NAME
    File::CacheDir - Perl module to aid in keeping track and cleaning up
    files, quickly and without a cron $Id: CacheDir.pm,v 1.15 2001/10/16
    17:07:57 earl Exp $

SYNOPSIS
    CacheDir takes up to three parameters and returns a fully qualified
    filename. Cool part is that it quickly and automatically cleans up files
    that are too old.

ARGUMENTS
    The possible named arguments (which can be named or sent in a hash ref,
    see below for an example) are,

    filename - which is what you want the file without the directory to be
    named, like "storebuilder" . time . $$ I would suggest using a script
    specific word (like the name of the cgi), time and $$ (which is the pid
    number) in the filename, just so files are easy to track and the
    filenames are pretty unique default is time . $$

    ttl - how long you want the file to stick around can be given in seconds
    (3600) or like "1 hour" or "1 day" or even "1 week" default is '1 day'

    base_dir - the base directory default is '/tmp/cache_dir'

    content_typed - whether or not you have printed a Content-type header
    default is 0

    set_cookie - whether or not to set a cookie default is 0

    cookie_name - the name of your cookie default is 'cache_dir'

    cookie_path - the path for your cookie default is '/'

    carry_forward - whether or not to move forward the file when time
    periods get crossed for example if your ttl is 3600, and you move from
    the 278711 to the 278712 hour, if carry forward is set, it will refresh
    a cookie (if set_cookie is true) and move the file to the new location
    default is 1

COOOKIES
    Since CacheDir fits in so nicely with cookies, I use a few CGI methods
    to automatically set cookies, retrieve the cookies, and use the cookies
    when applicable. The cookie methods make it near trivial to handle
    session information. Taking the advice of Rob Brown
    <rbrown@about-inc.com>, I use CGI.pm, though it increases load time and
    nearly doubles out of the box memory required.

    The cookie that gets set is the full path of the file with your base_dir
    swapped out. This makes it nice for users to not know full path to your
    files. The filename that gets returned from a cache_dir call, however is
    the full path.

CODE REF OVERRIDES
    Most of the time, the defaults will suffice, but by having code refs in
    your object, you can override most everything CacheDir does. To how the
    code refs are used, I walk through the code with a simple example.

    my $cache_dir = File::CacheDir->new({ base_dir => '/tmp/example', ttl =>
    '2 hours', filename => 'example.' . time . ".$$", });

    An object gets created, with the hash passed getting blessed in.

    my $filename = $cache_dir->cache_dir;

    The ttl gets converted to seconds, here 7200. The

    $ttl_dir = $base_dir . $ttl;

    In our example, $ttl_dir = "/tmp/example/7200";

    $self->{ttl_mkpath} - if the ttl directory does not exist, it gets made
    with this code ref

    Next, the number of ttl units since epoch, here it is something like
    137738. This is

    $self->{int_time} = int(time/$self->{ttl});

    Now, the full directory can be formed

    $self->{full_dir} = $ttl_dir . $self->{int_time};

    If $self->{full_dir} exists, $self->{full_dir} . $self->{filename} gets
    returned. Otherwise, I look through the $ttl_dir, and for each directory
    that is too old (more than two units away) I run

    $self->{cleanup} - just deletes the old directory, but this is where a
    backup could take place, or whatever you like.

    Finally, I

    $self->{sub_mkdir} - makes the new directory, $self->{full_dir}

    and return the $filename

SIMPLE EXAMPLE
      #!/usr/bin/perl -w

      use strict;
      use File::CacheDir qw(cache_dir);

      my $filename = cache_dir({
        base_dir => '/tmp',
        ttl      => '2 hours',
        filename => 'example.' . time . ".$$",
      });

      `touch $filename`;

THANKS
    Thanks to Rob Brown <rbrown@about-inc.com> for discussing general
    concepts, helping me think through things, offering suggestions and
    doing the most recent code review. The idea for carry_forward was pretty
    well all Rob. I didn't see a need, but Rob convinced me of one. Since
    Rob first introduced the idea to me, I have seen CacheDir break three
    different programmers code. With carry_forward, no problems. Finally,
    Rob changed my non-CGI cookie stuff to use CGI thus avoiding many a
    flame war.

    Thanks to Paul T Seamons <paul@seamons.com> for listening to my ideas,
    offerings suggestions, using CacheDir and giving feedback. Using
    File::CacheDir was all Paul's idea. Also, the case of CacheDir and
    cache_dir I owe to Paul. Finally, thanks to Paul for the idea of this
    THANKS section.

    Thanks to Wes Cerny <wcerny@about-inc.com> for using CacheDir, and
    giving feedback. Also, thanks to Wes for a last minute code review. Wes
    had me change the -e check on $self->{carry_forward_filename} to -f,
    based on his experience with CacheDir.

