extra code in pp_concat, Take 2
[p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git] / pod / perlsub.pod
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a0d0e21e 1=head1 NAME
2
3perlsub - Perl subroutines
4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6
7To declare subroutines:
8
09bef843 9 sub NAME; # A "forward" declaration.
10 sub NAME(PROTO); # ditto, but with prototypes
11 sub NAME : ATTRS; # with attributes
12 sub NAME(PROTO) : ATTRS; # with attributes and prototypes
cb1a09d0 13
09bef843 14 sub NAME BLOCK # A declaration and a definition.
15 sub NAME(PROTO) BLOCK # ditto, but with prototypes
16 sub NAME : ATTRS BLOCK # with attributes
17 sub NAME(PROTO) : ATTRS BLOCK # with prototypes and attributes
a0d0e21e 18
748a9306 19To define an anonymous subroutine at runtime:
20
09bef843 21 $subref = sub BLOCK; # no proto
22 $subref = sub (PROTO) BLOCK; # with proto
23 $subref = sub : ATTRS BLOCK; # with attributes
24 $subref = sub (PROTO) : ATTRS BLOCK; # with proto and attributes
748a9306 25
a0d0e21e 26To import subroutines:
27
19799a22 28 use MODULE qw(NAME1 NAME2 NAME3);
a0d0e21e 29
30To call subroutines:
31
5f05dabc 32 NAME(LIST); # & is optional with parentheses.
54310121 33 NAME LIST; # Parentheses optional if predeclared/imported.
19799a22 34 &NAME(LIST); # Circumvent prototypes.
5a964f20 35 &NAME; # Makes current @_ visible to called subroutine.
a0d0e21e 36
37=head1 DESCRIPTION
38
19799a22 39Like many languages, Perl provides for user-defined subroutines.
40These may be located anywhere in the main program, loaded in from
41other files via the C<do>, C<require>, or C<use> keywords, or
be3174d2 42generated on the fly using C<eval> or anonymous subroutines.
19799a22 43You can even call a function indirectly using a variable containing
44its name or a CODE reference.
cb1a09d0 45
46The Perl model for function call and return values is simple: all
47functions are passed as parameters one single flat list of scalars, and
48all functions likewise return to their caller one single flat list of
49scalars. Any arrays or hashes in these call and return lists will
50collapse, losing their identities--but you may always use
51pass-by-reference instead to avoid this. Both call and return lists may
52contain as many or as few scalar elements as you'd like. (Often a
53function without an explicit return statement is called a subroutine, but
19799a22 54there's really no difference from Perl's perspective.)
55
56Any arguments passed in show up in the array C<@_>. Therefore, if
57you called a function with two arguments, those would be stored in
58C<$_[0]> and C<$_[1]>. The array C<@_> is a local array, but its
59elements are aliases for the actual scalar parameters. In particular,
60if an element C<$_[0]> is updated, the corresponding argument is
61updated (or an error occurs if it is not updatable). If an argument
62is an array or hash element which did not exist when the function
63was called, that element is created only when (and if) it is modified
64or a reference to it is taken. (Some earlier versions of Perl
65created the element whether or not the element was assigned to.)
66Assigning to the whole array C<@_> removes that aliasing, and does
67not update any arguments.
68
69The return value of a subroutine is the value of the last expression
4c885f75 70evaluated by that sub, or the empty list in the case of an empty sub.
71More explicitly, a C<return> statement may be used to exit the
54310121 72subroutine, optionally specifying the returned value, which will be
73evaluated in the appropriate context (list, scalar, or void) depending
74on the context of the subroutine call. If you specify no return value,
19799a22 75the subroutine returns an empty list in list context, the undefined
76value in scalar context, or nothing in void context. If you return
77one or more aggregates (arrays and hashes), these will be flattened
78together into one large indistinguishable list.
79
80Perl does not have named formal parameters. In practice all you
81do is assign to a C<my()> list of these. Variables that aren't
82declared to be private are global variables. For gory details
83on creating private variables, see L<"Private Variables via my()">
84and L<"Temporary Values via local()">. To create protected
85environments for a set of functions in a separate package (and
86probably a separate file), see L<perlmod/"Packages">.
a0d0e21e 87
88Example:
89
cb1a09d0 90 sub max {
91 my $max = shift(@_);
a0d0e21e 92 foreach $foo (@_) {
93 $max = $foo if $max < $foo;
94 }
cb1a09d0 95 return $max;
a0d0e21e 96 }
cb1a09d0 97 $bestday = max($mon,$tue,$wed,$thu,$fri);
a0d0e21e 98
99Example:
100
101 # get a line, combining continuation lines
102 # that start with whitespace
103
104 sub get_line {
19799a22 105 $thisline = $lookahead; # global variables!
54310121 106 LINE: while (defined($lookahead = <STDIN>)) {
a0d0e21e 107 if ($lookahead =~ /^[ \t]/) {
108 $thisline .= $lookahead;
109 }
110 else {
111 last LINE;
112 }
113 }
19799a22 114 return $thisline;
a0d0e21e 115 }
116
117 $lookahead = <STDIN>; # get first line
19799a22 118 while (defined($line = get_line())) {
a0d0e21e 119 ...
120 }
121
09bef843 122Assigning to a list of private variables to name your arguments:
a0d0e21e 123
124 sub maybeset {
125 my($key, $value) = @_;
cb1a09d0 126 $Foo{$key} = $value unless $Foo{$key};
a0d0e21e 127 }
128
19799a22 129Because the assignment copies the values, this also has the effect
130of turning call-by-reference into call-by-value. Otherwise a
131function is free to do in-place modifications of C<@_> and change
132its caller's values.
cb1a09d0 133
134 upcase_in($v1, $v2); # this changes $v1 and $v2
135 sub upcase_in {
54310121 136 for (@_) { tr/a-z/A-Z/ }
137 }
cb1a09d0 138
139You aren't allowed to modify constants in this way, of course. If an
140argument were actually literal and you tried to change it, you'd take a
141(presumably fatal) exception. For example, this won't work:
142
143 upcase_in("frederick");
144
f86cebdf 145It would be much safer if the C<upcase_in()> function
cb1a09d0 146were written to return a copy of its parameters instead
147of changing them in place:
148
19799a22 149 ($v3, $v4) = upcase($v1, $v2); # this doesn't change $v1 and $v2
cb1a09d0 150 sub upcase {
54310121 151 return unless defined wantarray; # void context, do nothing
cb1a09d0 152 my @parms = @_;
54310121 153 for (@parms) { tr/a-z/A-Z/ }
c07a80fd 154 return wantarray ? @parms : $parms[0];
54310121 155 }
cb1a09d0 156
19799a22 157Notice how this (unprototyped) function doesn't care whether it was
a2293a43 158passed real scalars or arrays. Perl sees all arguments as one big,
19799a22 159long, flat parameter list in C<@_>. This is one area where
160Perl's simple argument-passing style shines. The C<upcase()>
161function would work perfectly well without changing the C<upcase()>
162definition even if we fed it things like this:
cb1a09d0 163
164 @newlist = upcase(@list1, @list2);
165 @newlist = upcase( split /:/, $var );
166
167Do not, however, be tempted to do this:
168
169 (@a, @b) = upcase(@list1, @list2);
170
19799a22 171Like the flattened incoming parameter list, the return list is also
172flattened on return. So all you have managed to do here is stored
17b63f68 173everything in C<@a> and made C<@b> empty. See
13a2d996 174L<Pass by Reference> for alternatives.
