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