---
name: "Module::Refresh"
section: "3pm"
platform: "linux"
package: "libmodule-refresh-perl"
version: "0.18-2"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/Module::Refresh"
---

# Module::Refresh(3pm)

Refresh %INC files when updated on disk

## NAME

Module::Refresh - Refresh %INC files when updated on disk

## SYNOPSIS

```
    # During each request, call this once to refresh changed modules:
    Module::Refresh->refresh;
    # Each night at midnight, you automatically download the latest
    # Acme::Current from CPAN.  Use this snippet to make your running
    # program pick it up off disk:
    $refresher->refresh_module('Acme/Current.pm');
```

## DESCRIPTION

This module is a generalization of the functionality provided by Apache::StatINC and Apache::Reload.  It's designed to make it easy to do simple iterative development when working in a persistent environment.

It does not require mod\_perl.

### new

Initialize the module refresher.

### refresh

Refresh all modules that have mtimes on disk newer than the newest ones we've got. Calls `"new"` to initialize the cache if it had not yet been called.

Specifically, it will renew any module that was loaded before the previous call to `"refresh"` (or `"new"`) and has changed on disk since then.  If a module was both loaded for the first time **and** changed on disk between the previous call  and this one, it will **not** be reloaded by this call (or any future one); you will need to update the modification time again (by using the Unix `"touch"` command or making a change to it) in order for it to be reloaded.

### refresh\_module\_if\_modified $module

If `$module` has been modified on disk, refresh it. Otherwise, do nothing

### refresh\_module $module

Refresh a module.  It doesn't matter if it's already up to date.  Just do it.

Note that it only accepts module names like `"Foo/Bar.pm"`, not `"Foo::Bar"`.

### unload\_module $module

Remove a module from `%INC`, and remove all subroutines defined in it.

### mtime $file

Get the last modified time of `$file` in seconds since the epoch;

### update\_cache $file

Updates the cached "last modified" time for `$file`.

### unload\_subs $file

Wipe out subs defined in `$file`.

## BUGS

When we walk the symbol table to whack reloaded subroutines, we don't have a good way to invalidate the symbol table properly, so we mess up on things like global variables that were previously set.

## SEE ALSO

Apache::StatINC, Module::Reload

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2004,2011 by Jesse Vincent \<jesse@bestpractical.com\>, Audrey Tang \<audreyt@audreyt.org\>

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

See \<http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html\>