19799a22 175
176A subroutine may be called using an explicit C<&> prefix. The
177C<&> is optional in modern Perl, as are parentheses if the
178subroutine has been predeclared. The C<&> is I<not> optional
179when just naming the subroutine, such as when it's used as
180an argument to defined() or undef(). Nor is it optional when you
181want to do an indirect subroutine call with a subroutine name or
182reference using the C<&$subref()> or C<&{$subref}()> constructs,
c47ff5f1 183although the C<< $subref->() >> notation solves that problem.
19799a22 184See L<perlref> for more about all that.
185
186Subroutines may be called recursively. If a subroutine is called
187using the C<&> form, the argument list is optional, and if omitted,
188no C<@_> array is set up for the subroutine: the C<@_> array at the
189time of the call is visible to subroutine instead. This is an
190efficiency mechanism that new users may wish to avoid.
a0d0e21e 191
192 &foo(1,2,3); # pass three arguments
193 foo(1,2,3); # the same
194
195 foo(); # pass a null list
196 &foo(); # the same
a0d0e21e 197
cb1a09d0 198 &foo; # foo() get current args, like foo(@_) !!
54310121 199 foo; # like foo() IFF sub foo predeclared, else "foo"
cb1a09d0 200
19799a22 201Not only does the C<&> form make the argument list optional, it also
202disables any prototype checking on arguments you do provide. This
c07a80fd 203is partly for historical reasons, and partly for having a convenient way
19799a22 204to cheat if you know what you're doing. See L<Prototypes> below.
c07a80fd 205
ac90fb77 206Subroutines whose names are in all upper case are reserved to the Perl
207core, as are modules whose names are in all lower case. A subroutine in
208all capitals is a loosely-held convention meaning it will be called
209indirectly by the run-time system itself, usually due to a triggered event.
210Subroutines that do special, pre-defined things include C<AUTOLOAD>, C<CLONE>,
211C<DESTROY> plus all functions mentioned in L<perltie> and L<PerlIO::via>.
212
213The C<BEGIN>, C<CHECK>, C<INIT> and C<END> subroutines are not so much
214subroutines as named special code blocks, of which you can have more
fa11829f 215than one in a package, and which you can B<not> call explicitly. See
ac90fb77 216L<perlmod/"BEGIN, CHECK, INIT and END">
5a964f20 217
b687b08b 218=head2 Private Variables via my()
cb1a09d0 219
220Synopsis:
221
222 my $foo; # declare $foo lexically local
223 my (@wid, %get); # declare list of variables local
224 my $foo = "flurp"; # declare $foo lexical, and init it
225 my @oof = @bar; # declare @oof lexical, and init it
09bef843 226 my $x : Foo = $y; # similar, with an attribute applied
227
a0ae32d3 228B<WARNING>: The use of attribute lists on C<my> declarations is still
229evolving. The current semantics and interface are subject to change.
230See L<attributes> and L<Attribute::Handlers>.
cb1a09d0 231
19799a22 232The C<my> operator declares the listed variables to be lexically
233confined to the enclosing block, conditional (C<if/unless/elsif/else>),
234loop (C<for/foreach/while/until/continue>), subroutine, C<eval>,
235or C<do/require/use>'d file. If more than one value is listed, the
236list must be placed in parentheses. All listed elements must be
237legal lvalues. Only alphanumeric identifiers may be lexically
325192b1 238scoped--magical built-ins like C<$/> must currently be C<local>ized
19799a22 239with C<local> instead.
240
241Unlike dynamic variables created by the C<local> operator, lexical
242variables declared with C<my> are totally hidden from the outside
243world, including any called subroutines. This is true if it's the
244same subroutine called from itself or elsewhere--every call gets
245its own copy.
246
247This doesn't mean that a C<my> variable declared in a statically
248enclosing lexical scope would be invisible. Only dynamic scopes
249are cut off. For example, the C<bumpx()> function below has access
250to the lexical $x variable because both the C<my> and the C<sub>
251occurred at the same scope, presumably file scope.
5a964f20 252
253 my $x = 10;
254 sub bumpx { $x++ }
255
19799a22 256An C<eval()>, however, can see lexical variables of the scope it is
257being evaluated in, so long as the names aren't hidden by declarations within
258the C<eval()> itself. See L<perlref>.
cb1a09d0 259
19799a22 260The parameter list to my() may be assigned to if desired, which allows you
cb1a09d0 261to initialize your variables. (If no initializer is given for a
262particular variable, it is created with the undefined value.) Commonly
19799a22 263this is used to name input parameters to a subroutine. Examples:
cb1a09d0 264
265 $arg = "fred"; # "global" variable
266 $n = cube_root(27);
267 print "$arg thinks the root is $n\n";
268 fred thinks the root is 3
269
270 sub cube_root {
271 my $arg = shift; # name doesn't matter
272 $arg **= 1/3;
273 return $arg;
54310121 274 }
cb1a09d0 275
19799a22 276The C<my> is simply a modifier on something you might assign to. So when
277you do assign to variables in its argument list, C<my> doesn't
6cc33c6d 278change whether those variables are viewed as a scalar or an array. So
cb1a09d0 279
5a964f20 280 my ($foo) = <STDIN>; # WRONG?
cb1a09d0 281 my @FOO = <STDIN>;
282
5f05dabc 283both supply a list context to the right-hand side, while
cb1a09d0 284
285 my $foo = <STDIN>;
286
5f05dabc 287supplies a scalar context. But the following declares only one variable:
748a9306 288
5a964f20 289 my $foo, $bar = 1; # WRONG
748a9306 290
cb1a09d0 291That has the same effect as
748a9306 292
cb1a09d0 293 my $foo;
294 $bar = 1;
a0d0e21e 295
cb1a09d0 296The declared variable is not introduced (is not visible) until after
297the current statement. Thus,
298
299 my $x = $x;
300
19799a22 301can be used to initialize a new $x with the value of the old $x, and
cb1a09d0 302the expression
303
304 my $x = 123 and $x == 123
305
19799a22 306is false unless the old $x happened to have the value C<123>.
cb1a09d0 307
55497cff 308Lexical scopes of control structures are not bounded precisely by the
309braces that delimit their controlled blocks; control expressions are
19799a22 310part of that scope, too. Thus in the loop
55497cff 311
19799a22 312 while (my $line = <>) {
55497cff 313 $line = lc $line;
314 } continue {
315 print $line;
316 }
317
19799a22 318the scope of $line extends from its declaration throughout the rest of
55497cff 319the loop construct (including the C<continue> clause), but not beyond
320it. Similarly, in the conditional
321
322 if ((my $answer = <STDIN>) =~ /^yes$/i) {
323 user_agrees();
324 } elsif ($answer =~ /^no$/i) {
325 user_disagrees();
326 } else {
327 chomp $answer;
328 die "'$answer' is neither 'yes' nor 'no'";
329 }
330
19799a22 331the scope of $answer extends from its declaration through the rest
332of that conditional, including any C<elsif> and C<else> clauses,
457b36cb 333but not beyond it. See L<perlsyn/"Simple statements"> for information
334on the scope of variables in statements with modifiers.
55497cff 335
5f05dabc 336The C<foreach> loop defaults to scoping its index variable dynamically
19799a22 337in the manner of C<local>. However, if the index variable is
338prefixed with the keyword C<my>, or if there is already a lexical
339by that name in scope, then a new lexical is created instead. Thus
340in the loop
55497cff 341
342 for my $i (1, 2, 3) {
343 some_function();
344 }
345
19799a22 346the scope of $i extends to the end of the loop, but not beyond it,
347rendering the value of $i inaccessible within C<some_function()>.
