The magic of the -i doesn't preclude the file from being opened, read, written, and closed does it?
It renames the given file then creates an empty file in it's place and writes to that (see. the -i section of perlrun).
I think for all intents and purposes, it meets the OP's needs
Indeed. I considered giving a solution where the code did most of the work inplace, but I figured that the OP just wanted ease of use (that's why they're using perl afterall :)
Besides - Tie::File has to read the entire file to index the newlines as well for the array - or am I wrong about that too?
It does indeed read the whole file into memory, but as its Dominus' code it's all terrifically optimal :)
HTH

_________
broquaint

In reply to Re: Re: Re: Is it possible to alter a flat file in memory? by broquaint
in thread Is it possible to alter a flat file in memory? by Anonymous Monk

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