NAME
    IO-stringy - I/O on in-core objects like strings and arrays

SYNOPSIS
        IO::
        ::AtomicFile   adpO  Write a file which is updated atomically     ERYQ
        ::Lines        bdpO  I/O handle to read/write to array of lines   ERYQ
        ::Scalar       RdpO  I/O handle to read/write to a string         ERYQ
        ::ScalarArray  RdpO  I/O handle to read/write to array of scalars ERYQ
        ::Wrap         RdpO  Wrap old-style FHs in standard OO interface  ERYQ
        ::WrapTie      adpO  Tie your handles & retain full OO interface  ERYQ

DESCRIPTION
    This toolkit primarily provides modules for performing both traditional and object-
    oriented i/o) on things *other* than normal filehandles; in particular, IO::Scalar,
    IO::ScalarArray, and IO::Lines.

    If you have access to tie(), these classes will make use of the IO::WrapTie module
    to inherit a convenient new_tie() constructor. It also exports a nice wraptie()
    function.

    In the more-traditional IO::Handle front, we have IO::AtomicFile which may be used
    to painlessly create files which are updated atomically.

    And in the "this-may-prove-useful" corner, we have IO::Wrap, whose exported
    wraphandle() function will clothe anything that's not a blessed object in an
    IO::Handle-like wrapper... so you can just use OO syntax and stop worrying about
    whether your function's caller handed you a string, a globref, or a FileHandle.

INSTALLATION
    Most of you already know the drill...

        perl Makefile.PL
        make test
        make install

    For everyone else out there... if you've never installed Perl code before, or
    you're trying to use this in an environment where your sysadmin or ISP won't let
    you do interesting things, relax: since this module contains no binary extensions,
    you can cheat. That means copying the directory tree under my "./lib" directory
    into someplace where your script can "see" it. For example, under Linux:

        cp -r IO-stringy-1.234/lib/* /path/to/my/perl/
        
    Now, in your Perl code, do this:

        use lib "/path/to/my/perl";
        use IO::Scalar;                   ### or whatever

    Ok, now you've been told. At this point, anyone who whines about not being given
    enough information gets an unflattering haiku written about them in the next change
    log. I'll do it. Don't think I won't.

VERSION
    $Id: Stringy.pm,v 1.219 2001/02/23 09:46:23 eryq Exp $

TO DO
    (2000/08/02)  Finalize $/ support
        Graham Barr submitted this patch half a *year* ago; Like a moron, I lost his
        message under a ton of others, and only now have the experimental
        implementation done.

        Will the sudden sensitivity to $/ hose anyone out there? I'm worried, so you
        have to enable it explicitly.

    (2000/09/28)  Separate read/write cursors?
        Binkley sent me a very interesting variant of IO::Scalar which maintains two
        separate cursors on the data, one for reading and one for writing. Quoth he:

            Isn't it the case that real operating system file descriptors 
            maintain an independent read and write file position (and 
            seek(2) resets them both)? 

        He also pointed out some issues with his implementation:

            For example, what does eof or tell return?  The read position or 
            the write position?  (I assumed read position was more important). 

        Your opinions on this are most welcome. (Me, I'm just squeamish that this will
        break some code which depends on the existing behavior, and that attempts to
        maintain backwards-compatibility will slow down the code. But I'll give it a
        shot.)

CHANGE LOG
    Version 1.219   (2001/02/23)
        IO::Scalar objects can now be made sensitive to $/ . Pains were taken to keep
        the fast code fast while adding this feature. *Cheers to Graham Barr for
        submitting his patch; jeers to me for losing his email for 6 months.*

    Version 1.218   (2001/02/23)
        IO::Scalar has a new sysseek() method. *Thanks again to Richard Jones.*

        New "TO DO" section, because people who submit patches/ideas should at least
        know that they're in the system... and that I won't lose their stuff. Please
        read it.

        New entries in the section on "AUTHOR". Please read those too.

    Version 1.216   (2000/09/28)
        IO::Scalar and IO::ScalarArray now inherit from IO::Handle. I thought I'd
        remembered a problem with this ages ago, related to the fact that these IO::
        modules don't have "real" filehandles, but the problem apparently isn't
        surfacing now. If you suddenly encounter Perl warnings during global
        destruction (especially if you're using tied filehandles), then please let me
        know! *Thanks to B. K. Oxley (binkley) for this.*

        Nasty bug fixed in IO::Scalar::write(). Apparently, the offset and the number-
        of-bytes arguments were, for all practical purposes, *reversed.* You were okay
        if you did all your writing with print(), but boy was *this* a stupid bug!
        *Thanks to Richard Jones for finding this one. For you, Rich, a double-length
        haiku:*

               Newspaper headline
                  typeset by dyslexic man
               loses urgency
                
               BABY EATS FISH is
                  simply not equivalent   
               to FISH EATS BABY

        New sysread and syswrite methods for IO::Scalar. *Thanks again to Richard Jones
        for this.*

    Version 1.215   (2000/09/05)
        Added 'bool' overload to '""' overload, so object always evaluates to true.
        (Whew. Glad I caught this before it went to CPAN.)

    Version 1.214   (2000/09/03)
        Evaluating an IO::Scalar in a string context now yields the underlying string.
        *Thanks to B. K. Oxley (binkley) for this.*

    Version 1.213   (2000/08/16)
        Minor documentation fixes.

    Version 1.212   (2000/06/02)
        Fixed IO::InnerFile incompatibility with Perl5.004. *Thanks to many folks for
        reporting this.*

    Version 1.210   (2000/04/17)
        Added flush() and other no-op methods. *Thanks to Doru Petrescu for suggesting
        this.*

    Version 1.209   (2000/03/17)
        Small bug fixes.

    Version 1.208   (2000/03/14)
        Incorporated a number of contributed patches and extensions, mostly related to
        speed hacks, support for "offset", and WRITE/CLOSE methods. *Thanks to Richard
        Jones, Doru Petrescu, and many others.*

    Version 1.206   (1999/04/18)
        Added creation of ./testout when Makefile.PL is run.

    Version 1.205   (1999/01/15)
        Verified for Perl5.005.

    Version 1.202   (1998/04/18)
        New IO::WrapTie and IO::AtomicFile added.

    Version 1.110
        Added IO::WrapTie.

    Version 1.107
        Added IO::Lines, and made some bug fixes to IO::ScalarArray. Also, added
        getc().

    Version 1.105
        No real changes; just upgraded IO::Wrap to have a $VERSION string.

AUTHOR
    Primary Maintainer
        Eryq (eryq@zeegee.com). President, ZeeGee Software Inc (http://www.zeegee.com).

    Unofficial Co-Authors
        For all their bug reports and patch submissions, the following are officially
        recognized:

             Richard Jones
             B. K. Oxley (binkley) 
             Doru Petrescu 

    Enjoy. Yell if it breaks.

