NAME Tie::Scalar::Timeout - Scalar variables that time out VERSION version 2.101420 SYNOPSIS use Tie::Scalar::Timeout; tie my $k, 'Tie::Scalar::Timeout', EXPIRES => '+2s'; $k = 123; sleep(3); # $k is now undef tie my $m, 'Tie::Scalar::Timeout', NUM_USES => 3, VALUE => 456; tie my $n, 'Tie::Scalar::Timeout', VALUE => 987, NUM_USES => 1, POLICY => 777; tie my $p, 'Tie::Scalar::Timeout', VALUE => 654, NUM_USES => 1, POLICY => \&expired; sub expired { our $is_expired; $is_expired++ } DESCRIPTION This module allows you to tie a scalar variable whose value will be reset (subject to an expiration policy) after a certain time and/or a certain number of uses. One possible application for this module might be to time out session variables in mod_perl programs. When tying, you can specify named arguments in the form of a hash. The following named parameters are supported: "EXPIRES" Use "EXPIRES" to specify an interval or absolute time after which the value will be reset. (Technically, the value will still be there, but the module's FETCH sub will return the value as dictated by the expiration policy.) Values for the "EXPIRES" field are modeled after Netscape's cookie expiration times. Except, of course, that negative values don't really make sense in a universe with linear, one-way time. The following forms are all valid for the "EXPIRES" field: +30s 30 seconds from now +10m ten minutes from now +1h one hour from now +3M in three months +10y in ten years time 25-Apr-2001 00:40:33 at the indicated time & date Assigning a value to the variable causes "EXPIRES" to be reset to the original value. "VALUE" Using the "VALUE" hash key, you can specify an initial value for the variable. "NUM_USES" Alternatively or in addition to "EXPIRES", you can also specify a maximum number of times the variable may be read from before it expires. If both "EXPIRES" and "NUM_USES" are set, the variable will expire when either condition becomes true. If "NUM_USES" isn't set or set to a negative value, it won't influence the expiration process. Assigning a value to the variable causes "NUM_USES" to be reset to the original value. "POLICY" The expiration policy determines what happens to the variable's value when it expires. If you don't specify a policy, the variable will be "undef" after it has expired. You can specify either a scalar value or a code reference as the value of the "POLICY" parameter. If you specify a scalar value, that value will be returned after the variable has expired. Thus, the default expiration policy is equivalent to POLICY => undef If you specify a code reference as the value of the "POLICY" parameter, that code will be called when the variable value is "FETCH()"ed after it has expired. This might be used to set some other variable, or reset the variable to a different value, for example. INSTALLATION See perlmodinstall for information and options on installing Perl modules. BUGS AND LIMITATIONS No bugs have been reported. Please report any bugs or feature requests through the web interface at . AVAILABILITY The latest version of this module is available from the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). Visit to find a CPAN site near you, or see . The development version lives at . Instead of sending patches, please fork this project using the standard git and github infrastructure. AUTHOR Marcel Gruenauer COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE This software is copyright (c) 2003 by Marcel Gruenauer. This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.