NAME File::Pid - Pid File Manipulation SYNOPSIS use File::Pid; my $pidfile = File::Pid->new({ file => '/some/file.pid', }); $pidfile->write; if ( my $num = $pidfile->running ) { die "Already running: $num\n"; } $pidfile->remove; DESCRIPTION This software manages a pid file for you. It will create a pid file, query the process within to discover if it's still running, and remove the pid file. new my $pidfile = File::Pid->new; my $thisfile = File::Pid->new({ file => '/var/run/daemon.pid', }); my $thisfileandpid = File::Pid->new({ file => '/var/run/daemon.pid', pid => '145', }); This constructor takes two optional paramters. "file" - The name of the pid file to work on. If not specified, a pid file located in "File::Spec->tmpdir()" will be created that matches "(File::Basename::basename($0))[0] . '.pid'". So, for example, if $0 is ~/bin/sig.pl, the pid file will be /tmp/sig.pl.pid. "pid" - The pid to write to a new pidfile. If not specified, $$ is used when the pid file doesn't exist. When the pid file does exist, the pid inside it is used. file my $pidfile = $pidfile->file; Accessor/mutator for the filename used as the pid file. pid my $pid = $pidfile->pid; Accessor/mutator for the pid being saved to the pid file. write my $pid = $pidfile->write; Writes the pid file to disk, inserting the pid inside the file. On success, the pid written is returned. On failure, "undef" is returned. running my $pid = $pidfile->running; die "Service already running: $pid\n" if $pid; Checks to see if the pricess identified in the pid file is still running. If the process is still running, the pid is returned. Otherwise "undef" is returned. remove $pidfile->remove or warn "Couldn't unlink pid file\n"; Removes the pid file from disk. Returns true on success, false on failure. program_name This is a utility method that allows you to determine what "File::Pid" thinks the program name is. Internally this is used when no pid file is specified. SEE ALSO perl. AUTHOR Casey West, . COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2005 Casey West. All rights reserved. This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.