Commit | Line | Data |
a0d0e21e |
1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | |
3 | perl - Practical Extraction and Report Language |
4 | |
5 | =head1 SYNOPSIS |
6 | |
df451b2a |
7 | B<perl> S<[ B<-sTtuUWX> ]> |
8 | S<[ B<-hv> ] [ B<-V>[:I<configvar>] ]> |
9 | S<[ B<-cw> ] [ B<-d>[B<t>][:I<debugger>] ] [ B<-D>[I<number/list>] ]> |
10 | S<[ B<-pna> ] [ B<-F>I<pattern> ] [ B<-l>[I<octal>] ] [ B<-0>[I<octal/hexadecimal>] ]> |
11 | S<[ B<-I>I<dir> ] [ B<-m>[B<->]I<module> ] [ B<-M>[B<->]I<'module...'> ] [ B<-f> ]> |
df451b2a |
12 | S<[ B<-C [I<number/list>] >]> |
13 | S<[ B<-P> ]> |
14 | S<[ B<-S> ]> |
15 | S<[ B<-x>[I<dir>] ]> |
16 | S<[ B<-i>[I<extension>] ]> |
17 | S<[ B<-e> I<'command'> ] [ B<--> ] [ I<programfile> ] [ I<argument> ]...> |
c07a80fd |
18 | |
10151d09 |
19 | If you're new to Perl, you should start with L<perlintro>, which is a |
20 | general intro for beginners and provides some background to help you |
21 | navigate the rest of Perl's extensive documentation. |
22 | |
23 | For ease of access, the Perl manual has been split up into several sections. |
a0d0e21e |
24 | |
fd7b6849 |
25 | =head2 Overview |
26 | |
fb9cefb4 |
27 | perl Perl overview (this section) |
10151d09 |
28 | perlintro Perl introduction for beginners |
fb9cefb4 |
29 | perltoc Perl documentation table of contents |
760ac839 |
30 | |
fd7b6849 |
31 | =head2 Tutorials |
32 | |
7a2320f0 |
33 | perlreftut Perl references short introduction |
34 | perldsc Perl data structures intro |
35 | perllol Perl data structures: arrays of arrays |
7a2320f0 |
36 | |
41630250 |
37 | perlrequick Perl regular expressions quick start |
7a2320f0 |
38 | perlretut Perl regular expressions tutorial |
39 | |
40 | perlboot Perl OO tutorial for beginners |
41 | perltoot Perl OO tutorial, part 1 |
42 | perltooc Perl OO tutorial, part 2 |
43 | perlbot Perl OO tricks and examples |
44 | |
45 | perlstyle Perl style guide |
46 | |
41630250 |
47 | perlcheat Perl cheat sheet |
7a2320f0 |
48 | perltrap Perl traps for the unwary |
49 | perldebtut Perl debugging tutorial |
50 | |
fd7b6849 |
51 | perlfaq Perl frequently asked questions |
52 | perlfaq1 General Questions About Perl |
53 | perlfaq2 Obtaining and Learning about Perl |
54 | perlfaq3 Programming Tools |
55 | perlfaq4 Data Manipulation |
56 | perlfaq5 Files and Formats |
57 | perlfaq6 Regexes |
58 | perlfaq7 Perl Language Issues |
59 | perlfaq8 System Interaction |
60 | perlfaq9 Networking |
0f542199 |
61 | |
fd7b6849 |
62 | =head2 Reference Manual |
413510b3 |
63 | |
fb9cefb4 |
64 | perlsyn Perl syntax |
4755096e |
65 | perldata Perl data structures |
fb9cefb4 |
66 | perlop Perl operators and precedence |
c2e66d9e |
67 | perlsub Perl subroutines |
fd7b6849 |
68 | perlfunc Perl built-in functions |
413510b3 |
69 | perlopentut Perl open() tutorial |
41630250 |
70 | perlpacktut Perl pack() and unpack() tutorial |
c2e66d9e |
71 | perlpod Perl plain old documentation |
41630250 |
72 | perlpodspec Perl plain old documentation format specification |
c2e66d9e |
73 | perlrun Perl execution and options |
74 | perldiag Perl diagnostic messages |
41630250 |
75 | perllexwarn Perl warnings and their control |
4755096e |
76 | perldebug Perl debugging |
fb9cefb4 |
77 | perlvar Perl predefined variables |
4755096e |
78 | perlre Perl regular expressions, the rest of the story |
8a118206 |
79 | perlrebackslash Perl regular expression backslash sequences |
80 | perlrecharclass Perl regular expression character classes |
30487ceb |
81 | perlreref Perl regular expressions quick reference |
