DirHandle(3pm) Perl Programmers Reference Guide DirHandle(3pm)

# [NAME](#NAME)

DirHandle - (obsolete) supply object methods for directory handles

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

```
    # recommended approach since Perl 5.6: do not use DirHandle
    if (opendir my $d, '.') {
        while (readdir $d) { something($_); }
        rewind $d;
        while (readdir $d) { something_else($_); }
    }
    # how you would use this module if you were going to
    use DirHandle;
    if (my $d = DirHandle->new(".")) {
        while (defined($_ = $d->read)) { something($_); }
        $d->rewind;
        while (defined($_ = $d->read)) { something_else($_); }
    }
```

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

**There is no reason to use this module nowadays.**

The "DirHandle" method provide an alternative interface to the **opendir()**, **closedir()**, **readdir()**, and **rewinddir()** functions.

Up to Perl 5.5, **opendir()** could not autovivify a directory handle from "undef", so using a lexical handle required using a function from Symbol to create an anonymous glob, which took a separate step. "DirHandle" encapsulates this, which allowed cleaner code than **opendir()**. Since Perl 5.6, **opendir()** alone has been all you need for lexical handles.

2026-10-27 perl v5.44.0

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Document: DirHandle(3pm) from perl 5.44.0-r4 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://github.com/Perl/perl5.git