File::Type(3)         User Contributed Perl Documentation        File::Type(3)


NAME
       File::Type - determine file type using magic

SYNOPSIS
           my $ft = File::Type->new();

           # read in data from file to $data, then
           my $type_from_data = $ft->checktype_contents($data);

           # alternatively, check file from disk
           my $type_from_file = $ft->checktype_filename($file);

           # convenient method for checking either a file or data
           my $type_1 = $ft->mime_type($file);
           my $type_2 = $ft->mime_type($data);

DESCRIPTION
       File::Type uses magic numbers (typically at the start of a file) to
       determine the MIME type of that file.

       File::Type can use either a filename, or file contents, to determine
       the type of a file.

METHODS
   new
       Returns a new File::Type object.

   mime_type($argument)
       Takes either data or a filename, determines what it is, and passes the
       argument through to the relevant method below. If the argument is a
       directory, returns undef.

   checktype_filename($filename)
       Opens $filename (if possible; if not, returns undef) and returns the
       MIME type of the file.

   checktype_contents($data)
       Matches $data against the magic database criteria and returns the MIME
       type of the file.

TODO
           * Add additional magic match criteria

BUGS
       None known.

   NOTES
       Some magic definitions in the mime-magic file used in the creation of
       this module vary from those in other apps (eg image/x-png not
       image/png).

SEE ALSO
       File::MMagic and File::MimeInfo perform the same job, but have a number
       of problems that led to the creation of this module.

       File::MMagic inlines a copy of the magic database, and uses a DATA
       filehandle, which causes problems when running under mod_perl.

       File::MimeInfo uses an external magic file, and relies on file
       extensions rather than magic to determine the mime type.

       As a result, File::Type uses a seperate module and script to create the
       code at the core of this module, which means that there is no need to
       include a magic database at all, and that it is safe to run under
       mod_perl.

       File::Type::Builder, which generates the code at the heart of this
       module.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
       File::Type is built from a mime-magic file from cleancode.org. The
       original can be found at
       <http://cleancode.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/email/mime-magic.mime?rev=1.1.1.1>.

AUTHOR
       Paul Mison <pmison@fotango.com>

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 2003-2004 Fotango Ltd.

LICENSE
       Licensed under the same terms as Perl itself.

perl v5.40.0                      2024-09-01                     File::Type(3)