d396a558 |
82 | perlref Perl references, the rest of the story |
fb9cefb4 |
83 | perlform Perl formats |
d396a558 |
84 | perlobj Perl objects |
d396a558 |
85 | perltie Perl objects hidden behind simple variables |
fd7b6849 |
86 | perldbmfilter Perl DBM filters |
760ac839 |
87 | |
c2e66d9e |
88 | perlipc Perl interprocess communication |
89 | perlfork Perl fork() information |
90 | perlnumber Perl number semantics |
53d7eaa8 |
91 | |
c2e66d9e |
92 | perlthrtut Perl threads tutorial |
41630250 |
93 | perlothrtut Old Perl threads tutorial |
c2e66d9e |
94 | |
95 | perlport Perl portability guide |
d396a558 |
96 | perllocale Perl locale support |
07fcf8ff |
97 | perluniintro Perl Unicode introduction |
41630250 |
98 | perlunicode Perl Unicode support |
3426ea3d |
99 | perlunifaq Perl Unicode FAQ |
aadaa455 |
100 | perlunitut Perl Unicode tutorial |
d396a558 |
101 | perlebcdic Considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms |
c2e66d9e |
102 | |
d396a558 |
103 | perlsec Perl security |
4755096e |
104 | |
c2e66d9e |
105 | perlmod Perl modules: how they work |
35bf961c |
106 | perlmodlib Perl modules: how to write and use |
107 | perlmodstyle Perl modules: how to write modules with style |
fd7b6849 |
108 | perlmodinstall Perl modules: how to install from CPAN |
c2e66d9e |
109 | perlnewmod Perl modules: preparing a new module for distribution |
a550ee30 |
110 | perlpragma Perl modules: writing a user pragma |
760ac839 |
111 | |
fd7b6849 |
112 | perlutil utilities packaged with the Perl distribution |
760ac839 |
113 | |
41630250 |
114 | perlcompile Perl compiler suite intro |
760ac839 |
115 | |
fd7b6849 |
116 | perlfilter Perl source filters |
117 | |
97a1d740 |
118 | perlglossary Perl Glossary |
119 | |
fd7b6849 |
120 | =head2 Internals and C Language Interface |
121 | |
fb9cefb4 |
122 | perlembed Perl ways to embed perl in your C or C++ application |
41630250 |
123 | perldebguts Perl debugging guts and tips |
fb9cefb4 |
124 | perlxstut Perl XS tutorial |
4755096e |
125 | perlxs Perl XS application programming interface |
f40a6c71 |
126 | perlclib Internal replacements for standard C library functions |
fb9cefb4 |
127 | perlguts Perl internal functions for those doing extensions |
128 | perlcall Perl calling conventions from C |
108003db |
129 | perlreapi Perl regular expression plugin interface |
b23a565d |
130 | perlreguts Perl regular expression engine internals |
fd7b6849 |
131 | |
954c1994 |
132 | perlapi Perl API listing (autogenerated) |
133 | perlintern Perl internal functions (autogenerated) |
dc5c060f |
134 | perliol C API for Perl's implementation of IO in Layers |
4755096e |
135 | perlapio Perl internal IO abstraction interface |
fd7b6849 |
136 | |
e8cd7eae |
137 | perlhack Perl hackers guide |
4755096e |
138 | |
fd7b6849 |
139 | =head2 Miscellaneous |
140 | |
141 | perlbook Perl book information |
cbd87e7e |
142 | perlcommunity Perl community information |
fd7b6849 |
143 | perltodo Perl things to do |
144 | |
2a551100 |
145 | perldoc Look up Perl documentation in Pod format |
146 | |
fb9cefb4 |
147 | perlhist Perl history records |
4755096e |
148 | perldelta Perl changes since previous version |
7120b314 |
149 | perl5100delta Perl changes in version 5.10.0 |
cf6c151c |
150 | perl595delta Perl changes in version 5.9.5 |
f6eae373 |
151 | perl594delta Perl changes in version 5.9.4 |
6c7deadb |
152 | perl593delta Perl changes in version 5.9.3 |
496c75d0 |
153 | perl592delta Perl changes in version 5.9.2 |
e0eb806d |
154 | perl591delta Perl changes in version 5.9.1 |
1400179b |
