File::Find Problem

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

Hello Monks,

I don't get result for spaced directory name when using File::Find. I have tried as below:

When I remove space in directory name, it is working

Thanks

Siva

use warnings;
use File::Find;
die ("\n\n\tsyntax: pdftotextscript <folder path>\n") if ($#ARGV != 0)
+;

my $root_dir = qq/"$ARGV[0]"/;

find(\&fix, $root_dir);

sub fix {
   return if ! /\.pdf?/i;
   system("c:\/Tools\/pdftotext.exe $_");
  }
[download]

Comment on File::Find Problem Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: File::Find Problem by Samy_rio (Vicar) on Aug 11, 2006 at 05:44 UTC
Hi sivaramanm, Use double quotes in argument of pdftotext.exe like this, `system("c:\/Tools\/pdftotext.exe \"$_\"");` [download] Assign $ARGV[0] value to a variable directly as: `my $root_dir = $ARGV[0];` [download] return if ! /\.pdf?/i; In the return statement, you made couple of mistakes, it should be `return if !~ /\.pdf$/i;` [download] Regards, Velusamy R. eval"print uc\"\\c$_\""for split'','j)@,/6%@0%2,`e@3!-9v2)/@\|6%,53!-9@2~j';	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: File::Find Problem by graff (Chancellor) on Aug 11, 2006 at 06:08 UTC
If your directory name is something like `My Silly Folder Name` (i.e. four words, three spaces), then you must put quotes around the full name on the command line when you run the perl script -- otherwise, the shell will pass the name to perl's @ARGV as four separate args (that is: `@ARGV[0..3]`). I guess another way to handle this (without qouting the directory name on the command line) might be: `my $root_dir = join " ", @ARGV;` [download] In any case, your attempts at putting quotes around `$ARGV[0]` have no effect at all on the issue.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: File::Find Problem by MidLifeXis (Monsignor) on Aug 11, 2006 at 17:31 UTC
I guess another way to handle this (without qouting the directory name on the command line) might be: `my $root_dir = join " ", @ARGV;` Until you pass a file named: `two spaces` or `a\ttab` (replace "\t" with an actual tab). Any assumptions that the program makes as to the whitespace of unquoted parameters is just asking for trouble. --MidLifeXis	[reply] [d/l] [select]