Mail::Box::Tie::HASH(3)

NAME
Mail::Box::Tie::HASH - access an existing message folder as a hash

INHERITANCE
 Mail::Box::Tie::HASH
   is a Mail::Box::Tie

SYNOPSIS
  tie my(%inbox), 'Mail::Box::Tie::HASH', $folder;

  foreach my $msgid (keys %inbox)
  {   print $inbox{$msgid};
      delete $inbox{$msgid};
  }

  $inbox{$msg->messageId} = $msg;

DESCRIPTION
Certainly when you look at a folder as being a set of related messages based on message-id, it is logical to access the folder through a hash.

For a tied hash, the message-id is used as the key. The message-id is usually unique, but when two or more instances of the same message are in the same folder, one will be flagged for deletion and the other will be returned.

This implementation uses basic folder access routines which are related to the message-id.

Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Box::Tie.

METHODS
Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Box::Tie.

  Constructors
Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Box::Tie.

tie %hash, 'Mail::Box::Tie::HASH', FOLDER
    Connects the "FOLDER" object to a "HASH".

    » example:

      my $mgr    = Mail::Box::Manager->new;
      my $folder = $mgr->open(access => 'rw');
      tie my(%inbox), 'Mail::Box::Tie::HASH', $folder;

$class->new($folder, $type)
    Inherited, see "Constructors" in Mail::Box::Tie

  Attributes
Extends "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Tie.

$obj->folder()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Tie

$obj->type()
    Inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Box::Tie

  Tied Interface

$obj->CLEAR()
    Remove the contents of the hash. This is not really possible, but all the messages will be flagged for deletion.

    » example:

      %inbox = ();
      %inbox = ($msg->messageId, $msg); #before adding msg

$obj->DELETE($message_id)
    Remove the message with the specified $message_id.

    » example:

      delete $inbox{$msgid};

$obj->EXISTS($message_id)
    Check whether a message with a certain $message_id exists.

    » example:

      if(exists $inbox{$msgid}) ...

$obj->FETCH($message_id)
    Get the message with the specified id. The returned message may be a dummy if message thread detection is used. Returns "undef" when there is no message with the specified id.

    » example:

      my $msg = $inbox{$msgid};
      if($inbox{$msgid}->isDummy)  ...

$obj->FIRSTKEY()
    See NEXTKEY().

$obj->NEXTKEY($previous)
    FIRSTKEY() returns the first message-id/message pair from the folder, and NEXTKEY returns the message-id/message pair for the next message, in the order in which the message is stored in the folder.

    Messages flagged for deletion will not be returned. See the Mail::Box::messages() method of the folder type for more information about the folder message order.

    » example:

      foreach my $msgid (keys %inbox) ...
      foreach my $msg (values %inbox) ...

      while(my ($msgid, $msg) = each %inbox) {
         $msg->print unless $msg->isDeleted;
      }

$obj->STORE(undef, $message)
    Store a message in the folder. The key must be "undef", because the message-id of the specified message is taken. This is shown in the first example. However, as you see, it is a bit complicated to specify "undef", therefore the string "undef" is accepted as well.

    The message may be converted into something which can be stored in the folder type which is at stake. The added instance is returned.

    » example:

      $inbox{ (undef) } = $msg;
      $inbox{undef} = $msg;

DIAGNOSTICS

Error: no folder specified to tie to.
    Cast by new()

Warning: use undef as key, because the message-id of the message is used.
    Cast by STORE()

SEE ALSO
This module is part of Mail-Box version 4.02, built on April 10, 2026. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/

LICENSE
For contributors see file ChangeLog.

This software is copyright (c) 2001-2026 by Mark Overmeer.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.