155 | perl590delta Perl changes in version 5.9.0 |
c11a53c6 |
156 | perl588delta Perl changes in version 5.8.8 |
315ba985 |
157 | perl587delta Perl changes in version 5.8.7 |
e4bb216d |
158 | perl586delta Perl changes in version 5.8.6 |
07e9b5fe |
159 | perl585delta Perl changes in version 5.8.5 |
5f15c94e |
160 | perl584delta Perl changes in version 5.8.4 |
2e038148 |
161 | perl583delta Perl changes in version 5.8.3 |
162 | perl582delta Perl changes in version 5.8.2 |
b6235c4f |
163 | perl581delta Perl changes in version 5.8.1 |
2e038148 |
164 | perl58delta Perl changes in version 5.8.0 |
77b096b5 |
165 | perl573delta Perl changes in version 5.7.3 |
245d750e |
166 | perl572delta Perl changes in version 5.7.2 |
1db9e106 |
167 | perl571delta Perl changes in version 5.7.1 |
168 | perl570delta Perl changes in version 5.7.0 |
493a87da |
169 | perl561delta Perl changes in version 5.6.1 |
41630250 |
170 | perl56delta Perl changes in version 5.6 |
4755096e |
171 | perl5005delta Perl changes in version 5.005 |
172 | perl5004delta Perl changes in version 5.004 |
d516a115 |
173 | |
2a551100 |
174 | perlartistic Perl Artistic License |
175 | perlgpl GNU General Public License |
176 | |
d8416318 |
177 | =head2 Language-Specific |
178 | |
179 | perlcn Perl for Simplified Chinese (in EUC-CN) |
180 | perljp Perl for Japanese (in EUC-JP) |
181 | perlko Perl for Korean (in EUC-KR) |
182 | perltw Perl for Traditional Chinese (in Big5) |
183 | |
fd7b6849 |
184 | =head2 Platform-Specific |
185 | |
37d4d706 |
186 | perlaix Perl notes for AIX |
a83b6f46 |
187 | perlamiga Perl notes for AmigaOS |
188 | perlapollo Perl notes for Apollo DomainOS |
189 | perlbeos Perl notes for BeOS |
dc5c060f |
190 | perlbs2000 Perl notes for POSIX-BC BS2000 |
a1f19229 |
191 | perlce Perl notes for WinCE |
49877630 |
192 | perlcygwin Perl notes for Cygwin |
245d750e |
193 | perldgux Perl notes for DG/UX |
49877630 |
194 | perldos Perl notes for DOS |
9a997319 |
195 | perlepoc Perl notes for EPOC |
41630250 |
196 | perlfreebsd Perl notes for FreeBSD |
49877630 |
197 | perlhpux Perl notes for HP-UX |
a83b6f46 |
198 | perlhurd Perl notes for Hurd |
469e7be4 |
199 | perlirix Perl notes for Irix |
991e8403 |
200 | perllinux Perl notes for Linux |
41630250 |
201 | perlmachten Perl notes for Power MachTen |
26d9b02f |
202 | perlmacos Perl notes for Mac OS (Classic) |
0d53b15f |
203 | perlmacosx Perl notes for Mac OS X |
a83b6f46 |
204 | perlmint Perl notes for MiNT |
ab648d5e |
205 | perlmpeix Perl notes for MPE/iX |
41630250 |
206 | perlnetware Perl notes for NetWare |
b0846812 |
207 | perlopenbsd Perl notes for OpenBSD |
49877630 |
208 | perlos2 Perl notes for OS/2 |
209 | perlos390 Perl notes for OS/390 |
522b859a |
210 | perlos400 Perl notes for OS/400 |
a83b6f46 |
211 | perlplan9 Perl notes for Plan 9 |
212 | perlqnx Perl notes for QNX |
2f08ed66 |
213 | perlriscos Perl notes for RISC OS |
d420ca49 |
214 | perlsolaris Perl notes for Solaris |
27da23d5 |
215 | perlsymbian Perl notes for Symbian |
772ff3b9 |
216 | perltru64 Perl notes for Tru64 |
41630250 |
217 | perluts Perl notes for UTS |
cbe1151c |
218 | perlvmesa Perl notes for VM/ESA |
49877630 |
219 | perlvms Perl notes for VMS |
9a997319 |
220 | perlvos Perl notes for Stratus VOS |
49877630 |
221 | perlwin32 Perl notes for Windows |
222 | |
a0d0e21e |
223 | |
19799a22 |
224 | By default, the manpages listed above are installed in the |
fc952dec |
225 | F</usr/local/man/> directory. |
226 | |
227 | Extensive additional documentation for Perl modules is available. The |
