org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.unix
Class Symlink

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent
        |
        +--org.apache.tools.ant.Task
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              +--org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.unix.Symlink

public class Symlink

extends Task

Creates, Records and Restores Symlinks.

This task performs several related operations. In the most trivial and default usage, it creates a link specified in the link attribute to a resource specified in the resource attribute. The second usage of this task is to traverse a directory structure specified by a fileset, and write a properties file in each included directory describing the links found in that directory. The third usage is to traverse a directory structure specified by a fileset, looking for properties files (also specified as included in the fileset) and recreate the links that have been previously recorded for each directory. Finally, it can be used to remove a symlink without deleting the file or directory it points to.

Examples of use:

Make a link named "foo" to a resource named "bar.foo" in subdir:

 <symlink link="${dir.top}/foo" resource="${dir.top}/subdir/bar.foo"/>
 

Record all links in subdir and its descendants in files named "dir.links"

 <symlink action="record" linkfilename="dir.links">
    <fileset dir="${dir.top}" includes="subdir/**" />
 </symlink>
 

Recreate the links recorded in the previous example:

 <symlink action="recreate">
    <fileset dir="${dir.top}" includes="subdir/**/dir.links" />
 </symlink>
 

Delete a link named "foo" to a resource named "bar.foo" in subdir:

 <symlink action="delete" link="${dir.top}/foo"/>
 

LIMITATIONS: Because Java has no direct support for handling symlinks this task divines them by comparing canonical and absolute paths. On non-unix systems this may cause false positives. Furthermore, any operating system on which the command ln -s link resource is not a valid command on the command line will not be able to use action= "delete", action="single" or action="recreate", but action="record" should still work. Finally, the lack of support for symlinks in Java means that all links are recorded as links to the canonical resource name. Therefore the link: link --> subdir/dir/../foo.bar will be recorded as link=subdir/foo.bar and restored as link --> subdir/foo.bar.

Field Summary

Fields inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.Task

description, location, target, taskName, taskType, wrapper

Fields inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent

project

Constructor Summary

Symlink()

Method Summary

void	addFileset(FileSet set) Add a fileset to this task.
static void	deleteSymlink(java.io.File linkfil) Deletes a symlink without deleting the resource it points to.
static void	deleteSymlink(java.lang.String path) Deletes a symlink without deleting the resource it points to.
void	execute() The standard method for executing any task.
void	init() Initialize the task.
void	setAction(java.lang.String typ) Set the action to be performed.
void	setFailOnError(boolean foe) The setter for the failonerror attribute.
void	setLink(java.lang.String lnk) Set the same of the link.
void	setLinkfilename(java.lang.String lf) Set the name of the file to which links will be written.
void	setOverwrite(boolean owrite) The setter for the overwrite attribute.
void	setResource(java.lang.String src) Set the name of the resource to which a link should be created.

Methods inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.Task

getDescription, getLocation, getOwningTarget, getRuntimeConfigurableWrapper, getTaskName, getTaskType, getWrapper, handleErrorFlush, handleErrorOutput, handleFlush, handleInput, handleOutput, isInvalid, log, log, maybeConfigure, perform, reconfigure, setDescription, setLocation, setOwningTarget, setRuntimeConfigurableWrapper, setTaskName, setTaskType

Methods inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent

getProject, setProject

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

Symlink

public Symlink()

Method Detail

init

public void init()
          throws BuildException

Initialize the task.

Overrides:

init in class Task

Throws:

BuildException - on error.

execute

public void execute()
             throws BuildException

The standard method for executing any task.

Overrides:

execute in class Task

Throws:

BuildException - on error.

setOverwrite

public void setOverwrite(boolean owrite)

The setter for the overwrite attribute. If set to false (default) the task will not overwrite existing links, and may stop the build if a link already exists depending on the setting of failonerror.

Parameters:

owrite - If true overwrite existing links.

setFailOnError

public void setFailOnError(boolean foe)

The setter for the failonerror attribute. If set to true (default) the entire build fails upon error. If set to false, the error is logged and the build will continue.

Parameters:

foe - If true throw BuildException on error else log it.

setAction

public void setAction(java.lang.String typ)

Set the action to be performed. May be "single", "multi" or "record".

Parameters:

typ - The action to perform.

setLink

public void setLink(java.lang.String lnk)

Set the same of the link. Only used when action = "single".

Parameters:

lnk - The name for the link.

setResource

public void setResource(java.lang.String src)

Set the name of the resource to which a link should be created. Only used when action = "single".

Parameters:

src - The resource to be linked.

setLinkfilename

public void setLinkfilename(java.lang.String lf)

Set the name of the file to which links will be written. Only used when action = "record".

Parameters:

lf - The name of the file to write links to.

addFileset

public void addFileset(FileSet set)

Add a fileset to this task.

Parameters:

set - The fileset to add.

deleteSymlink

public static void deleteSymlink(java.lang.String path)
                          throws java.io.IOException,
                                 java.io.FileNotFoundException

Deletes a symlink without deleting the resource it points to.

This is a convenience method that simply invokes deleteSymlink(java.io.File).

Parameters:

path - A string containing the path of the symlink to delete.

Throws:

java.io.FileNotFoundException - When the path results in a File that doesn't exist.

java.io.IOException - If calls to File.rename or File.delete fail.

deleteSymlink

public static void deleteSymlink(java.io.File linkfil)
                          throws java.io.IOException,
                                 java.io.FileNotFoundException

Deletes a symlink without deleting the resource it points to.

This is a utility method that removes a unix symlink without removing the resource that the symlink points to. If it is accidentally invoked on a real file, the real file will not be harmed, but an exception will be thrown when the deletion is attempted. This method works by getting the canonical path of the link, using the canonical path to rename the resource (breaking the link) and then deleting the link. The resource is then returned to its original name inside a finally block to ensure that the resource is unharmed even in the event of an exception.

Parameters:

linkfil - A File object of the symlink to delete.

Throws:

java.io.FileNotFoundException - When the path results in a File that doesn't exist.

java.io.IOException - If calls to File.rename, File.delete or File.getCanonicalPath fail.