55497cff 348
cb1a09d0 349Some users may wish to encourage the use of lexically scoped variables.
19799a22 350As an aid to catching implicit uses to package variables,
351which are always global, if you say
cb1a09d0 352
353 use strict 'vars';
354
19799a22 355then any variable mentioned from there to the end of the enclosing
356block must either refer to a lexical variable, be predeclared via
77ca0c92 357C<our> or C<use vars>, or else must be fully qualified with the package name.
19799a22 358A compilation error results otherwise. An inner block may countermand
359this with C<no strict 'vars'>.
360
361A C<my> has both a compile-time and a run-time effect. At compile
8593bda5 362time, the compiler takes notice of it. The principal usefulness
19799a22 363of this is to quiet C<use strict 'vars'>, but it is also essential
364for generation of closures as detailed in L<perlref>. Actual
365initialization is delayed until run time, though, so it gets executed
366at the appropriate time, such as each time through a loop, for
367example.
368
369Variables declared with C<my> are not part of any package and are therefore
cb1a09d0 370never fully qualified with the package name. In particular, you're not
371allowed to try to make a package variable (or other global) lexical:
372
373 my $pack::var; # ERROR! Illegal syntax
374 my $_; # also illegal (currently)
375
376In fact, a dynamic variable (also known as package or global variables)
f86cebdf 377are still accessible using the fully qualified C<::> notation even while a
cb1a09d0 378lexical of the same name is also visible:
379
380 package main;
381 local $x = 10;
382 my $x = 20;
383 print "$x and $::x\n";
384
f86cebdf 385That will print out C<20> and C<10>.
cb1a09d0 386
19799a22 387You may declare C<my> variables at the outermost scope of a file
388to hide any such identifiers from the world outside that file. This
389is similar in spirit to C's static variables when they are used at
390the file level. To do this with a subroutine requires the use of
391a closure (an anonymous function that accesses enclosing lexicals).
392If you want to create a private subroutine that cannot be called
393from outside that block, it can declare a lexical variable containing
394an anonymous sub reference:
cb1a09d0 395
396 my $secret_version = '1.001-beta';
397 my $secret_sub = sub { print $secret_version };
398 &$secret_sub();
399
400As long as the reference is never returned by any function within the
5f05dabc 401module, no outside module can see the subroutine, because its name is not in
cb1a09d0 402any package's symbol table. Remember that it's not I<REALLY> called
19799a22 403C<$some_pack::secret_version> or anything; it's just $secret_version,
cb1a09d0 404unqualified and unqualifiable.
405
19799a22 406This does not work with object methods, however; all object methods
407have to be in the symbol table of some package to be found. See
408L<perlref/"Function Templates"> for something of a work-around to
409this.
cb1a09d0 410
c2611fb3 411=head2 Persistent Private Variables
5a964f20 412
413Just because a lexical variable is lexically (also called statically)
f86cebdf 414scoped to its enclosing block, C<eval>, or C<do> FILE, this doesn't mean that
5a964f20 415within a function it works like a C static. It normally works more
416like a C auto, but with implicit garbage collection.
417
418Unlike local variables in C or C++, Perl's lexical variables don't
419necessarily get recycled just because their scope has exited.
420If something more permanent is still aware of the lexical, it will
421stick around. So long as something else references a lexical, that
422lexical won't be freed--which is as it should be. You wouldn't want
423memory being free until you were done using it, or kept around once you
424were done. Automatic garbage collection takes care of this for you.
425
426This means that you can pass back or save away references to lexical
427variables, whereas to return a pointer to a C auto is a grave error.
428It also gives us a way to simulate C's function statics. Here's a
429mechanism for giving a function private variables with both lexical
430scoping and a static lifetime. If you do want to create something like
431C's static variables, just enclose the whole function in an extra block,
432and put the static variable outside the function but in the block.
cb1a09d0 433
434 {
54310121 435 my $secret_val = 0;
cb1a09d0 436 sub gimme_another {
437 return ++$secret_val;
54310121 438 }
439 }
cb1a09d0 440 # $secret_val now becomes unreachable by the outside
441 # world, but retains its value between calls to gimme_another
442
54310121 443If this function is being sourced in from a separate file
cb1a09d0 444via C<require> or C<use>, then this is probably just fine. If it's
19799a22 445all in the main program, you'll need to arrange for the C<my>
cb1a09d0 446to be executed early, either by putting the whole block above
f86cebdf 447your main program, or more likely, placing merely a C<BEGIN>
ac90fb77 448code block around it to make sure it gets executed before your program
cb1a09d0 449starts to run:
450
ac90fb77 451 BEGIN {
54310121 452 my $secret_val = 0;
cb1a09d0 453 sub gimme_another {
454 return ++$secret_val;
54310121 455 }
456 }
cb1a09d0 457
ac90fb77 458See L<perlmod/"BEGIN, CHECK, INIT and END"> about the
459special triggered code blocks, C<BEGIN>, C<CHECK>, C<INIT> and C<END>.
cb1a09d0 460
19799a22 461If declared at the outermost scope (the file scope), then lexicals
462work somewhat like C's file statics. They are available to all
463functions in that same file declared below them, but are inaccessible
464from outside that file. This strategy is sometimes used in modules
465to create private variables that the whole module can see.
5a964f20 466
cb1a09d0 467=head2 Temporary Values via local()
468
19799a22 469B<WARNING>: In general, you should be using C<my> instead of C<local>, because
6d28dffb 470it's faster and safer. Exceptions to this include the global punctuation
325192b1 471variables, global filehandles and formats, and direct manipulation of the
472Perl symbol table itself. C<local> is mostly used when the current value
473of a variable must be visible to called subroutines.
cb1a09d0 474
475Synopsis:
476
325192b1 477 # localization of values
478
479 local $foo; # make $foo dynamically local
480 local (@wid, %get); # make list of variables local
481 local $foo = "flurp"; # make $foo dynamic, and init it
482 local @oof = @bar; # make @oof dynamic, and init it
483
484 local $hash{key} = "val"; # sets a local value for this hash entry
485 local ($cond ? $v1 : $v2); # several types of lvalues support
486 # localization
487
488 # localization of symbols
cb1a09d0 489
490 local *FH; # localize $FH, @FH, %FH, &FH ...
491 local *merlyn = *randal; # now $merlyn is really $randal, plus
492 # @merlyn is really @randal, etc
493 local *merlyn = 'randal'; # SAME THING: promote 'randal' to *randal
54310121 494 local *merlyn = \$randal; # just alias $merlyn, not @merlyn etc
cb1a09d0 495
19799a22 496A C<local> modifies its listed variables to be "local" to the
497enclosing block, C<eval>, or C<do FILE>--and to I<any subroutine
498called from within that block>. A C<local> just gives temporary
499values to global (meaning package) variables. It does I<not> create
500a local variable. This is known as dynamic scoping. Lexical scoping
501is done with C<my>, which works more like C's auto declarations.
cb1a09d0 502
325192b1 503Some types of lvalues can be localized as well : hash and array elements
504and slices, conditionals (provided that their result is always
505localizable), and symbolic references. As for simple variables, this
506creates new, dynamically scoped values.
