[Templates] Templates inserting huge files

[darren chamberlain]

* Shannon, Bryan <BShannon@Tribune.com> [2003-01-06 10:34]:
> However, the problem is that the output files that I'm INSERTing are
> getting larger all the time (hundreds and hundreds of megs), and it's
> causing the process to use way too much memory (and sometimes my Perl
> commits suicide!).

Rather than making them actual template variables, you could write a
plugin that wraps around IO::File:

  package Template::Plugin::BigAssFile;

  use base qw(Template::Plugin);
  use IO::File;

  sub new {
      my ($class, $context, $file) = @_;

      # Insert error checking, etc
      bless { _FILE => IO::File->new($file) } => $class;
  }

  sub nextline {
      my $self = shift;
      my $fh = $self->{ _FILE };
      my $line = <$fh>; # force scalar context
      return $line;
  }

  1;

Then you could use it as:

  [% USE BigAssFile("/my/big/file");
     WHILE (line = BigAssFile.nextline);
        # line will already have newlines and such
        line;
     END;
  %]

Only tested quickly, but it should work.

(darren)

-- 
Let face facts, shall we?  There is a very real possibility
that this could also be the *last* day of the rest of your life.
    -- Dave Henry