File::DosGlob(3perl)

💖 File::DosGlob — DOS like globbing and then some 💖

okay bestie, so this is File::DosGlob, a lil Perl module from the Perl Programmers Reference Guide, and it's giving "MS-DOS called, it wants its wildcards back" but like... in a good way? It does DOS-like globbing and honestly? then some. 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

    require 5.004;

    # override CORE::glob in current package
    use File::DosGlob 'glob';

    # override CORE::glob in ALL packages (use with extreme caution!)
    use File::DosGlob 'GLOBAL_glob';

    @perlfiles = glob  "..\\pe?l/*.p?";
    print <..\\pe?l/*.p?>;

    # from the command line (overrides only in main::)
    > perl -MFile::DosGlob=glob -e "print <../pe*/*p?>"

no cap, that's the whole vibe in nine-ish lines 🫶

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So this module implements DOS-like globbing with a few little glow-ups on top. It's largely compatible with perlglob.exe (specifically the setargv.obj version, the M$ one 💀) in all but one respect — and that respect is iconic: it actually understands wildcards in directory components. periodt.

For example, "<..\\l*b\\file/*glob.p?>" will work exactly as expected — as in, it'll genuinely find something like '..\lib\File/DosGlob.pm' alright. Obsessed.

Some things to know, lowkey important:

• All path components are case-insensitive. she does not care about your capitalization.
• Both backslashes and forward slashes are accepted, and preserved. ✨
• You may have to double the backslashes if you're putting them in literally, because perl does that double-quotish parsing thing on the pattern. iykyk.

Spaces in the argument delimit distinct patterns, so glob('*.exe *.dll') globs all filenames that end in .exe or .dll. two for one, we love that. 💅

But hmm, what if you want literal spaces in the glob pattern? You can escape them with either double quotes or backslashes. Like:

glob('c:/"Program Files"/*/*.dll')

or

glob('c:/Program\ Files/*/*.dll')

The argument gets tokenized using Text::ParseWords::parse_line(), so if you wanna know the full tea on quoting rules, go read Text::ParseWords. 📖

Also, extending it to csh patterns is left as an exercise to the reader. ma'am that's homework and I'm not doing it 🙈

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🌸 EXPORTS (by request only) 🌸

• glob()

that's it. one (1) single export, and only if you ask nicely. 🫶

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💀 BUGS 💀

ngl bestie, this thing should probably be built into the core, and it needs to stop pandering to DOS habits. it also needs a dose of optimization too. so like... it works! but she's a little unserious. 😭

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@activestate.com>

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🌈 HISTORY 🌈

1. Support for globally overriding glob() (GSAR 3-JUN-98)
2. Scalar context, independent iterator context fixes (GSAR 15-SEP-97)
3. A few dir-vs-file optimizations result in glob importation being 10 times faster than using perlglob.exe, and using perlglob.bat is only twice as slow as perlglob.exe (GSAR 28-MAY-97)
4. Several cleanups prompted by lack of compatible perlglob.exe under Borland (GSAR 27-MAY-97)
5. Initial version (GSAR 20-FEB-97)

the way this module has been evolving since 1997 and is still serving... a legend fr fr 🧚

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• perl
• perlglob.bat
• Text::ParseWords

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okay that's the whole page, bestie, go forth and glob ✨

perl v5.44.0 • 2026-10-17 • File::DosGlob(3perl) — mwah, thanks for reading, ily, drink water 💖🦋🎀