507
508If more than one variable or expression is given to C<local>, they must be
509placed in parentheses. This operator works
cb1a09d0 510by saving the current values of those variables in its argument list on a
5f05dabc 511hidden stack and restoring them upon exiting the block, subroutine, or
cb1a09d0 512eval. This means that called subroutines can also reference the local
513variable, but not the global one. The argument list may be assigned to if
514desired, which allows you to initialize your local variables. (If no
515initializer is given for a particular variable, it is created with an
325192b1 516undefined value.)
cb1a09d0 517
19799a22 518Because C<local> is a run-time operator, it gets executed each time
325192b1 519through a loop. Consequently, it's more efficient to localize your
520variables outside the loop.
521
522=head3 Grammatical note on local()
cb1a09d0 523
f86cebdf 524A C<local> is simply a modifier on an lvalue expression. When you assign to
525a C<local>ized variable, the C<local> doesn't change whether its list is viewed
cb1a09d0 526as a scalar or an array. So
527
528 local($foo) = <STDIN>;
529 local @FOO = <STDIN>;
530
5f05dabc 531both supply a list context to the right-hand side, while
cb1a09d0 532
533 local $foo = <STDIN>;
534
535supplies a scalar context.
536
325192b1 537=head3 Localization of special variables
3e3baf6d 538
325192b1 539If you localize a special variable, you'll be giving a new value to it,
540but its magic won't go away. That means that all side-effects related
541to this magic still work with the localized value.
3e3baf6d 542
325192b1 543This feature allows code like this to work :
544
545 # Read the whole contents of FILE in $slurp
546 { local $/ = undef; $slurp = <FILE>; }
547
548Note, however, that this restricts localization of some values ; for
549example, the following statement dies, as of perl 5.9.0, with an error
550I<Modification of a read-only value attempted>, because the $1 variable is
551magical and read-only :
552
553 local $1 = 2;
554
555Similarly, but in a way more difficult to spot, the following snippet will
556die in perl 5.9.0 :
557
558 sub f { local $_ = "foo"; print }
559 for ($1) {
560 # now $_ is aliased to $1, thus is magic and readonly
561 f();
3e3baf6d 562 }
3e3baf6d 563
325192b1 564See next section for an alternative to this situation.
565
566B<WARNING>: Localization of tied arrays and hashes does not currently
567work as described.
fd5a896a 568This will be fixed in a future release of Perl; in the meantime, avoid
569code that relies on any particular behaviour of localising tied arrays
570or hashes (localising individual elements is still okay).
325192b1 571See L<perl58delta/"Localising Tied Arrays and Hashes Is Broken"> for more
fd5a896a 572details.
573
325192b1 574=head3 Localization of globs
3e3baf6d 575
325192b1 576The construct
577
578 local *name;
579
580creates a whole new symbol table entry for the glob C<name> in the
581current package. That means that all variables in its glob slot ($name,
582@name, %name, &name, and the C<name> filehandle) are dynamically reset.
583
584This implies, among other things, that any magic eventually carried by
585those variables is locally lost. In other words, saying C<local */>
586will not have any effect on the internal value of the input record
587separator.
588
589Notably, if you want to work with a brand new value of the default scalar
590$_, and avoid the potential problem listed above about $_ previously
591carrying a magic value, you should use C<local *_> instead of C<local $_>.
a4fb8298 592As of perl 5.9.1, you can also use the lexical form of C<$_> (declaring it
593with C<my $_>), which avoids completely this problem.
325192b1 594
595=head3 Localization of elements of composite types
3e3baf6d 596
6ee623d5 597It's also worth taking a moment to explain what happens when you
f86cebdf 598C<local>ize a member of a composite type (i.e. an array or hash element).
599In this case, the element is C<local>ized I<by name>. This means that
6ee623d5 600when the scope of the C<local()> ends, the saved value will be
601restored to the hash element whose key was named in the C<local()>, or
602the array element whose index was named in the C<local()>. If that
603element was deleted while the C<local()> was in effect (e.g. by a
604C<delete()> from a hash or a C<shift()> of an array), it will spring
605back into existence, possibly extending an array and filling in the
606skipped elements with C<undef>. For instance, if you say
607
608 %hash = ( 'This' => 'is', 'a' => 'test' );
609 @ary = ( 0..5 );
610 {
611 local($ary[5]) = 6;
612 local($hash{'a'}) = 'drill';
613 while (my $e = pop(@ary)) {
614 print "$e . . .\n";
615 last unless $e > 3;
616 }
617 if (@ary) {
618 $hash{'only a'} = 'test';
619 delete $hash{'a'};
620 }
621 }
622 print join(' ', map { "$_ $hash{$_}" } sort keys %hash),".\n";
623 print "The array has ",scalar(@ary)," elements: ",
624 join(', ', map { defined $_ ? $_ : 'undef' } @ary),"\n";
625
626Perl will print
627
628 6 . . .
629 4 . . .
630 3 . . .
631 This is a test only a test.
632 The array has 6 elements: 0, 1, 2, undef, undef, 5
633
19799a22 634The behavior of local() on non-existent members of composite
7185e5cc 635types is subject to change in future.
636
cd06dffe 637=head2 Lvalue subroutines
638
e6a32221 639B<WARNING>: Lvalue subroutines are still experimental and the
640implementation may change in future versions of Perl.
cd06dffe 641
642It is possible to return a modifiable value from a subroutine.
643To do this, you have to declare the subroutine to return an lvalue.
644
645 my $val;
646 sub canmod : lvalue {
e6a32221 647 # return $val; this doesn't work, don't say "return"
cd06dffe 648 $val;
649 }
650 sub nomod {
651 $val;
652 }
653
654 canmod() = 5; # assigns to $val
655 nomod() = 5; # ERROR
656
657The scalar/list context for the subroutine and for the right-hand
658side of assignment is determined as if the subroutine call is replaced
659by a scalar. For example, consider:
660
661 data(2,3) = get_data(3,4);
662
663Both subroutines here are called in a scalar context, while in:
664
665 (data(2,3)) = get_data(3,4);
666
667and in:
668
669 (data(2),data(3)) = get_data(3,4);
670
671all the subroutines are called in a list context.
672
e6a32221 673=over 4
674
675=item Lvalue subroutines are EXPERIMENTAL
676
677They appear to be convenient, but there are several reasons to be
678circumspect.
679
680You can't use the return keyword, you must pass out the value before
681falling out of subroutine scope. (see comment in example above). This
682is usually not a problem, but it disallows an explicit return out of a
683deeply nested loop, which is sometimes a nice way out.
684
685They violate encapsulation. A normal mutator can check the supplied
686argument before setting the attribute it is protecting, an lvalue
687subroutine never gets that chance. Consider;
688
689 my $some_array_ref = []; # protected by mutators ??
690
691 sub set_arr { # normal mutator
692 my $val = shift;
693 die("expected array, you supplied ", ref $val)
694 unless ref $val eq 'ARRAY';
695 $some_array_ref = $val;
696 }
697 sub set_arr_lv : lvalue { # lvalue mutator
698 $some_array_ref;
699 }
700
701 # set_arr_lv cannot stop this !
