NAME¶
X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry - an interface to Freedesktop.org .desktop files.
SYNOPSIS¶
use X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry;
my $entry = X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry->new_from_data($data);
print $entry->get_value('Name');
print $entry->Exec;
$entry->set_value('Name', 'Example Program');
print $entry->as_string;
$entry->reset;
DESCRIPTION¶
This module provides an object-oriented interface to files that comply with the
Freedesktop.org desktop entry specification. You can query the file for
available values, modify them, and also get locale information as well.
CONSTRUCTOR¶
X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry doesn't have the standard "new()"
constructor. This allows subclasses to implement their own backend-specific
constructor without needing to re-implement the constructor, which can be a
pain
(for an example subclass that uses Gnome2::VFS as a backend,
see the "PerlPanel::DesktopEntry" module in
the PerlPanel distribution).
my $entry = X11::FreeDesktop::DesktopEntry->new_from_data($data);
If there is an error reading or parsing the data, the constructor will
"carp()" and return an undefined value.
METHODS¶
$entry->is_valid($locale);
Returns a true or false valid depending on whether the required keys exist for
the given $locale. A list of the required keys can be found in the
Freedesktop.org specification. If $locale is omitted, it will default to
'"C"'.
my @groups = $entry->groups;
This returns an array of scalars containing the
group names included in
the file. Groups are defined by a line like the following in the file itself:
[Desktop Entry]
A valid desktop entry file will always have one of these, at the top.
$entry->has_group($group);
Returns true or false depending on whether the file has a section with the name
of $group.
my @keys = $entry->keys($group, $locale);
Returns an array of the available keys in $group and the $locale locale. Both
these values revert to defaults if they're undefined. When $locale is defined,
the array will be folded in with the keys from '"C"', since locales
inherit keys from the default locale. See the "get_value()" method
for another example of this inheritance.
$entry->has_key($key, $group);
Returns true or false depending on whether the file has a key with the name of
$key in the $group section. If $group is omitted, then the default group
('Desktop Entry') will be used.
my @locales = $entry->locales($key, $group);
Returns an array of strings naming all the available locales for the given $key.
If $key or $group don't exist in the file, this method will "carp()"
and return undef. There should always be at least one locale in the returned
array - the default locale, '"C"'.
my $string = $entry->get_value($key, $group, $locale);
Returns the value of the key named by $key. $group is optional, and will be set
to the default if omitted (see above). $locale is also optional, and defines
the locale for the string (defaults to '"C"' if omitted). If the
requested key does not exist for a non-default $locale of the form
"xx_YY", then the module will search for a value for the
"xx" locale. If nothing is found, this method will attempt to return
the value for the '"C"' locale. If this value does not exist, this
method will return undef.
$entry->set_value($key, $value, $locale, $group);
This method sets the value of the $key key in the $locale locale and $group
group to be $value. If $locale and $group are omitted, the defaults are used.
$value is always interpreted as a string. This method always returns true.
my $data = $entry->as_string;
This method returns a scalar containing the full entry in .desktop format. This
data can then be used to write the entry to disk.
$entry->reset;
This method restores the entry to its initial state - it undoes any changes made
to the values stored in the entry.
CONVENIENCE METHODS¶
my $name = $entry->Name($locale);
my $generic_name = $entry->GenericName($locale);
my $comment = $entry->Comment($locale);
my $type = $entry->Type($locale);
my $icon = $entry->Icon($locale);
my $exec = $entry->Exec($locale);
my $url = $entry->URL($locale);
my $startup_notify = $entry->StartupNotify($locale);
These methods are shortcuts for the mostly commonly accessed fields from a
desktop entry file. If undefined, $locale reverts to the default.
NOTES¶
Please note that according to the Freedesktop.org spec, key names are
case-sensitive.
SEE ALSO¶
The Freedesktop.org Desktop Entry Specification at
<
http://www.freedesktop.org/Standards/desktop-entry-spec>.
AUTHOR¶
Gavin Brown <gavin.brown@uk.com>.
COPYRIGHT¶
Copyright (c) 2005 Gavin Brown. This program is free software, you can use it
and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.