Bug#827539: RFP: libfile-map-perl -- Memory mapping made simple and safe
Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
* Package name : libfile-map-perl
Version : 0.64
Upstream Author : Leon Timmermans <fawaka@gmail.com>
* URL : https://metacpan.org/release/File-Map
* License : Artistic or GPL-1+ (same as Perl)
Programming Lang: Perl
Description : Memory mapping made simple and safe
File::Map maps files or anonymous memory into perl variables.
Advantages of memory mapping
* Unlike normal perl variables, mapped memory is (usually) shared
between threads or forked processes.
* It is an efficient way to slurp an entire file. Unlike for example
File::Slurp, this module returns almost immediately, loading the
pages lazily on access. This means you only 'pay' for the parts
of the file you actually use.
* Perl usually doesn't return memory to the system while running,
mapped memory can be returned.
Advantages of this module over other similar modules
* Safety and Speed
This module is safe yet fast. Alternatives are either fast but can
cause segfaults or loose the mapping when not used correctly, or
are safe but rather slow. File::Map is as fast as a normal string
yet safe.
* Simplicity
It offers a simple interface targeted at common usage patterns
* Files are mapped into a variable that can be read just like any
other variable, and it can be written to using standard Perl
techniques such as regexps and substr.
* Files can be mapped using a set of simple functions. There is
no need to know weird constants or the order of 6 arguments.
* It will automatically unmap the file when the scalar gets
destroyed. This works correctly even in multi-threaded programs.
* Portability
File::Map supports Unix and Windows.
* Thread synchronization
It has built-in support for thread synchronization.
File::Map is required for PDL which has deprecated the POSIX mmap
support. PDL 2.016 still builds without File::Map but this will
change in the near future.
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