten
into the equivalent:
$F do \\
move \\
the * \\
from /sources \\
into /scratch \\
but not *.html not index \\
the index \\
as pkgIndex.tcl
BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain
bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category fileutil
of the Tcllib SF Trackers [http://source-
forge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883]. Please also report any ideas for
enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation.
KEYWORDS
copy, file utilities, move, multi-file, remove
CATEGORY
Programming tools
fileutil 0.5.3 fileutil::multi::op(n)
Mac OS X 10.8 - Generated Mon Sep 10 06:09:02 CDT 2012