702 set_arr_lv() = { a => 1 };
818c4caa 703
e6a32221 704=back
705
cb1a09d0 706=head2 Passing Symbol Table Entries (typeglobs)
707
19799a22 708B<WARNING>: The mechanism described in this section was originally
709the only way to simulate pass-by-reference in older versions of
710Perl. While it still works fine in modern versions, the new reference
711mechanism is generally easier to work with. See below.
a0d0e21e 712
713Sometimes you don't want to pass the value of an array to a subroutine
714but rather the name of it, so that the subroutine can modify the global
715copy of it rather than working with a local copy. In perl you can
cb1a09d0 716refer to all objects of a particular name by prefixing the name
5f05dabc 717with a star: C<*foo>. This is often known as a "typeglob", because the
a0d0e21e 718star on the front can be thought of as a wildcard match for all the
719funny prefix characters on variables and subroutines and such.
720
55497cff 721When evaluated, the typeglob produces a scalar value that represents
5f05dabc 722all the objects of that name, including any filehandle, format, or
a0d0e21e 723subroutine. When assigned to, it causes the name mentioned to refer to
19799a22 724whatever C<*> value was assigned to it. Example:
a0d0e21e 725
726 sub doubleary {
727 local(*someary) = @_;
728 foreach $elem (@someary) {
729 $elem *= 2;
730 }
731 }
732 doubleary(*foo);
733 doubleary(*bar);
734
19799a22 735Scalars are already passed by reference, so you can modify
a0d0e21e 736scalar arguments without using this mechanism by referring explicitly
1fef88e7 737to C<$_[0]> etc. You can modify all the elements of an array by passing
f86cebdf 738all the elements as scalars, but you have to use the C<*> mechanism (or
739the equivalent reference mechanism) to C<push>, C<pop>, or change the size of
a0d0e21e 740an array. It will certainly be faster to pass the typeglob (or reference).
741
742Even if you don't want to modify an array, this mechanism is useful for
5f05dabc 743passing multiple arrays in a single LIST, because normally the LIST
a0d0e21e 744mechanism will merge all the array values so that you can't extract out
55497cff 745the individual arrays. For more on typeglobs, see
2ae324a7 746L<perldata/"Typeglobs and Filehandles">.
cb1a09d0 747
5a964f20 748=head2 When to Still Use local()
749
19799a22 750Despite the existence of C<my>, there are still three places where the
751C<local> operator still shines. In fact, in these three places, you
5a964f20 752I<must> use C<local> instead of C<my>.
753
13a2d996 754=over 4
5a964f20 755
551e1d92 756=item 1.
757
758You need to give a global variable a temporary value, especially $_.
5a964f20 759
f86cebdf 760The global variables, like C<@ARGV> or the punctuation variables, must be
761C<local>ized with C<local()>. This block reads in F</etc/motd>, and splits
5a964f20 762it up into chunks separated by lines of equal signs, which are placed
f86cebdf 763in C<@Fields>.
5a964f20 764
765 {
766 local @ARGV = ("/etc/motd");
767 local $/ = undef;
768 local $_ = <>;
769 @Fields = split /^\s*=+\s*$/;
770 }
771
19799a22 772It particular, it's important to C<local>ize $_ in any routine that assigns
5a964f20 773to it. Look out for implicit assignments in C<while> conditionals.
774
551e1d92 775=item 2.
776
777You need to create a local file or directory handle or a local function.
5a964f20 778
09bef843 779A function that needs a filehandle of its own must use
780C<local()> on a complete typeglob. This can be used to create new symbol
5a964f20 781table entries:
782
783 sub ioqueue {
784 local (*READER, *WRITER); # not my!
17b63f68 785 pipe (READER, WRITER) or die "pipe: $!";
5a964f20 786 return (*READER, *WRITER);
787 }
788 ($head, $tail) = ioqueue();
789
790See the Symbol module for a way to create anonymous symbol table
791entries.
792
793Because assignment of a reference to a typeglob creates an alias, this
794can be used to create what is effectively a local function, or at least,
795a local alias.
796
797 {
f86cebdf 798 local *grow = \&shrink; # only until this block exists
799 grow(); # really calls shrink()
800 move(); # if move() grow()s, it shrink()s too
5a964f20 801 }
f86cebdf 802 grow(); # get the real grow() again
5a964f20 803
804See L<perlref/"Function Templates"> for more about manipulating
805functions by name in this way.
806
551e1d92 807=item 3.
808
809You want to temporarily change just one element of an array or hash.
5a964f20 810
f86cebdf 811You can C<local>ize just one element of an aggregate. Usually this
5a964f20 812is done on dynamics:
813
814 {
815 local $SIG{INT} = 'IGNORE';
816 funct(); # uninterruptible
817 }
818 # interruptibility automatically restored here
819
820But it also works on lexically declared aggregates. Prior to 5.005,
821this operation could on occasion misbehave.
822
823=back
824
cb1a09d0 825=head2 Pass by Reference
826
55497cff 827If you want to pass more than one array or hash into a function--or
828return them from it--and have them maintain their integrity, then
829you're going to have to use an explicit pass-by-reference. Before you
830do that, you need to understand references as detailed in L<perlref>.
c07a80fd 831This section may not make much sense to you otherwise.
cb1a09d0 832
19799a22 833Here are a few simple examples. First, let's pass in several arrays
834to a function and have it C<pop> all of then, returning a new list
835of all their former last elements:
cb1a09d0 836
837 @tailings = popmany ( \@a, \@b, \@c, \@d );
838
839 sub popmany {
840 my $aref;
841 my @retlist = ();
842 foreach $aref ( @_ ) {
843 push @retlist, pop @$aref;
54310121 844 }
cb1a09d0 845 return @retlist;
54310121 846 }
cb1a09d0 847
54310121 848Here's how you might write a function that returns a
cb1a09d0 849list of keys occurring in all the hashes passed to it:
850
54310121 851 @common = inter( \%foo, \%bar, \%joe );
cb1a09d0 852 sub inter {
853 my ($k, $href, %seen); # locals
854 foreach $href (@_) {
855 while ( $k = each %$href ) {
856 $seen{$k}++;
54310121 857 }
858 }
cb1a09d0 859 return grep { $seen{$_} == @_ } keys %seen;
54310121 860 }
cb1a09d0 861
5f05dabc 862So far, we're using just the normal list return mechanism.
54310121 863What happens if you want to pass or return a hash? Well,
864if you're using only one of them, or you don't mind them
cb1a09d0 865concatenating, then the normal calling convention is ok, although
54310121 866a little expensive.
cb1a09d0 867
868Where people get into trouble is here:
869
870 (@a, @b) = func(@c, @d);
871or
872 (%a, %b) = func(%c, %d);
873
19799a22 874That syntax simply won't work. It sets just C<@a> or C<%a> and
875clears the C<@b> or C<%b>. Plus the function didn't get passed
876into two separate arrays or hashes: it got one long list in C<@_>,
877as always.
cb1a09d0 878
879If you can arrange for everyone to deal with this through references, it's
880cleaner code, although not so nice to look at. Here's a function that
881takes two array references as arguments, returning the two array elements
882in order of how many elements they have in them:
883
884 ($aref, $bref) = func(\@c, \@d);
885 print "@$aref has more than @$bref\n";
886 sub func {
887 my ($cref, $dref) = @_;
888 if (@$cref > @$dref) {
889 return ($cref, $dref);
890 } else {
c07a80fd 891 return ($dref, $cref);
54310121 892 }
893 }
cb1a09d0 894
895It turns out that you can actually do this also:
896
897 (*a, *b) = func(\@c, \@d);
898 print "@a has more than @b\n";
899 sub func {
900 local (*c, *d) = @_;
901 if (@c > @d) {
902 return (\@c, \@d);
903 } else {
904 return (\@d, \@c);
54310121 905 }
906 }
cb1a09d0 907
908Here we're using the typeglobs to do symbol table aliasing. It's
19799a22 909a tad subtle, though, and also won't work if you're using C<my>
09bef843 910variables, because only globals (even in disguise as C<local>s)
19799a22 911are in the symbol table.
