ChrisR has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I just installed Win32::Perms for an ActiveState install of Perl on a Win2K machine. It seems to be causing a problem that I can't track down. This peice of code works fine: 
#!c:\perl\bin\perl.exe -w

use strict;
use warnings;

opendir(DIR, "c:\\") || die "can't opendir c:\\ ( $! ) \n";
my @rootlist = grep {/.*?/ && -d "c:\\$_" } readdir(DIR);
closedir DIR;

exit;

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However, the following code: 
#!c:\perl\bin\perl.exe -w

use strict;
use warnings;

use Win32::Perms; 

opendir(DIR, "c:\\") || die "can't opendir c:\\ ( $! ) \n";
my @rootlist = grep {/.*?/ && -d "c:\\$_" } readdir(DIR);
closedir DIR;

exit;

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Produces this error: 
Can't use string ("2") as a synbol ref while "strict refs" in use at t
+est.pl line 8.

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Line 8 is: opendir(DIR, "c:\\") || die "can't opendir c:\\ ( $! ) \n";
If I don't use strict; , there is no error, but there must be a better answer than that. Any ideas??

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Strange problem with Win32::Perms
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Oct 05, 2003 at 04:59 UTC

    Win32::Perms autoexports various constants for use in conjunction with its methods. The problem is that one of those constants is (unhelpfully) named DIR -- which apparantly has the value 2.

    The simplest work-around is to use a different name than DIR for your directory handle.

    Alternatively, you could use a lexical filehandle my $DIR on the opendir and $DIR elsewhere.

    Examine what is said, not who speaks.
    "Efficiency is intelligent laziness." -David Dunham
    "When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong." -Richard Buckminster Fuller
    If I understand your problem, I can solve it! Of course, the same can be said for you.
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      Thanks, that took care of it. Unfortunately, I am having trouble finding good documentation for the module. The info I can find on roth.net is geared more towards an understanding of the win security model than the specifics of the module itself and I can't find the module on cpan.org. Perhaps I will buy the book that is the answer to "Need More Documentation?" on roth.net.
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        Probably the best single piece of documentation with the module is the README file contained in the distribution. There are a few very simple examples about half way down.

        Beyond that, the key to understanding how to use the module, is to understand the Win32 Permissions model. It is a very powerful, but also very complex beast. The book would probably be a good way to getting an understanding of the module and how to use it, but don't be surprised if it has to go into quite a lot of detail of the OS security model to do it.

        Whilst you wait for the book to arrive, you could try the MS documentation....here is as good a starting point as any.

        Good luck.

        Examine what is said, not who speaks.
        "Efficiency is intelligent laziness." -David Dunham
        "When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong." -Richard Buckminster Fuller
        If I understand your problem, I can solve it! Of course, the same can be said for you.
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        ChrisR,
        I tried perldoc Win32::Perms and came up with nada. Then I started looking for documentation and got lucky. There is a README file installed with lot's of valuable information such as a FAQ. The list of constants and usage information about the module is all in the FAQ.

        Cheers - L~R

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