Text file opening problem

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

I have problems in using data handler (In order to open a file and then perform some operations on it) My program:

open(FILE, "datebook.txt") || die "Can't open datebook: $!\n";
   while(<FILE>) {
       print if /Sir Lancelot/;
   }
   close(FILE);
[download]

Error description:

Can't open datebook: No such file or directory
[download]

20110105 Janitored by Corion: Added formatting, code tags, as per Writeup Formatting Tips

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Re: Text file opening problem by GrandFather (Saint) on Jan 04, 2011 at 07:00 UTC
Maybe the file or directory doesn't exist? Are you sure that the file is in the directory you think it is and that the script has permission to access it? As an aside, always use the three parameter version of open and use lexical file handles (you do use strictures - doc://strict]; use warnings; don't you). Your file open code should look like: `open my $inFile, '<', "datebook.txt" or die "Can't open datebook.txt: +$!\n";` [download] Is the fact that your die mentions datebook but the open is on datebook.txt a typo or a bug? True laziness is hard work	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Text file opening problem by syphilis (Archbishop) on Jan 04, 2011 at 07:07 UTC
No such file or directory This simply means that there is no file named "datebook.txt" in the current working directory. Update: If you want to find out for sure what your "current working directory" is, then add this to the beginning of the script: `use Cwd; print getcwd(), "\n";` [download] Cheers, Rob	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Text file opening problem by samarzone (Pilgrim) on Jan 04, 2011 at 07:03 UTC
The error clearly says that the file is not in the required path. To find the reason you can print the working directory just before opening the file. Or you can use absolute path (starting from root directory "/" in linux or from drive letter c:, d: etc. in windows) for the file name. You should also use <code></code> tags around the code you post. Read Markup in the Monastery -- Regards - Samar	[reply]