5f05dabc 912
913If you're passing around filehandles, you could usually just use the bare
19799a22 914typeglob, like C<*STDOUT>, but typeglobs references work, too.
915For example:
5f05dabc 916
917 splutter(\*STDOUT);
918 sub splutter {
919 my $fh = shift;
920 print $fh "her um well a hmmm\n";
921 }
922
923 $rec = get_rec(\*STDIN);
924 sub get_rec {
925 my $fh = shift;
926 return scalar <$fh>;
927 }
928
19799a22 929If you're planning on generating new filehandles, you could do this.
930Notice to pass back just the bare *FH, not its reference.
5f05dabc 931
932 sub openit {
19799a22 933 my $path = shift;
5f05dabc 934 local *FH;
e05a3a1e 935 return open (FH, $path) ? *FH : undef;
54310121 936 }
5f05dabc 937
cb1a09d0 938=head2 Prototypes
939
19799a22 940Perl supports a very limited kind of compile-time argument checking
941using function prototyping. If you declare
cb1a09d0 942
943 sub mypush (\@@)
944
19799a22 945then C<mypush()> takes arguments exactly like C<push()> does. The
946function declaration must be visible at compile time. The prototype
947affects only interpretation of new-style calls to the function,
948where new-style is defined as not using the C<&> character. In
949other words, if you call it like a built-in function, then it behaves
950like a built-in function. If you call it like an old-fashioned
951subroutine, then it behaves like an old-fashioned subroutine. It
952naturally falls out from this rule that prototypes have no influence
953on subroutine references like C<\&foo> or on indirect subroutine
c47ff5f1 954calls like C<&{$subref}> or C<< $subref->() >>.
c07a80fd 955
956Method calls are not influenced by prototypes either, because the
19799a22 957function to be called is indeterminate at compile time, since
958the exact code called depends on inheritance.
cb1a09d0 959
19799a22 960Because the intent of this feature is primarily to let you define
961subroutines that work like built-in functions, here are prototypes
962for some other functions that parse almost exactly like the
963corresponding built-in.
cb1a09d0 964
965 Declared as Called as
966
f86cebdf 967 sub mylink ($$) mylink $old, $new
968 sub myvec ($$$) myvec $var, $offset, 1
969 sub myindex ($$;$) myindex &getstring, "substr"
970 sub mysyswrite ($$$;$) mysyswrite $buf, 0, length($buf) - $off, $off
971 sub myreverse (@) myreverse $a, $b, $c
972 sub myjoin ($@) myjoin ":", $a, $b, $c
973 sub mypop (\@) mypop @array
974 sub mysplice (\@$$@) mysplice @array, @array, 0, @pushme
975 sub mykeys (\%) mykeys %{$hashref}
976 sub myopen (*;$) myopen HANDLE, $name
977 sub mypipe (**) mypipe READHANDLE, WRITEHANDLE
978 sub mygrep (&@) mygrep { /foo/ } $a, $b, $c
979 sub myrand ($) myrand 42
980 sub mytime () mytime
cb1a09d0 981
c07a80fd 982Any backslashed prototype character represents an actual argument
6e47f808 983that absolutely must start with that character. The value passed
19799a22 984as part of C<@_> will be a reference to the actual argument given
985in the subroutine call, obtained by applying C<\> to that argument.
c07a80fd 986
5b794e05 987You can also backslash several argument types simultaneously by using
988the C<\[]> notation:
989
990 sub myref (\[$@%&*])
991
992will allow calling myref() as
993
994 myref $var
995 myref @array
996 myref %hash
997 myref &sub
998 myref *glob
999
1000and the first argument of myref() will be a reference to
1001a scalar, an array, a hash, a code, or a glob.
1002
c07a80fd 1003Unbackslashed prototype characters have special meanings. Any
19799a22 1004unbackslashed C<@> or C<%> eats all remaining arguments, and forces
f86cebdf 1005list context. An argument represented by C<$> forces scalar context. An
1006C<&> requires an anonymous subroutine, which, if passed as the first
0df79f0c 1007argument, does not require the C<sub> keyword or a subsequent comma.
1008
1009A C<*> allows the subroutine to accept a bareword, constant, scalar expression,
648ca4f7 1010typeglob, or a reference to a typeglob in that slot. The value will be
1011available to the subroutine either as a simple scalar, or (in the latter
0df79f0c 1012two cases) as a reference to the typeglob. If you wish to always convert
1013such arguments to a typeglob reference, use Symbol::qualify_to_ref() as
1014follows:
1015
1016 use Symbol 'qualify_to_ref';
1017
1018 sub foo (*) {
1019 my $fh = qualify_to_ref(shift, caller);
1020 ...
1021 }
c07a80fd 1022
1023A semicolon separates mandatory arguments from optional arguments.
19799a22 1024It is redundant before C<@> or C<%>, which gobble up everything else.
cb1a09d0 1025
19799a22 1026Note how the last three examples in the table above are treated
1027specially by the parser. C<mygrep()> is parsed as a true list
1028operator, C<myrand()> is parsed as a true unary operator with unary
1029precedence the same as C<rand()>, and C<mytime()> is truly without
1030arguments, just like C<time()>. That is, if you say
cb1a09d0 1031
1032 mytime +2;
1033
f86cebdf 1034you'll get C<mytime() + 2>, not C<mytime(2)>, which is how it would be parsed
19799a22 1035without a prototype.
cb1a09d0 1036
19799a22 1037The interesting thing about C<&> is that you can generate new syntax with it,
1038provided it's in the initial position:
cb1a09d0 1039
6d28dffb 1040 sub try (&@) {
cb1a09d0 1041 my($try,$catch) = @_;
1042 eval { &$try };
1043 if ($@) {
1044 local $_ = $@;
1045 &$catch;
1046 }
1047 }
55497cff 1048 sub catch (&) { $_[0] }
cb1a09d0 1049
1050 try {
1051 die "phooey";
1052 } catch {
1053 /phooey/ and print "unphooey\n";
1054 };
1055
f86cebdf 1056That prints C<"unphooey">. (Yes, there are still unresolved
19799a22 1057issues having to do with visibility of C<@_>. I'm ignoring that
f86cebdf 1058question for the moment. (But note that if we make C<@_> lexically
cb1a09d0 1059scoped, those anonymous subroutines can act like closures... (Gee,
5f05dabc 1060is this sounding a little Lispish? (Never mind.))))
cb1a09d0 1061
19799a22 1062And here's a reimplementation of the Perl C<grep> operator:
cb1a09d0 1063
1064 sub mygrep (&@) {
1065 my $code = shift;
1066 my @result;
1067 foreach $_ (@_) {
6e47f808 1068 push(@result, $_) if &$code;
cb1a09d0 1069 }
1070 @result;
1071 }
a0d0e21e 1072
cb1a09d0 1073Some folks would prefer full alphanumeric prototypes. Alphanumerics have
1074been intentionally left out of prototypes for the express purpose of
1075someday in the future adding named, formal parameters. The current
1076mechanism's main goal is to let module writers provide better diagnostics
1077for module users. Larry feels the notation quite understandable to Perl
1078programmers, and that it will not intrude greatly upon the meat of the
1079module, nor make it harder to read. The line noise is visually
1080encapsulated into a small pill that's easy to swallow.