228 | default configuration for perl will place this additional documentation |
229 | in the F</usr/local/lib/perl5/man> directory (or else in the F<man> |
230 | subdirectory of the Perl library directory). Some of this additional |
231 | documentation is distributed standard with Perl, but you'll also find |
232 | documentation for third-party modules there. |
233 | |
234 | You should be able to view Perl's documentation with your man(1) |
235 | program by including the proper directories in the appropriate start-up |
236 | files, or in the MANPATH environment variable. To find out where the |
237 | configuration has installed the manpages, type: |
16d20bd9 |
238 | |
760ac839 |
239 | perl -V:man.dir |
16d20bd9 |
240 | |
fc952dec |
241 | If the directories have a common stem, such as F</usr/local/man/man1> |
242 | and F</usr/local/man/man3>, you need only to add that stem |
243 | (F</usr/local/man>) to your man(1) configuration files or your MANPATH |
244 | environment variable. If they do not share a stem, you'll have to add |
245 | both stems. |
16d20bd9 |
246 | |
247 | If that doesn't work for some reason, you can still use the |
4633a7c4 |
248 | supplied F<perldoc> script to view module information. You might |
249 | also look into getting a replacement man program. |
16d20bd9 |
250 | |
a0d0e21e |
251 | If something strange has gone wrong with your program and you're not |
252 | sure where you should look for help, try the B<-w> switch first. It |
253 | will often point out exactly where the trouble is. |
254 | |
255 | =head1 DESCRIPTION |
256 | |
5f05dabc |
257 | Perl is a language optimized for scanning arbitrary |
a0d0e21e |
258 | text files, extracting information from those text files, and printing |
259 | reports based on that information. It's also a good language for many |
260 | system management tasks. The language is intended to be practical |
261 | (easy to use, efficient, complete) rather than beautiful (tiny, |
94d58c47 |
262 | elegant, minimal). |
263 | |
aa689395 |
264 | Perl combines (in the author's opinion, anyway) some of the best |
265 | features of C, B<sed>, B<awk>, and B<sh>, so people familiar with |
266 | those languages should have little difficulty with it. (Language |
267 | historians will also note some vestiges of B<csh>, Pascal, and even |
14218588 |
268 | BASIC-PLUS.) Expression syntax corresponds closely to C |
a0d0e21e |
269 | expression syntax. Unlike most Unix utilities, Perl does not |
270 | arbitrarily limit the size of your data--if you've got the memory, |
aa689395 |
271 | Perl can slurp in your whole file as a single string. Recursion is of |
0f31cffe |
272 | unlimited depth. And the tables used by hashes (sometimes called |
aa689395 |
273 | "associative arrays") grow as necessary to prevent degraded |
0f31cffe |
274 | performance. Perl can use sophisticated pattern matching techniques to |
14218588 |
275 | scan large amounts of data quickly. Although optimized for |
aa689395 |
276 | scanning text, Perl can also deal with binary data, and can make dbm |
277 | files look like hashes. Setuid Perl scripts are safer than C programs |
14218588 |
278 | through a dataflow tracing mechanism that prevents many stupid |
aa689395 |
279 | security holes. |
280 | |
281 | If you have a problem that would ordinarily use B<sed> or B<awk> or |
282 | B<sh>, but it exceeds their capabilities or must run a little faster, |
283 | and you don't want to write the silly thing in C, then Perl may be for |
284 | you. There are also translators to turn your B<sed> and B<awk> |
