of the special variables that you have changed. This is one of the
correct ways to read the whole file at once:
- open my $fh, "foo" or die $!;
+ open my $fh, "<", "foo" or die $!;
local $/; # enable localized slurp mode
my $content = <$fh>;
close $fh;
But the following code is quite bad:
- open my $fh, "foo" or die $!;
+ open my $fh, "<", "foo" or die $!;
undef $/; # enable slurp mode
my $content = <$fh>;
close $fh;
example:
my $content = '';
- open my $fh, "foo" or die $!;
+ open my $fh, "<", "foo" or die $!;
{
local $/;
$content = <$fh>;
=item $ARG
=item $_
+X<$_> X<$ARG>
The default input and pattern-searching space. The following pairs are
equivalent:
=item *
-Various unary functions, including functions like ord() and int(), as well
-as the all file tests (C<-f>, C<-d>) except for C<-t>, which defaults to
-STDIN.
+The following functions:
+
+abs, alarm, chomp, chop, chr, chroot, cos, defined, eval, exp, glob,
+hex, int, lc, lcfirst, length, log, lstat, mkdir, oct, ord, pos, print,
+quotemeta, readlink, readpipe, ref, require, reverse (in scalar context only),
+rmdir, sin, split (on its second argument), sqrt, stat, study, uc, ucfirst,
+unlink, unpack.
=item *
-Various list functions like print() and unlink().
+All file tests (C<-f>, C<-d>) except for C<-t>, which defaults to STDIN.
+See L<perlfunc/-X>
+
=item *
-The pattern matching operations C<m//>, C<s///>, and C<tr///> when used
-without an C<=~> operator.
+The pattern matching operations C<m//>, C<s///> and C<tr///> (aka C<y///>)
+when used without an C<=~> operator.
=item *
=item *
+The implicit variable of given().
+
+=item *
+
The default place to put an input record when a C<< <FH> >>
operation's result is tested by itself as the sole criterion of a C<while>
test. Outside a C<while> test, this will not happen.
As C<$_> is a global variable, this may lead in some cases to unwanted
side-effects. As of perl 5.9.1, you can now use a lexical version of
C<$_> by declaring it in a file or in a block with C<my>. Moreover,
-declaring C<our $> restores the global C<$_> in the current scope.
+declaring C<our $_> restores the global C<$_> in the current scope.
(Mnemonic: underline is understood in certain operations.)
=item $a
=item $b
+X<$a> X<$b>
Special package variables when using sort(), see L<perlfunc/sort>.
Because of this specialness $a and $b don't need to be declared
=over 8
=item $<I<digits>>
+X<$1> X<$2> X<$3>
Contains the subpattern from the corresponding set of capturing
parentheses from the last pattern match, not counting patterns
=item $MATCH
=item $&
+X<$&> X<$MATCH>
The string matched by the last successful pattern match (not counting
any matches hidden within a BLOCK or eval() enclosed by the current
The use of this variable anywhere in a program imposes a considerable
performance penalty on all regular expression matches. See L</BUGS>.
+See L</@-> for a replacement.
+
+=item ${^MATCH}
+X<${^MATCH}>
+
+This is similar to C<$&> (C<$POSTMATCH>) except that it does not incur the
+performance penalty associated with that variable, and is only guaranteed
+to return a defined value when the pattern was compiled or executed with
+the C</p> modifier.
+
=item $PREMATCH
=item $`
+X<$`> X<$PREMATCH>
The string preceding whatever was matched by the last successful
pattern match (not counting any matches hidden within a BLOCK or eval
The use of this variable anywhere in a program imposes a considerable
performance penalty on all regular expression matches. See L</BUGS>.
+See L</@-> for a replacement.
+
+=item ${^PREMATCH}
+X<${^PREMATCH}>
+
+This is similar to C<$`> ($PREMATCH) except that it does not incur the
+performance penalty associated with that variable, and is only guaranteed
+to return a defined value when the pattern was compiled or executed with
+the C</p> modifier.
+
=item $POSTMATCH
=item $'
+X<$'> X<$POSTMATCH>
The string following whatever was matched by the last successful
pattern match (not counting any matches hidden within a BLOCK or eval()
The use of this variable anywhere in a program imposes a considerable
performance penalty on all regular expression matches. See L</BUGS>.
+See L</@-> for a replacement.
+
+=item ${^POSTMATCH}
+X<${^POSTMATCH}>
+
+This is similar to C<$'> (C<$POSTMATCH>) except that it does not incur the
+performance penalty associated with that variable, and is only guaranteed
+to return a defined value when the pattern was compiled or executed with
+the C</p> modifier.
