Go to main content

man pages section 3: Library Interfaces and Headers

Exit Print View

Updated: Wednesday, July 27, 2022
 
 

Tie::Scalar (3)

Name

Tie::Scalar - base class definitions for tied scalars

Synopsis

package NewScalar;
require Tie::Scalar;

@ISA = qw(Tie::Scalar);

sub FETCH { ... }           # Provide a needed method
sub TIESCALAR { ... }       # Overrides inherited method


package NewStdScalar;
require Tie::Scalar;

@ISA = qw(Tie::StdScalar);

# All methods provided by default, so define
# only what needs be overridden
sub FETCH { ... }


package main;

tie $new_scalar, 'NewScalar';
tie $new_std_scalar, 'NewStdScalar';

Description

Perl Programmers Reference Guide                                Tie::Scalar(3)



NAME
       Tie::Scalar, Tie::StdScalar - base class definitions for tied scalars

SYNOPSIS
           package NewScalar;
           require Tie::Scalar;

           @ISA = qw(Tie::Scalar);

           sub FETCH { ... }           # Provide a needed method
           sub TIESCALAR { ... }       # Overrides inherited method


           package NewStdScalar;
           require Tie::Scalar;

           @ISA = qw(Tie::StdScalar);

           # All methods provided by default, so define
           # only what needs be overridden
           sub FETCH { ... }


           package main;

           tie $new_scalar, 'NewScalar';
           tie $new_std_scalar, 'NewStdScalar';

DESCRIPTION
       This module provides some skeletal methods for scalar-tying classes.
       See perltie for a list of the functions required in tying a scalar to a
       package. The basic Tie::Scalar package provides a "new" method, as well
       as methods "TIESCALAR", "FETCH" and "STORE". The Tie::StdScalar package
       provides all the methods specified in  perltie. It inherits from
       Tie::Scalar and causes scalars tied to it to behave exactly like the
       built-in scalars, allowing for selective overloading of methods. The
       "new" method is provided as a means of grandfathering, for classes that
       forget to provide their own "TIESCALAR" method.

       For developers wishing to write their own tied-scalar classes, the
       methods are summarized below. The perltie section not only documents
       these, but has sample code as well:

       TIESCALAR classname, LIST
           The method invoked by the command "tie $scalar, classname".
           Associates a new scalar instance with the specified class. "LIST"
           would represent additional arguments (along the lines of
           AnyDBM_File and compatriots) needed to complete the association.

       FETCH this
           Retrieve the value of the tied scalar referenced by this.

       STORE this, value
           Store data value in the tied scalar referenced by this.

       DESTROY this
           Free the storage associated with the tied scalar referenced by
           this.  This is rarely needed, as Perl manages its memory quite
           well. But the option exists, should a class wish to perform
           specific actions upon the destruction of an instance.

   Tie::Scalar vs Tie::StdScalar
       "Tie::Scalar" provides all the necessary methods, but one should
       realize they do not do anything useful. Calling "Tie::Scalar::FETCH" or
       "Tie::Scalar::STORE" results in a (trappable) croak. And if you inherit
       from "Tie::Scalar", you must provide either a "new" or a "TIESCALAR"
       method.

       If you are looking for a class that does everything for you that you
       don't define yourself, use the "Tie::StdScalar" class, not the
       "Tie::Scalar" one.

MORE INFORMATION
       The perltie section uses a good example of tying scalars by associating
       process IDs with priority.



ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


       +---------------+-----------------------+
       |ATTRIBUTE TYPE |   ATTRIBUTE VALUE     |
       +---------------+-----------------------+
       |Availability   | runtime/perl-532      |
       +---------------+-----------------------+
       |Stability      | Pass-through volatile |
       +---------------+-----------------------+

NOTES
       Source code for open source software components in Oracle Solaris can
       be found at https://www.oracle.com/downloads/opensource/solaris-source-
       code-downloads.html.

       This software was built from source available at
       https://github.com/oracle/solaris-userland.  The original community
       source was downloaded from
       http://www.cpan.org/src/5.0/perl-5.32.0.tar.gz.

       Further information about this software can be found on the open source
       community website at https://www.perl.org/.



perl v5.32.0                      2020-06-14                    Tie::Scalar(3)