README for Mac::FileSpec::Unixish
                                        Time-stamp: "2000-05-14 00:42:47 MDT"

			Mac::FileSpec::Unixish

[Partially excerpted from the POD.]
Mac::FileSpec::Unixish -- Unixish-compatability in file specifications

SYNOPSIS
  use Mac::FileSpec::Unixish; # exports 'unixify' and 'nativize'
  
  @input = map( unixify($_), @ARGV);
  foreach $item (@input) {
    my $_native_item = nativize($item);
    next unless
             $item =~ m<([^/]+)$>s # assumes / is the path separator
             and -f $_native_item;
    printf("File %s is %d bytes long...\n", $1, -s _ );
    open(IN, "<$_native_item")
      || die "Can't open $_native_item : $!\n";
    print "First line: ", scalar(<IN>);
    close(IN);
  }

DESCRIPTION
Mac::FileSpec::Unixish provides two functions, `nativize' and `unixify'
(both of which are exported by default), that will allow you to denote
and manipulate pathspecs in Unixish style, and let you convert these
pathspecs to and from the native OS's format for conveying such things.
It currently assumes that if you are not running under MacOS (as
reported in `$^O'), you must be on a Unix box. If you want better, I
suggest using File::Spec. (In essence, I wrote Mac::FileSpec::Unixish as
a cheap hack to get around using File::Spec.)

Using this library, you can, in your code, refer to files using a
Unixish notation, a la:

  $foo = "../analyses/ziz.txt";
  open(OUT, '>' . &nativize($foo) ) || die "Couldn't open $foo \: $!";

Under Unix, `nativize($foo)' will be simply "../analyses/ziz.txt"
(`nativize' and `unixify' are nearly no-ops under Unixes); but under
MacOS it will be "::analyses:ziz.txt".

[...] In other words, this:

  @items = map(&unixify($_), @ARGV);
  foreach $one (@items) {
    print "$one => ", -s &nativize($one), " bytes\n";
    my $one_copy = $one;
    $one_copy =~ s/[^/]+$//s;
    print " in the directory $one_copy";
  }

will work equally well under MacOS as under Unix, regardless of the fact
that items in @ARGV will be in "foo:bar:baz" format if run under MacOS,
and "/foo/bar/baz" format if run under Unix. ...

This library exists so that a careful programmer who knows what
filespecs are legal and meaningful both under Mac and under Unix, can
write code that manipulates files and filenawes, and have this code
work equally well under MacOS and under Unix.  [...]  "Unixish" path
specification means pathspecs expressed with the meanings that Unix
assigns to '/', '.', and '..'  [...]


PREREQUISITES

This suite requires Perl 5; I've only used it under Perl 5.004, so for
anything lower, you're on your own.

Mac::FileSpec::Unixish doesn't use any nonstandard modules.


INSTALLATION

You install Mac::FileSpec::Unixish, as you would install any perl module
library, by running these commands:

   perl Makefile.PL
   make
   make test
   make install

If you want to install a private copy of Mac::FileSpec::Unixish under
your home directory, then you should try to produce the initial
Makefile with something like this command:

  perl Makefile.PL LIB=~/perl

Then you may need something like
  setenv PERLLIB "$HOME/perl"
in your shell initialization file (e.g., ~/.cshrc).


DOCUMENTATION

POD-format documentation is included in Unixish.pm.  POD is readable
with the 'perldoc' utility or MacPerl's Shuck.  See ChangeLog for
recent changes.


MACPERL INSTALLATION NOTES

Don't bother with the makefiles.  Just make a "Mac" directory in your
MacPerl site_lib or lib directory, and a "FileSpec" directory under
that, and then move Unixish.pm into there.


SUPPORT

Questions, bug reports, useful code bits, and suggestions for
Mac::FileSpec::Unixish should just be sent to me at
sburke@cpan.org


AVAILABILITY

The latest version of Mac::FileSpec::Unixish is available from the
Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN).  Visit
<http://www.perl.com/CPAN/> to find a CPAN site near you.


COPYRIGHT

Copyright 1998-2000, Sean M. Burke <sburke@cpan.org>, all rights
reserved.

You may use and redistribute this library under the same terms as Perl itself.
