NAME
    Template::Plugin::StringTree - Access tree-like groups of strings
    naturally in code and Templates

SYNOPSIS
      use Template::Plugin::StringTree;
  
      # Create a StringTree and set some values
      my $Tree = Template::Plugin::StringTree->new;
      $Tree->set('foo', 'one');
      $Tree->set('foo.bar', 'two');
      $Tree->set('you.get.the.point' => 'right?');
  
      # Get simple hash of these variables for the template
      my $vars = $Tree->variables;
  
      #######################################################
      # Later that night in a Template
  
      After the number [% foo %] comes the number [% foo.bar %], [% you.get.the.point %]
  
      #######################################################
      # Which of course produces
  
      After the number one comes the number two, right?

DESCRIPTION
    For a couple of months, I had found it really annoying that when I
    wanted to put a bunch of configuration options into a template, that I
    couldn't use a natural [% IF show.pictures %][% IF
    show.pictures.dropshadow %] ...etc... type of notation. Simply, to get
    "dot" formatting in template, you need hashes. Which means stupid
    notation like [% show.pictures.at_all %]. ugh...

    As the size of the config tree I wanted to use grew and grew, it finally
    started getting totally out of control, so I've created
    Template::Plugin::StringTree, which lets you build tree structures in
    which every node can have a value. And you can get at these naturally in
    templates.

METHODS
  new
    The "new" constructor simply creates a new ::StringTree object and
    returns it.

  get $path
    Taking a single "this.is.a.path" argument, the "get" method returns the
    value associated with the path, if there is one.

    Returns the value for the path, if one exists. Returns "undef" if no
    value exists at that path.

  set $path, $value
    The "set" method takes a "this.is.a.path" style path and a value for
    that path. "undef" is valid as a value, erasing a single value at the
    node for the path. ( It does not remove children of that node ).

    Returns true if the value is set correctly, or "undef" on error.

  variables
    The "variables" method produces a flat hash equivalent to the
    Template::Plugin::StringTree object, which can be passed to the template
    parser. You can manually add additional elements to the hash after it
    has been produced, but you should not attempt to add anything to a hash
    key the same as the first element in a path already added via the "set"
    method earlier.

    Returns a reference to a HASH containing the tree of strings.

  freeze
    Ever good structure can be serialized and deserialized, and this one is
    no exception. The "freeze" method takes a ::StringTree object and
    converts it into a string, which just so happens to be highly useful as
    a config file format!

      foo: one
      foo.bar: two
      you.get.the.point: right?

    So terribly simple. To make life just a LITTLE more complicated though,
    Template::Plugin::StringTree does a little bit of escaping if there's a
    newline in the string. But since you'll probably never DO that, it won't
    be a problem will it? :)

  thaw $string
    The "thaw" method is the reverse of the "freeze" method, taking the same
    format string turning it back into a Template::Plugin::StringTree
    object. THIS is where using this module as a config file -> template
    mechanism really comes into it's own. Each entry is the config file is
    available using the same path in Template Toolkit templates.
    Template::Plugin::StringTree takes care of all the details or making it
    work across the different models transparently.

    If the string is formatted correctly, returns a new
    Template::Plugin::StringTree object. Returns "undef" on error, probably
    because the string wasn't formatted correctly.

  equal $path, $value
    The "equal" method provides a quick and convenient bit of shorthand to
    let you see if a particular path equals a particular value. And the
    method is totally undef-safe. You can test for a value of "undef", and
    test a value against a path which returns "undef" quite safely.

    Returns true if the value matches the path, or false otherwise.

SUPPORT
    Bugs should be submitted via the CPAN bug tracker, located at

      http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Template%3A%3APlugin%3A%3AStringTree

    For other issues, contact the author

AUTHOR
        Adam Kennedy (Maintainer)
        cpan@ali.as
        http//ali.as/

COPYRIGHT
    Copyright (c) 2004 Adam Kennedy. All rights reserved. This program is
    free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
    terms as Perl itself.

    The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
    with this module.