Re: Test for file(s): glob or -e?

Try testing your data for 'globbable' characters. (My list of '*' and ? is probably incomplete.)

#! /usr/bin/perl -w

$, = ', ';
print $ARGV[0] =~ tr/*?// ? glob ($ARGV[0]) : ((-e $ARGV[0]) ? $ARGV[0
+] : '<No File>');
[download]

This was tested on Win32 so $ARGV[0] is not globbed by the OS.

Also try the following which atempts a glob followed by a single file test in case you were globbing a normal file name.

#! /usr/bin/perl -w

$, = ', ';
my @files = glob('*.txt');
print @files if -e $files[0];
[download]

Comment on Re: Test for file(s): glob or -e? Select or Download Code

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•Re: Re: Test for file(s): glob or -e? by merlyn (Sage) on Feb 18, 2004 at 15:27 UTC
But * and ? are valid filename characters, so how can you know if I was giving you a literal filename, or a glob? -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.	[reply]
Re: •Re: Re: Test for file(s): glob or -e? by inman (Curate) on Feb 18, 2004 at 18:46 UTC
My Windows background has found me out... `$, = ', '; my @files; print ((-e $data)? $data : ((@files = glob $data) && ($data ne $files[ +0]))? @files : ()) if $data;` [download] Prints $data if $data is a file. Prints the globbed $data only if the glob did some work. The whole statement is protected just in case $data is empty.	[reply] [d/l]