1081
420cdfc1 1082If you try to use an alphanumeric sequence in a prototype you will
1083generate an optional warning - "Illegal character in prototype...".
1084Unfortunately earlier versions of Perl allowed the prototype to be
1085used as long as its prefix was a valid prototype. The warning may be
1086upgraded to a fatal error in a future version of Perl once the
1087majority of offending code is fixed.
1088
cb1a09d0 1089It's probably best to prototype new functions, not retrofit prototyping
1090into older ones. That's because you must be especially careful about
1091silent impositions of differing list versus scalar contexts. For example,
1092if you decide that a function should take just one parameter, like this:
1093
1094 sub func ($) {
1095 my $n = shift;
1096 print "you gave me $n\n";
54310121 1097 }
cb1a09d0 1098
1099and someone has been calling it with an array or expression
1100returning a list:
1101
1102 func(@foo);
1103 func( split /:/ );
1104
19799a22 1105Then you've just supplied an automatic C<scalar> in front of their
f86cebdf 1106argument, which can be more than a bit surprising. The old C<@foo>
cb1a09d0 1107which used to hold one thing doesn't get passed in. Instead,
19799a22 1108C<func()> now gets passed in a C<1>; that is, the number of elements
1109in C<@foo>. And the C<split> gets called in scalar context so it
1110starts scribbling on your C<@_> parameter list. Ouch!
cb1a09d0 1111
5f05dabc 1112This is all very powerful, of course, and should be used only in moderation
54310121 1113to make the world a better place.
44a8e56a 1114
1115=head2 Constant Functions
1116
1117Functions with a prototype of C<()> are potential candidates for
19799a22 1118inlining. If the result after optimization and constant folding
1119is either a constant or a lexically-scoped scalar which has no other
54310121 1120references, then it will be used in place of function calls made
19799a22 1121without C<&>. Calls made using C<&> are never inlined. (See
1122F<constant.pm> for an easy way to declare most constants.)
44a8e56a 1123
5a964f20 1124The following functions would all be inlined:
44a8e56a 1125
699e6cd4 1126 sub pi () { 3.14159 } # Not exact, but close.
1127 sub PI () { 4 * atan2 1, 1 } # As good as it gets,
1128 # and it's inlined, too!
44a8e56a 1129 sub ST_DEV () { 0 }
1130 sub ST_INO () { 1 }
1131
1132 sub FLAG_FOO () { 1 << 8 }
1133 sub FLAG_BAR () { 1 << 9 }
1134 sub FLAG_MASK () { FLAG_FOO | FLAG_BAR }
54310121 1135
1136 sub OPT_BAZ () { not (0x1B58 & FLAG_MASK) }
88267271 1137
1138 sub N () { int(OPT_BAZ) / 3 }
1139
1140 sub FOO_SET () { 1 if FLAG_MASK & FLAG_FOO }
1141
1142Be aware that these will not be inlined; as they contain inner scopes,
1143the constant folding doesn't reduce them to a single constant:
1144
1145 sub foo_set () { if (FLAG_MASK & FLAG_FOO) { 1 } }
1146
1147 sub baz_val () {
44a8e56a 1148 if (OPT_BAZ) {
1149 return 23;
1150 }
1151 else {
1152 return 42;
1153 }
1154 }
cb1a09d0 1155
5a964f20 1156If you redefine a subroutine that was eligible for inlining, you'll get
4cee8e80 1157a mandatory warning. (You can use this warning to tell whether or not a
1158particular subroutine is considered constant.) The warning is
1159considered severe enough not to be optional because previously compiled
1160invocations of the function will still be using the old value of the
19799a22 1161function. If you need to be able to redefine the subroutine, you need to
4cee8e80 1162ensure that it isn't inlined, either by dropping the C<()> prototype
19799a22 1163(which changes calling semantics, so beware) or by thwarting the
4cee8e80 1164inlining mechanism in some other way, such as
1165
4cee8e80 1166 sub not_inlined () {
54310121 1167 23 if $];
4cee8e80 1168 }
1169
19799a22 1170=head2 Overriding Built-in Functions
a0d0e21e 1171
19799a22 1172Many built-in functions may be overridden, though this should be tried
5f05dabc 1173only occasionally and for good reason. Typically this might be
19799a22 1174done by a package attempting to emulate missing built-in functionality
a0d0e21e 1175on a non-Unix system.
1176
163e3a99 1177Overriding may be done only by importing the name from a module at
1178compile time--ordinary predeclaration isn't good enough. However, the
19799a22 1179C<use subs> pragma lets you, in effect, predeclare subs
1180via the import syntax, and these names may then override built-in ones:
a0d0e21e 1181
1182 use subs 'chdir', 'chroot', 'chmod', 'chown';
1183 chdir $somewhere;
1184 sub chdir { ... }
1185
19799a22 1186To unambiguously refer to the built-in form, precede the
1187built-in name with the special package qualifier C<CORE::>. For example,
1188saying C<CORE::open()> always refers to the built-in C<open()>, even
fb73857a 1189if the current package has imported some other subroutine called
19799a22 1190C<&open()> from elsewhere. Even though it looks like a regular
09bef843 1191function call, it isn't: you can't take a reference to it, such as
19799a22 1192the incorrect C<\&CORE::open> might appear to produce.
fb73857a 1193
19799a22 1194Library modules should not in general export built-in names like C<open>
1195or C<chdir> as part of their default C<@EXPORT> list, because these may
a0d0e21e 1196sneak into someone else's namespace and change the semantics unexpectedly.
19799a22 1197Instead, if the module adds that name to C<@EXPORT_OK>, then it's
a0d0e21e 1198possible for a user to import the name explicitly, but not implicitly.
1199That is, they could say
1200
1201 use Module 'open';
1202
19799a22 1203and it would import the C<open> override. But if they said
a0d0e21e 1204
1205 use Module;
1206
19799a22 1207they would get the default imports without overrides.
a0d0e21e 1208
19799a22 1209The foregoing mechanism for overriding built-in is restricted, quite
95d94a4f 1210deliberately, to the package that requests the import. There is a second
19799a22 1211method that is sometimes applicable when you wish to override a built-in
95d94a4f 1212everywhere, without regard to namespace boundaries. This is achieved by
1213importing a sub into the special namespace C<CORE::GLOBAL::>. Here is an
1214example that quite brazenly replaces the C<glob> operator with something
1215that understands regular expressions.
1216
1217 package REGlob;
1218 require Exporter;
1219 @ISA = 'Exporter';
1220 @EXPORT_OK = 'glob';
1221
1222 sub import {
1223 my $pkg = shift;
1224 return unless @_;
1225 my $sym = shift;
1226 my $where = ($sym =~ s/^GLOBAL_// ? 'CORE::GLOBAL' : caller(0));
1227 $pkg->export($where, $sym, @_);
1228 }
1229
1230 sub glob {
1231 my $pat = shift;
1232 my @got;
19799a22 1233 local *D;
1234 if (opendir D, '.') {
1235 @got = grep /$pat/, readdir D;
1236 closedir D;
1237 }
1238 return @got;
95d94a4f 1239 }
1240 1;
1241
1242And here's how it could be (ab)used:
1243
1244 #use REGlob 'GLOBAL_glob'; # override glob() in ALL namespaces
1245 package Foo;
1246 use REGlob 'glob'; # override glob() in Foo:: only
1247 print for <^[a-z_]+\.pm\$>; # show all pragmatic modules
1248
19799a22 1249The initial comment shows a contrived, even dangerous example.