285 | scripts into Perl scripts. |
a0d0e21e |
286 | |
287 | But wait, there's more... |
288 | |
19799a22 |
289 | Begun in 1993 (see L<perlhist>), Perl version 5 is nearly a complete |
290 | rewrite that provides the following additional benefits: |
a0d0e21e |
291 | |
13a2d996 |
292 | =over 4 |
a0d0e21e |
293 | |
551e1d92 |
294 | =item * |
295 | |
296 | modularity and reusability using innumerable modules |
a0d0e21e |
297 | |
19799a22 |
298 | Described in L<perlmod>, L<perlmodlib>, and L<perlmodinstall>. |
a0d0e21e |
299 | |
551e1d92 |
300 | =item * |
301 | |
302 | embeddable and extensible |
a0d0e21e |
303 | |
19799a22 |
304 | Described in L<perlembed>, L<perlxstut>, L<perlxs>, L<perlcall>, |
305 | L<perlguts>, and L<xsubpp>. |
a0d0e21e |
306 | |
551e1d92 |
307 | =item * |
308 | |
63de3cb2 |
309 | roll-your-own magic variables (including multiple simultaneous DBM |
310 | implementations) |
a0d0e21e |
311 | |
19799a22 |
312 | Described in L<perltie> and L<AnyDBM_File>. |
a0d0e21e |
313 | |
551e1d92 |
314 | =item * |
315 | |
316 | subroutines can now be overridden, autoloaded, and prototyped |
a0d0e21e |
317 | |
19799a22 |
318 | Described in L<perlsub>. |
a0d0e21e |
319 | |
551e1d92 |
320 | =item * |
321 | |
322 | arbitrarily nested data structures and anonymous functions |
a0d0e21e |
323 | |
19799a22 |
324 | Described in L<perlreftut>, L<perlref>, L<perldsc>, and L<perllol>. |
a0d0e21e |
325 | |
551e1d92 |
326 | =item * |
327 | |
328 | object-oriented programming |
a0d0e21e |
329 | |
f6b3c421 |
330 | Described in L<perlobj>, L<perlboot>, L<perltoot>, L<perltooc>, |
331 | and L<perlbot>. |
a0d0e21e |
332 | |
551e1d92 |
333 | =item * |
334 | |
551e1d92 |
335 | support for light-weight processes (threads) |
a0d0e21e |
336 | |
63de3cb2 |
337 | Described in L<perlthrtut> and L<threads>. |
a0d0e21e |
338 | |
551e1d92 |
339 | =item * |
340 | |
63de3cb2 |
341 | support for Unicode, internationalization, and localization |
a0d0e21e |
342 | |
63de3cb2 |
343 | Described in L<perluniintro>, L<perllocale> and L<Locale::Maketext>. |
a0d0e21e |
344 | |
551e1d92 |
345 | =item * |
346 | |
347 | lexical scoping |
a0d0e21e |
348 | |
19799a22 |
349 | Described in L<perlsub>. |
a0d0e21e |
350 | |
551e1d92 |
351 | =item * |
352 | |
353 | regular expression enhancements |
a0d0e21e |
354 | |
19799a22 |
355 | Described in L<perlre>, with additional examples in L<perlop>. |
a0d0e21e |
356 | |
551e1d92 |
357 | =item * |
358 | |
359 | enhanced debugger and interactive Perl environment, |
360 | with integrated editor support |
a0d0e21e |
361 | |
f6b3c421 |
362 | Described in L<perldebtut>, L<perldebug> and L<perldebguts>. |
a0d0e21e |
363 | |
551e1d92 |
364 | =item * |
365 | |
366 | POSIX 1003.1 compliant library |
5f05dabc |
367 | |
19799a22 |
368 | Described in L<POSIX>. |
5f05dabc |
369 | |
a0d0e21e |
370 | =back |
371 | |
68dc0745 |
372 | Okay, that's I<definitely> enough hype. |
a0d0e21e |
373 | |
8e465e4e |
374 | =head1 AVAILABILITY |
375 | |
14218588 |
376 | Perl is available for most operating systems, including virtually |
055fd3a9 |
377 | all Unix-like platforms. See L<perlport/"Supported Platforms"> |
378 | for a listing. |
8bc4a6bb |
379 | |
a0d0e21e |
380 | =head1 ENVIRONMENT |
381 | |
1e422769 |
382 | See L<perlrun>. |
a0d0e21e |
383 | |
384 | =head1 AUTHOR |
385 | |
19799a22 |
386 | Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>, with the help of oodles of other folks. |
a0d0e21e |
387 | |
a99b1639 |
388 | If your Perl success stories and testimonials may be of help to others |
