hdb:

Lately, I've just been using:

$document = join("", <RTF_FILE>);
[download]

Compared to the localize technique, I find it clear and easy to type. It is, however, very inefficient. It's fast enough, though, that until today I had never noticed the time it takes to load the file. Will I continue to use the join version? Certainly--except for a task where I need to slurp enough files where it would make a significant difference.

Just because I have it, here's the benchmark code & results. (You don't have to open it, the results are that File::Slurp and the local technique are roughly equivalent, and both are 10 times faster than the join version.)

...roboticus

When your only tool is a hammer, all problems look like your thumb.

Thanks roboticus for your useful comparison.

slurp without $/

use Path::Tiny qw/ path /;
my $document = path( "file" )->slurp;
$document = path( "file" )->slurp_raw;
$document = path( "file" )->slurp_utf8;
$document = path( "file" )->slurp( {binmode => ":raw"} );