+
=item $LAST_PAREN_MATCH
=item $+
+X<$+> X<$LAST_PAREN_MATCH>
The text matched by the last bracket of the last successful search pattern.
This is useful if you don't know which one of a set of alternative patterns
(Mnemonic: be positive and forward looking.)
This variable is read-only and dynamically scoped to the current BLOCK.
+=item $LAST_SUBMATCH_RESULT
+
=item $^N
+X<$^N>
The text matched by the used group most-recently closed (i.e. the group
with the rightmost closing parenthesis) of the last successful search
=item @LAST_MATCH_END
=item @+
+X<@+> X<@LAST_MATCH_END>
This array holds the offsets of the ends of the last successful
submatches in the currently active dynamic scope. C<$+[0]> is
how many subgroups were in the last successful match. See the
examples given for the C<@-> variable.
+=item %+
+X<%+>
+
+Similar to C<@+>, the C<%+> hash allows access to the named capture
+buffers, should they exist, in the last successful match in the
+currently active dynamic scope.
+
+For example, C<$+{foo}> is equivalent to C<$1> after the following match:
+
+ 'foo' =~ /(?<foo>foo)/;
+
+The keys of the C<%+> hash list only the names of buffers that have
+captured (and that are thus associated to defined values).
+
+The underlying behaviour of C<%+> is provided by the
+L<Tie::Hash::NamedCapture> module.
+
+B<Note:> C<%-> and C<%+> are tied views into a common internal hash
+associated with the last successful regular expression. Therefore mixing
+iterative access to them via C<each> may have unpredictable results.
+Likewise, if the last successful match changes, then the results may be
+surprising.
+
=item HANDLE->input_line_number(EXPR)
=item $INPUT_LINE_NUMBER
=item $NR
=item $.
+X<$.> X<$NR> X<$INPUT_LINE_NUMBER> X<line number>
-Current line number for the last filehandle accessed.
+Current line number for the last filehandle accessed.
Each filehandle in Perl counts the number of lines that have been read
from it. (Depending on the value of C<$/>, Perl's idea of what
=item $RS
=item $/
+X<$/> X<$RS> X<$INPUT_RECORD_SEPARATOR>
The input record separator, newline by default. This
influences Perl's idea of what a "line" is. Works like B<awk>'s RS
integer. So this:
local $/ = \32768; # or \"32768", or \$var_containing_32768
- open my $fh, $myfile or die $!;
+ open my $fh, "<", $myfile or die $!;
local $_ = <$fh>;
will read a record of no more than 32768 bytes from FILE. If you're
=item $OUTPUT_AUTOFLUSH
=item $|
+X<$|> X<autoflush> X<flush> X<$OUTPUT_AUTOFLUSH>
If set to nonzero, forces a flush right away and after every write
or print on the currently selected output channel. Default is 0
you are outputting to a pipe or socket, such as when you are running
a Perl program under B<rsh> and want to see the output as it's
happening. This has no effect on input buffering. See L<perlfunc/getc>
-for that. (Mnemonic: when you want your pipes to be piping hot.)
+for that. See L<perldoc/select> on how to select the output channel.
+See also L<IO::Handle>. (Mnemonic: when you want your pipes to be piping hot.)
=item IO::Handle->output_field_separator EXPR
=item $OFS
=item $,
+X<$,> X<$OFS> X<$OUTPUT_FIELD_SEPARATOR>
The output field separator for the print operator. If defined, this
value is printed between each of print's arguments. Default is C<undef>.
=item $ORS
=item $\
+X<$\> X<$ORS> X<$OUTPUT_RECORD_SEPARATOR>
The output record separator for the print operator. If defined, this
value is printed after the last of print's arguments. Default is C<undef>.
=item $LIST_SEPARATOR
=item $"
+X<$"> X<$LIST_SEPARATOR>
This is like C<$,> except that it applies to array and slice values
interpolated into a double-quoted string (or similar interpreted
=item $SUBSEP
=item $;
+X<$;> X<$SUBSEP> X<SUBSCRIPT_SEPARATOR>
The subscript separator for multidimensional array emulation. If you
refer to a hash element as
=item $FORMAT_PAGE_NUMBER
=item $%
+X<$%> X<$FORMAT_PAGE_NUMBER>
The current page number of the currently selected output channel.
Used with formats.
=item $FORMAT_LINES_PER_PAGE
=item $=
+X<$=> X<$FORMAT_LINES_PER_PAGE>
The current page length (printable lines) of the currently selected
output channel. Default is 60.
