Perl::OSType(3perl)

💖 Perl::OSType 💖

okay bestie so this is the Perl::OSType page from the Perl Programmers Reference Guide, and it's literally the little module that goes "yes queen, your $^O is giving Unix" 💅

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✨ VERSION ✨

version 1.010 — fresh, iconic, no notes.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

use Perl::OSType ':all';

$current_type = os_type();
$other_type = os_type('dragonfly'); # gives 'Unix'

that's it. that's the whole vibe. two functions and a dream 🦋

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🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so like, modules that do OS-specific stuff always need to know whether the current operating system matches some bigger, more generic type of operating system, yk? classic example: 'linux' is a type of 'Unix' operating system, and so is 'freebsd'. like they're cousins, they're in the same group chat.

this module hands you a mapping between an operating system name as given by $^O and a more generic type. the initial version is based on the OS type mappings provided in Module::Build and ExtUtils::CBuilder. and because of that, heads up: Microsoft operating systems are given the type 'Windows' rather than 'Win32'. that's just the lore 💀

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👑 USAGE 👑

No functions are exported by default. (shy module energy, respect.) But the export tag ":all" will export all functions listed below. slay.

🧚 os_type()

$os_type = os_type();
$os_type = os_type('MSWin32');

Returns a single, generic OS type for a given operating system name. With no arguments, it returns the OS type for the current value of $^O. And if the operating system is not recognized? the function will return the empty string. it's giving "idk her" 🙈

🌈 is_os_type()

$is_windows = is_os_type('Windows');
$is_unix    = is_os_type('Unix', 'dragonfly');

Given an OS type and OS name, returns true or false if the OS name is of the given type. As with "os_type", it will use the current operating system as a default if no OS name is provided. so if you're lazy (same) it just checks this machine ✨

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• Devel::CheckOS — the other girl in the friend group

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🫶 SUPPORT 🫶

💌 Bugs / Feature Requests

Please report any bugs or feature requests through the issue tracker at <https://github.com/Perl-Toolchain-Gang/Perl-OSType/issues>. You will be notified automatically of any progress on your issue. yes bestie, you get notifications. we keep you posted fr fr 📬

💻 Source Code

This is open source software. The code repository is available for public review and contribution under the terms of the license.

<https://github.com/Perl-Toolchain-Gang/Perl-OSType>

git clone https://github.com/Perl-Toolchain-Gang/Perl-OSType.git

come contribute, the door is open, the playlist is on 🎧

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⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org> — the main character 👑

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💜 CONTRIBUTORS 💜

• Chris 'BinGOs' Williams <chris@bingosnet.co.uk>
• David Golden <xdg@xdg.me>
• Graham Ollis <plicease@cpan.org>
• Jonas B. Nielsen <jonasbn@hoarfrost.local>
• Owain G. Ainsworth <oga@nicotinebsd.org>
• Paul Green <Paul.Green@stratus.com>
• Piotr Roszatycki <piotr.roszatycki@gmail.com>

the whole squad ate, no crumbs left 🍓

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🎀 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE 🎀

This software is copyright (c) 2016 by David Golden.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself. periodt. 💅

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and that's the whole page bestie!! this was Perl::OSType(3perl) from perl v5.44.0, dated 2026-10-17. go forth and os_type() responsibly 🦋✨💖