Thanks! I think I got freaked out by the Perl Cookbook's lengthy example as to how to use file locking with Storable, but now that I've looked at the outstanding documentation for the module I see there's even a lock_store function (and lock_nstore for a more portable though slightly slower solution) that apparently would replace those details (and lock_retrieve). Sometimes the Cookbook (2003) tells me more than I need to know, but Time Marches On and I forget that the state of the art is different than when the second edition of the Cookbook was published 18 years ago. It's still the book I typically reach for first.

Would a comma-separated data format work in my example? Each student "record" has a key that holds multiple values (the student's hobbies), so I'm thinking there isn't a key-to-scalar-value relationship that's required for a CSV format.

In reply to Re^2:Persistent data structures -- why so complicated? by davebaker
in thread Persistent data structures -- why so complicated? by davebaker

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.