389 | who wish to advocate the use of Perl in their applications, |
390 | or if you wish to simply express your gratitude to Larry and the |
19799a22 |
391 | Perl developers, please write to perl-thanks@perl.org . |
a99b1639 |
392 | |
a0d0e21e |
393 | =head1 FILES |
394 | |
5f05dabc |
395 | "@INC" locations of perl libraries |
a0d0e21e |
396 | |
397 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
398 | |
399 | a2p awk to perl translator |
400 | s2p sed to perl translator |
401 | |
c5f69108 |
402 | http://www.perl.org/ the Perl homepage |
da9e6348 |
403 | http://www.perl.com/ Perl articles (O'Reilly) |
f6b3c421 |
404 | http://www.cpan.org/ the Comprehensive Perl Archive |
c5f69108 |
405 | http://www.pm.org/ the Perl Mongers |
19799a22 |
406 | |
a0d0e21e |
407 | =head1 DIAGNOSTICS |
408 | |
9f1b1f2d |
409 | The C<use warnings> pragma (and the B<-w> switch) produces some |
410 | lovely diagnostics. |
a0d0e21e |
411 | |
5a964f20 |
412 | See L<perldiag> for explanations of all Perl's diagnostics. The C<use |
413 | diagnostics> pragma automatically turns Perl's normally terse warnings |
414 | and errors into these longer forms. |
a0d0e21e |
415 | |
416 | Compilation errors will tell you the line number of the error, with an |
417 | indication of the next token or token type that was to be examined. |
14218588 |
418 | (In a script passed to Perl via B<-e> switches, each |
a0d0e21e |
419 | B<-e> is counted as one line.) |
420 | |
421 | Setuid scripts have additional constraints that can produce error |
422 | messages such as "Insecure dependency". See L<perlsec>. |
423 | |
424 | Did we mention that you should definitely consider using the B<-w> |
425 | switch? |
426 | |
427 | =head1 BUGS |
428 | |
429 | The B<-w> switch is not mandatory. |
430 | |
431 | Perl is at the mercy of your machine's definitions of various |
1b3f7d21 |
432 | operations such as type casting, atof(), and floating-point |
433 | output with sprintf(). |
a0d0e21e |
434 | |
748a9306 |
435 | If your stdio requires a seek or eof between reads and writes on a |
a0d0e21e |
436 | particular stream, so does Perl. (This doesn't apply to sysread() |
437 | and syswrite().) |
438 | |
439 | While none of the built-in data types have any arbitrary size limits |
440 | (apart from memory size), there are still a few arbitrary limits: a |
a30ac152 |
441 | given variable name may not be longer than 251 characters. Line numbers |
442 | displayed by diagnostics are internally stored as short integers, |
443 | so they are limited to a maximum of 65535 (higher numbers usually being |
444 | affected by wraparound). |
a0d0e21e |
445 | |
b0607b7a |
446 | You may mail your bug reports (be sure to include full configuration |
19799a22 |
447 | information as output by the myconfig program in the perl source |
7f2de2d2 |
448 | tree, or by C<perl -V>) to perlbug@perl.org . If you've succeeded |
055fd3a9 |
449 | in compiling perl, the B<perlbug> script in the F<utils/> subdirectory |
19799a22 |
450 | can be used to help mail in a bug report. |
4633a7c4 |
451 | |
a0d0e21e |
452 | Perl actually stands for Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister, but |
453 | don't tell anyone I said that. |
454 | |
455 | =head1 NOTES |
456 | |
457 | The Perl motto is "There's more than one way to do it." Divining |
458 | how many more is left as an exercise to the reader. |
459 | |
4633a7c4 |
460 | The three principal virtues of a programmer are Laziness, |
a0d0e21e |
461 | Impatience, and Hubris. See the Camel Book for why. |
16d20bd9 |
462 | |