=item $FORMAT_LINES_LEFT
=item $-
+X<$-> X<$FORMAT_LINES_LEFT>
The number of lines left on the page of the currently selected output
channel.
=item @LAST_MATCH_START
=item @-
+X<@-> X<@LAST_MATCH_START>
$-[0] is the offset of the start of the last successful match.
C<$-[>I<n>C<]> is the offset of the start of the substring matched by
=back
+=item %-
+X<%->
+
+Similar to C<%+>, this variable allows access to the named capture buffers
+in the last successful match in the currently active dynamic scope. To
+each capture buffer name found in the regular expression, it associates a
+reference to an array containing the list of values captured by all
+buffers with that name (should there be several of them), in the order
+where they appear.
+
+Here's an example:
+
+ if ('1234' =~ /(?<A>1)(?<B>2)(?<A>3)(?<B>4)/) {
+ foreach my $bufname (sort keys %-) {
+ my $ary = $-{$bufname};
+ foreach my $idx (0..$#$ary) {
+ print "\$-{$bufname}[$idx] : ",
+ (defined($ary->[$idx]) ? "'$ary->[$idx]'" : "undef"),
+ "\n";
+ }
+ }
+ }
+
+would print out:
+
+ $-{A}[0] : '1'
+ $-{A}[1] : '3'
+ $-{B}[0] : '2'
+ $-{B}[1] : '4'
+
+The keys of the C<%-> hash correspond to all buffer names found in
+the regular expression.
+
+The behaviour of C<%-> is implemented via the
+L<Tie::Hash::NamedCapture> module.
+
+B<Note:> C<%-> and C<%+> are tied views into a common internal hash
+associated with the last successful regular expression. Therefore mixing
+iterative access to them via C<each> may have unpredictable results.
+Likewise, if the last successful match changes, then the results may be
+surprising.
+
=item HANDLE->format_name(EXPR)
=item $FORMAT_NAME
=item $~
+X<$~> X<$FORMAT_NAME>
The name of the current report format for the currently selected output
channel. Default is the name of the filehandle. (Mnemonic: brother to
=item $FORMAT_TOP_NAME
=item $^
+X<$^> X<$FORMAT_TOP_NAME>
The name of the current top-of-page format for the currently selected
output channel. Default is the name of the filehandle with _TOP
=item $FORMAT_LINE_BREAK_CHARACTERS
=item $:
+X<$:> X<FORMAT_LINE_BREAK_CHARACTERS>
The current set of characters after which a string may be broken to
fill continuation fields (starting with ^) in a format. Default is
=item $FORMAT_FORMFEED
=item $^L
+X<$^L> X<$FORMAT_FORMFEED>
What formats output as a form feed. Default is \f.
=item $ACCUMULATOR
=item $^A
+X<$^A> X<$ACCUMULATOR>
The current value of the write() accumulator for format() lines. A format
contains formline() calls that put their result into C<$^A>. After
=item $CHILD_ERROR
=item $?
+X<$?> X<$CHILD_ERROR>
The status returned by the last pipe close, backtick (C<``>) command,
successful call to wait() or waitpid(), or from the system()
Also see L<Error Indicators>.
=item ${^CHILD_ERROR_NATIVE}
+X<$^CHILD_ERROR_NATIVE>
The native status returned by the last pipe close, backtick (C<``>)
command, successful call to wait() or waitpid(), or from the system()
as $? when the pragma C<use vmsish 'status'> is in effect.
=item ${^ENCODING}
+X<$^ENCODING>
The I<object reference> to the Encode object that is used to convert
the source code to Unicode. Thanks to this variable your perl script
does not have to be written in UTF-8. Default is I<undef>. The direct
-manipulation of this variable is highly discouraged. See L<encoding>
-for more details.
+manipulation of this variable is highly discouraged.
=item $OS_ERROR
=item $ERRNO
=item $!
+X<$!> X<$ERRNO> X<$OS_ERROR>
If used numerically, yields the current value of the C C<errno>
variable, or in other words, if a system or library call fails, it
sets this variable. This means that the value of C<$!> is meaningful
only I<immediately> after a B<failure>:
- if (open(FH, $filename)) {
+ if (open my $fh, "<", $filename) {
# Here $! is meaningless.
...
} else {
Also see L<Error Indicators>.
+=item %OS_ERROR
+
+=item %ERRNO
+
=item %!
