# Class::Inspector - phpMan
## NAME
[Class::Inspector] - Get information about a class and its structure
## VERSION
version 1.36
## SYNOPSIS
use [Class::Inspector];
# Is a class installed and/or loaded
[Class::Inspector]->installed( '[Foo::Class]' );
[Class::Inspector]->loaded( '[Foo::Class]' );
# Filename related information
[Class::Inspector]->filename( '[Foo::Class]' );
[Class::Inspector]->resolved_filename( '[Foo::Class]' );
# Get subroutine related information
[Class::Inspector]->functions( '[Foo::Class]' );
[Class::Inspector]->function_refs( '[Foo::Class]' );
[Class::Inspector]->function_exists( '[Foo::Class]', 'bar' );
[Class::Inspector]->methods( '[Foo::Class]', 'full', 'public' );
# Find all loaded subclasses or something
[Class::Inspector]->subclasses( '[Foo::Class]' );
## DESCRIPTION
[Class::Inspector] allows you to get information about a loaded class.
Most or all of this information can be found in other ways, but they
aren't always very friendly, and usually involve a relatively high level
of Perl wizardry, or strange and unusual looking code. [Class::Inspector]
attempts to provide an easier, more friendly interface to this
information.
## METHODS
installed
my $bool = [Class::Inspector]->installed($class);
The "installed" static method tries to determine if a class is installed
on the machine, or at least available to Perl. It does this by wrapping
around "resolved_filename".
Returns true if installed/available, false if the class is not
installed, or "undef" if the class name is invalid.
loaded
my $bool = [Class::Inspector]->loaded($class);
The "loaded" static method tries to determine if a class is loaded by
looking for symbol table entries.
This method it uses to determine this will work even if the class does
not have its own file, but is contained inside a single file with
multiple classes in it. Even in the case of some sort of run-time
loading class being used, these typically leave some trace in the symbol
table, so an Autoload or [Class::Autouse]-based class should correctly
appear loaded.
Returns true if the class is loaded, false if not, or "undef" if the
class name is invalid.
filename
my $filename = [Class::Inspector]->filename($class);
For a given class, returns the base filename for the class. This will
NOT be a fully resolved filename, just the part of the filename BELOW
the @INC entry.
print Class->filename( '[Foo::Bar]' );
> Foo/Bar.pm
This filename will be returned with the right separator for the local
platform, and should work on all platforms.
Returns the filename on success or "undef" if the class name is invalid.
resolved_filename
my $filename = [Class::Inspector]->resolved_filename($class);
my $filename = [Class::Inspector]->resolved_filename($class, @try_first);
For a given class, the "resolved_filename" static method returns the
fully resolved filename for a class. That is, the file that the class
would be loaded from.
This is not necessarily the file that the class WAS loaded from, as the
value returned is determined each time it runs, and the @INC include
path may change.
To get the actual file for a loaded class, see the "loaded_filename"
method.
Returns the filename for the class, or "undef" if the class name is
invalid.
loaded_filename
my $filename = [Class::Inspector]->loaded_filename($class);
For a given loaded class, the "loaded_filename" static method determines
(via the %INC hash) the name of the file that it was originally loaded
from.
Returns a resolved file path, or false if the class did not have it's
own file.
functions
my $arrayref = [Class::Inspector]->functions($class);
For a loaded class, the "functions" static method returns a list of the
names of all the functions in the classes immediate namespace.
Note that this is not the METHODS of the class, just the functions.
Returns a reference to an array of the function names on success, or
"undef" if the class name is invalid or the class is not loaded.
function_refs
my $arrayref = [Class::Inspector]->function_refs($class);
For a loaded class, the "function_refs" static method returns references
to all the functions in the classes immediate namespace.
Note that this is not the METHODS of the class, just the functions.
Returns a reference to an array of "CODE" refs of the functions on
success, or "undef" if the class is not loaded.
function_exists
my $bool = [Class::Inspector]->function_exists($class, $functon);
Given a class and function name the "function_exists" static method will
check to see if the function exists in the class.
Note that this is as a function, not as a method. To see if a method
exists for a class, use the "can" method for any class or object.
Returns true if the function exists, false if not, or "undef" if the
class or function name are invalid, or the class is not loaded.
methods
my $arrayref = [Class::Inspector]->methods($class, @options);
For a given class name, the "methods" static method will returns ALL the
methods available to that class. This includes all methods available
from every class up the class' @ISA tree.
Returns a reference to an array of the names of all the available
methods on success, or "undef" if the class name is invalid or the class
is not loaded.
A number of options are available to the "methods" method that will
alter the results returned. These should be listed after the class name,
in any order.
# Only get public methods
my $method = [Class::Inspector]->methods( '[My::Class]', 'public' );
public
The "public" option will return only 'public' methods, as defined by
the Perl convention of prepending an underscore to any 'private'
methods. The "public" option will effectively remove any methods
that start with an underscore.
private
The "private" options will return only 'private' methods, as defined
by the Perl convention of prepending an underscore to an private
methods. The "private" option will effectively remove an method that
do not start with an underscore.
Note: The "public" and "private" options are mutually exclusive
full
"methods" normally returns just the method name. Supplying the
"full" option will cause the methods to be returned as the full
names. That is, instead of returning "[ 'method1', 'method2',
'method3' ]", you would instead get "[ '[Class::method1]',
'[AnotherClass::method2]', '[Class::method3]' ]".
expanded
The "expanded" option will cause a lot more information about method
to be returned. Instead of just the method name, you will instead
get an array reference containing the method name as a single
combined name, a la "full", the separate class and method, and a
CODE ref to the actual function ( if available ). Please note that
the function reference is not guaranteed to be available.
"[Class::Inspector]" is intended at some later time, to work with
modules that have some kind of common run-time loader in place ( e.g
"Autoloader" or "[Class::Autouse]" for example.
The response from "methods( 'Class', 'expanded' )" would look
something like the following.
[
[ '[Class::method1]', 'Class', 'method1', \&[Class::method1] ],
[ '[Another::method2]', 'Another', 'method2', \&[Another::method2] ],
[ '[Foo::bar]', 'Foo', 'bar', \&[Foo::bar] ],
]
subclasses
my $arrayref = [Class::Inspector]->subclasses($class);
The "subclasses" static method will search then entire namespace (and
thus all currently loaded classes) to find all classes that are
subclasses of the class provided as a the parameter.
The actual test will be done by calling "isa" on the class as a static
method. (i.e. "[My::Class]->isa($class)".
Returns a reference to a list of the loaded classes that match the class
provided, or false is none match, or "undef" if the class name provided
is invalid.
## SEE ALSO
<>, [Class::Handle], [Class::Inspector::Functions]
## AUTHOR
Original author: Adam Kennedy <>
Current maintainer: Graham Ollis <>
Contributors:
Tom Wyant
Steffen Müller
Kivanc Yazan (KYZN)
## COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is copyright (c) 2002-2019 by Adam Kennedy.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.