File::M...nfo::Rox(3)

✨ File::MimeInfo::Rox 💅

okay bestie, so this is a Perl module called File::MimeInfo::Rox — and the whole vibe is that it opens files by mimetype, Rox style 👑. Like, the rox file browser way of doing things, but in Perl. slay.

We're in the File::M...nfo::Rox(3) manpage, user contributed Perl docs, and honestly? it's giving "small module, big personality" 🎀

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🌸 NAME 🌸

File::MimeInfo::Rox — open files by mimetype, "Rox style" ✨

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

like, here's the whole thing, literally verbatim:

use File::MimeInfo::Magic;
use File::MimeInfo::Rox qw/:magic/;

# open some file with the appropriate program
mime_system($somefile);

# more verbose version
my $mt = mimetype($somefile)
  || die "Could not find mimetype for $somefile\n";
mime_system($somefile, $mt)
  || die "No program to open $somefile available\n";

first one's the quick girlie version, second one's the "I want to know what actually happened" version 💁‍♀️

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so this module tries to mimic the behaviour of the rox file browser <http://rox.sf.net> when it "opens" data files. no cap, that's the whole assignment 🫶

how it does it: it determines the mime type, then searches in rox's "Choices" directories for a program that can handle that mimetype. that's it. that's the mechanism ✨

and if you want the extensive discussion of this mechanism? the original text says: see the rox documentation. she read the docs so you don't have to 💅

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🎀 EXPORT 🎀

the methods mime_exec and mime_system are exported 😌

and if you use the export tag :magic, you get the same methods but File::MimeInfo::Magic will be used for mimetype lookup. same energy, different engine ⭐

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🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

the environment variable CHOICESPATH is used when searching for rox's config dirs 🗂️

it defaults to:

"$ENV{HOME}/Choices:/usr/local/share/Choices:/usr/share/Choices"

three paths, colon-separated, home first. iykyk 🧚

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💜 METHODS 💜

mime_system($file) / mime_system($file, $mimetype, @_)

try to open $file with the appropriate program for files of its mimetype 🥰

you can use $mimetype to force the mimetype — and fr fr, if you already know the mimetype it saves a lot of time to just tell it. main character efficiency 💅

now the important caveats, bestie, pay attention:

• if either the mimetype couldn't be determined or no appropriate program could be found, undef is returned 😭
• if the actual system fails, an exception is raised 💀

all remaining arguments are passed on to the handler 🫶

mime_exec($file) / mime_exec($file, $mimetype, @_)

like mime_system() but uses exec instead of system, so it never returns if successful 👑

like, she's gone. she left the building. that's the whole point ✨

suggest_script_name($mimetype)

returns the list ($dir, $file) for the suggested place to write new script files (or symlinks) for mimetype $mimetype 🎀

and ngl, the suggested dir doesn't need to exist. it's a suggestion, not a promise 🙈

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🌸 AUTHOR 🌸

Jaap Karssenberg <pardus@cpan.org> — maintained by Michiel Beijen <mb@x14.nl> 🫶

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🦋 COPYRIGHT 🦋

Copyright (c) 2003, 2012 Jaap G Karssenberg. All rights reserved. 💖

this program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself ✨

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• File::MimeInfo
• File::MimeInfo::Magic
• <http://rox.sourceforce.net>

(yes, that URL is spelled sourceforce.net in the original — copying it exactly, bestie, not my job to fix it 🙈)

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heads up: the original page also points you at the rox documentation for the extensive discussion of the Choices mechanism — that's where the deep lore lives 🔥

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and that's the whole page, bestie! 🌈 source/version and date, as promised: this is perl v5.42.0, dated 2024-04-26, from the File::M...nfo::Rox(3) manual page 💜 mwah, go open some files 🎀