+X<%!>
Each element of C<%!> has a true value only if C<$!> is set to that
value. For example, C<$!{ENOENT}> is true if and only if the current
=item $EXTENDED_OS_ERROR
=item $^E
+X<$^E> X<$EXTENDED_OS_ERROR>
Error information specific to the current operating system. At
the moment, this differs from C<$!> under only VMS, OS/2, and Win32
=item $EVAL_ERROR
=item $@
+X<$@> X<$EVAL_ERROR>
The Perl syntax error message from the last eval() operator.
If $@ is the null string, the last eval() parsed and executed
=item $PID
=item $$
+X<$$> X<$PID> X<$PROCESS_ID>
The process number of the Perl running this script. You should
consider this variable read-only, although it will be altered
=item $UID
=item $<
+X<< $< >> X<$UID> X<$REAL_USER_ID>
The real uid of this process. (Mnemonic: it's the uid you came I<from>,
if you're running setuid.) You can change both the real uid and
=item $EUID
=item $>
+X<< $> >> X<$EUID> X<$EFFECTIVE_USER_ID>
The effective uid of this process. Example:
=item $GID
=item $(
+X<$(> X<$GID> X<$REAL_GROUP_ID>
The real gid of this process. If you are on a machine that supports
membership in multiple groups simultaneously, gives a space separated
However, a value assigned to C<$(> must be a single number used to
set the real gid. So the value given by C<$(> should I<not> be assigned
-back to C<$(> without being forced numeric, such as by adding zero.
+back to C<$(> without being forced numeric, such as by adding zero. Note
+that this is different to the effective gid (C<$)>) which does take a
+list.
You can change both the real gid and the effective gid at the same
time by using POSIX::setgid(). Changes to $( require a check to $!
=item $EGID
=item $)
+X<$)> X<$EGID> X<$EFFECTIVE_GROUP_ID>
The effective gid of this process. If you are on a machine that
supports membership in multiple groups simultaneously, gives a space
=item $PROGRAM_NAME
=item $0
+X<$0> X<$PROGRAM_NAME>
Contains the name of the program being executed.
have their own copies of it.
=item $[
+X<$[>
The index of the first element in an array, and of the first character
in a substring. Default is 0, but you could theoretically set it
lexical block.
=item $]
+X<$]>
The version + patchlevel / 1000 of the Perl interpreter. This variable
can be used to determine whether the Perl interpreter executing a
=item $COMPILING
=item $^C
+X<$^C> X<$COMPILING>
The current value of the flag associated with the B<-c> switch.
Mainly of use with B<-MO=...> to allow code to alter its behavior
when being compiled, such as for example to AUTOLOAD at compile
-time rather than normal, deferred loading. See L<perlcc>. Setting
+time rather than normal, deferred loading. Setting
C<$^C = 1> is similar to calling C<B::minus_c>.
=item $DEBUGGING
=item $^D
+X<$^D> X<$DEBUGGING>
The current value of the debugging flags. (Mnemonic: value of B<-D>
switch.) May be read or set. Like its command-line equivalent, you can use
=item $SYSTEM_FD_MAX
=item $^F
+X<$^F> X<$SYSTEM_FD_MAX>
The maximum system file descriptor, ordinarily 2. System file
descriptors are passed to exec()ed processes, while higher file
=item $INPLACE_EDIT
=item $^I
+X<$^I> X<$INPLACE_EDIT>
The current value of the inplace-edit extension. Use C<undef> to disable
inplace editing. (Mnemonic: value of B<-i> switch.)
=item $^M
+X<$^M>
By default, running out of memory is an untrappable, fatal error.
However, if suitably built, Perl can use the contents of C<$^M>
=item $OSNAME
=item $^O
+X<$^O> X<$OSNAME>
The name of the operating system under which this copy of Perl was
built, as determined during the configuration process. The value
=item $PERLDB
=item $^P
+X<$^P> X<$PERLDB>
The internal variable for debugging support. The meanings of the
various bits are subject to change, but currently indicate:
=item $LAST_REGEXP_CODE_RESULT
=item $^R
+X<$^R> X<$LAST_REGEXP_CODE_RESULT>
The result of evaluation of the last successful C<(?{ code })>
regular expression assertion (see L<perlre>). May be written to.
=item $EXCEPTIONS_BEING_CAUGHT
=item $^S
+X<$^S> X<$EXCEPTIONS_BEING_CAUGHT>
Current state of the interpreter.
