How to get a files type-description, by ext or mime (any modules?)

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

I know of Media::Type::Simple which allows me to get the MIME type by extension/suffix,
or the other way round, get the common .ext by MIME type.

Still, what I need is a Module (is there any?) that will provide me with short strings describing the file type, as for example Win32 File Explorer does, .mov is "QuickTime Movie", or .avi is "Videoclip".

Is there a kind of magicfile I can tap? Where does Windows get this stuff from, or what does GNOME use on Linux?

(I could ask similar things regarding Icons, I am developing a file-browsing cross-platform Wx application here...)

Comment on How to get a files type-description, by ext or mime (any modules?)

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: How to get a files type-description, by ext or mime (any modules?) by almut (Canon) on Feb 21, 2010 at 21:56 UTC
File::LibMagic might help. I've never used the module myself, but apparently it's a binding to `libmagic` that the Linux `file` utility is based upon.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: How to get a files type-description, by ext or mime (any modules?) by isync (Hermit) on Feb 21, 2010 at 22:38 UTC
For anyone reading this thread, I'd like to point out that MIME::Type and MIME::Types might be more usable than Media::Type::Simple ...	[reply]