95d94a4f 1250By overriding C<glob> globally, you would be forcing the new (and
19799a22 1251subversive) behavior for the C<glob> operator for I<every> namespace,
95d94a4f 1252without the complete cognizance or cooperation of the modules that own
1253those namespaces. Naturally, this should be done with extreme caution--if
1254it must be done at all.
1255
1256The C<REGlob> example above does not implement all the support needed to
19799a22 1257cleanly override perl's C<glob> operator. The built-in C<glob> has
95d94a4f 1258different behaviors depending on whether it appears in a scalar or list
19799a22 1259context, but our C<REGlob> doesn't. Indeed, many perl built-in have such
95d94a4f 1260context sensitive behaviors, and these must be adequately supported by
1261a properly written override. For a fully functional example of overriding
1262C<glob>, study the implementation of C<File::DosGlob> in the standard
1263library.
1264
77bc9082 1265When you override a built-in, your replacement should be consistent (if
1266possible) with the built-in native syntax. You can achieve this by using
1267a suitable prototype. To get the prototype of an overridable built-in,
1268use the C<prototype> function with an argument of C<"CORE::builtin_name">
1269(see L<perlfunc/prototype>).
1270
1271Note however that some built-ins can't have their syntax expressed by a
1272prototype (such as C<system> or C<chomp>). If you override them you won't
1273be able to fully mimic their original syntax.
1274
fe854a6f 1275The built-ins C<do>, C<require> and C<glob> can also be overridden, but due
77bc9082 1276to special magic, their original syntax is preserved, and you don't have
1277to define a prototype for their replacements. (You can't override the
1278C<do BLOCK> syntax, though).
1279
1280C<require> has special additional dark magic: if you invoke your
1281C<require> replacement as C<require Foo::Bar>, it will actually receive
1282the argument C<"Foo/Bar.pm"> in @_. See L<perlfunc/require>.
1283
1284And, as you'll have noticed from the previous example, if you override
593b9c14 1285C<glob>, the C<< <*> >> glob operator is overridden as well.
77bc9082 1286
9b3023bc 1287In a similar fashion, overriding the C<readline> function also overrides
1288the equivalent I/O operator C<< <FILEHANDLE> >>.
1289
fe854a6f 1290Finally, some built-ins (e.g. C<exists> or C<grep>) can't be overridden.
77bc9082 1291
a0d0e21e 1292=head2 Autoloading
1293
19799a22 1294If you call a subroutine that is undefined, you would ordinarily
1295get an immediate, fatal error complaining that the subroutine doesn't
1296exist. (Likewise for subroutines being used as methods, when the
1297method doesn't exist in any base class of the class's package.)
1298However, if an C<AUTOLOAD> subroutine is defined in the package or
1299packages used to locate the original subroutine, then that
1300C<AUTOLOAD> subroutine is called with the arguments that would have
1301been passed to the original subroutine. The fully qualified name
1302of the original subroutine magically appears in the global $AUTOLOAD
1303variable of the same package as the C<AUTOLOAD> routine. The name
1304is not passed as an ordinary argument because, er, well, just
593b9c14 1305because, that's why. (As an exception, a method call to a nonexistent
1306C<import> or C<unimport> method is just skipped instead.)
19799a22 1307
1308Many C<AUTOLOAD> routines load in a definition for the requested
1309subroutine using eval(), then execute that subroutine using a special
1310form of goto() that erases the stack frame of the C<AUTOLOAD> routine
1311without a trace. (See the source to the standard module documented
1312in L<AutoLoader>, for example.) But an C<AUTOLOAD> routine can
1313also just emulate the routine and never define it. For example,
1314let's pretend that a function that wasn't defined should just invoke
1315C<system> with those arguments. All you'd do is:
cb1a09d0 1316
1317 sub AUTOLOAD {
1318 my $program = $AUTOLOAD;
1319 $program =~ s/.*:://;
1320 system($program, @_);
54310121 1321 }
cb1a09d0 1322 date();
6d28dffb 1323 who('am', 'i');
cb1a09d0 1324 ls('-l');
1325
19799a22 1326In fact, if you predeclare functions you want to call that way, you don't
1327even need parentheses:
cb1a09d0 1328
1329 use subs qw(date who ls);
1330 date;
1331 who "am", "i";
593b9c14 1332 ls '-l';
cb1a09d0 1333
1334A more complete example of this is the standard Shell module, which
19799a22 1335can treat undefined subroutine calls as calls to external programs.
a0d0e21e 1336
19799a22 1337Mechanisms are available to help modules writers split their modules
1338into autoloadable files. See the standard AutoLoader module
6d28dffb 1339described in L<AutoLoader> and in L<AutoSplit>, the standard
1340SelfLoader modules in L<SelfLoader>, and the document on adding C
19799a22 1341functions to Perl code in L<perlxs>.
cb1a09d0 1342
09bef843 1343=head2 Subroutine Attributes
1344
1345A subroutine declaration or definition may have a list of attributes
1346associated with it. If such an attribute list is present, it is
0120eecf 1347broken up at space or colon boundaries and treated as though a
09bef843 1348C<use attributes> had been seen. See L<attributes> for details
1349about what attributes are currently supported.
1350Unlike the limitation with the obsolescent C<use attrs>, the
1351C<sub : ATTRLIST> syntax works to associate the attributes with
1352a pre-declaration, and not just with a subroutine definition.
1353
1354The attributes must be valid as simple identifier names (without any
1355punctuation other than the '_' character). They may have a parameter
1356list appended, which is only checked for whether its parentheses ('(',')')
1357nest properly.
1358
1359Examples of valid syntax (even though the attributes are unknown):
1360
0120eecf 1361 sub fnord (&\%) : switch(10,foo(7,3)) : expensive ;
1362 sub plugh () : Ugly('\(") :Bad ;
09bef843 1363 sub xyzzy : _5x5 { ... }
1364
1365Examples of invalid syntax:
1366
1367 sub fnord : switch(10,foo() ; # ()-string not balanced
1368 sub snoid : Ugly('(') ; # ()-string not balanced
1369 sub xyzzy : 5x5 ; # "5x5" not a valid identifier
1370 sub plugh : Y2::north ; # "Y2::north" not a simple identifier
0120eecf 1371 sub snurt : foo + bar ; # "+" not a colon or space
09bef843 1372
1373The attribute list is passed as a list of constant strings to the code
1374which associates them with the subroutine. In particular, the second example
1375of valid syntax above currently looks like this in terms of how it's
1376parsed and invoked:
1377
1378 use attributes __PACKAGE__, \&plugh, q[Ugly('\(")], 'Bad';
1379
1380For further details on attribute lists and their manipulation,
a0ae32d3 1381see L<attributes> and L<Attribute::Handlers>.
09bef843 1382
cb1a09d0 1383=head1 SEE ALSO
a0d0e21e 1384
19799a22 1385See L<perlref/"Function Templates"> for more about references and closures.
1386See L<perlxs> if you'd like to learn about calling C subroutines from Perl.
a2293a43 1387See L<perlembed> if you'd like to learn about calling Perl subroutines from C.
19799a22 1388See L<perlmod> to learn about bundling up your functions in separate files.
1389See L<perlmodlib> to learn what library modules come standard on your system.
1390See L<perltoot> to learn how to make object method calls.