how to read last row in a datafile ?

[Jack]

Hi there, does anyone know how to capture the last row in a datafile
into a variable without having to read through each record of the
entire file ?

Thank you,

Jack

 

[Paul Lalli]

Hi there, does anyone know how to capture the last row in a datafile
into a variable without having to read through each record of the
entire file ?

Download and install the File::ReadBackwards module from CPAN...

http://search.cpan.org/~uri/File-ReadBackwards-1.04/ReadBackwards.pm

Paul Lalli

 

[Bart Van der Donck]

Hi there, does anyone know how to capture the last row in a datafile
into a variable without having to read through each record of the
entire file ?

On UNIX (and some Windows versions):

my $lastline = `tail -1 /path/to/file.txt`;

 

[Ted Zlatanov]

On UNIX (and some Windows versions):

my $lastline = `tail -1 /path/to/file.txt`;

That should be /usr/bin/tail or whatever's appropriate on the system.
Calling unqualified programs is a dangerous practice.

Ted