=item $BASETIME
=item $^T
+X<$^T> X<$BASETIME>
The time at which the program began running, in seconds since the
epoch (beginning of 1970). The values returned by the B<-M>, B<-A>,
=item $PERL_VERSION
=item $^V
+X<$^V> X<$PERL_VERSION>
The revision, version, and subversion of the Perl interpreter, represented
-as a string composed of characters with those ordinals. Thus in Perl v5.6.0
-it equals C<chr(5) . chr(6) . chr(0)> and will return true for
-C<$^V eq v5.6.0>. Note that the characters in this string value can
-potentially be in Unicode range.
+as a C<version> object.
This variable first appeared in perl 5.6.0; earlier versions of perl will
-see an undefined value.
+see an undefined value. Before perl 5.10.0 $^V was represented as a v-string.
-This can be used to determine whether the Perl interpreter executing a
+$^V can be used to determine whether the Perl interpreter executing a
script is in the right range of versions. (Mnemonic: use ^V for Version
Control.) Example:
=item $WARNING
=item $^W
+X<$^W> X<$WARNING>
The current value of the warning switch, initially true if B<-w>
was used, false otherwise, but directly modifiable. (Mnemonic:
=item $EXECUTABLE_NAME
=item $^X
+X<$^X> X<$EXECUTABLE_NAME>
The name used to execute the current copy of Perl, from C's
C<argv[0]> or (where supported) F</proc/self/exe>.
unless $secure_perl_path =~ m/$Config{_exe}$/i;}
=item ARGV
+X<ARGV>
The special filehandle that iterates over command-line filenames in
C<@ARGV>. Usually written as the null filehandle in the angle operator
files in C<@ARGV>.
=item $ARGV
+X<$ARGV>
contains the name of the current file when reading from <>.
=item @ARGV
+X<@ARGV>
The array @ARGV contains the command-line arguments intended for
the script. C<$#ARGV> is generally the number of arguments minus
command name itself. See C<$0> for the command name.
=item ARGVOUT
+X<ARGVOUT>
The special filehandle that points to the currently open output file
when doing edit-in-place processing with B<-i>. Useful when you have
L<perlrun> for the B<-i> switch.
=item @F
+X<@F>
The array @F contains the fields of each line read in when autosplit
mode is turned on. See L<perlrun> for the B<-a> switch. This array
if not in package main when running under C<strict 'vars'>.
=item @INC
+X<@INC>
The array @INC contains the list of places that the C<do EXPR>,
C<require>, or C<use> constructs look for their library files. It
=item @ARG
=item @_
+X<@_> X<@ARG>
Within a subroutine the array @_ contains the parameters passed to that
subroutine. See L<perlsub>.
=item %INC
+X<%INC>
The hash %INC contains entries for each filename included via the
C<do>, C<require>, or C<use> operators. The key is the filename
=item %ENV
=item $ENV{expr}
+X<%ENV>
The hash %ENV contains your current environment. Setting a
value in C<ENV> changes the environment for any child processes
=item %SIG
=item $SIG{expr}
+X<%SIG>
-The hash %SIG contains signal handlers for signals. For example:
+The hash C<%SIG> contains signal handlers for signals. For example:
sub handler { # 1st argument is signal name
my($sig) = @_;
Certain internal hooks can be also set using the %SIG hash. The
routine indicated by C<$SIG{__WARN__}> is called when a warning message is
about to be printed. The warning message is passed as the first
-argument. The presence of a __WARN__ hook causes the ordinary printing
-of warnings to STDERR to be suppressed. You can use this to save warnings
+argument. The presence of a C<__WARN__> hook causes the ordinary printing
+of warnings to C<STDERR> to be suppressed. You can use this to save warnings
in a variable, or turn warnings into fatal errors, like this:
local $SIG{__WARN__} = sub { die $_[0] };
eval $proggie;
+As the C<'IGNORE'> hook is not supported by C<__WARN__>, you can
+disable warnings using the empty subroutine:
+
+ local $SIG{__WARN__} = sub {};
+
The routine indicated by C<$SIG{__DIE__}> is called when a fatal exception
is about to be thrown. The error message is passed as the first
-argument. When a __DIE__ hook routine returns, the exception
+argument. When a C<__DIE__> hook routine returns, the exception
processing continues as it would have in the absence of the hook,
-unless the hook routine itself exits via a C<goto>, a loop exit, or a die().
+unless the hook routine itself exits via a C<goto>, a loop exit, or a C<die()>.
The C<__DIE__> handler is explicitly disabled during the call, so that you
can die from a C<__DIE__> handler. Similarly for C<__WARN__>.
Due to an implementation glitch, the C<$SIG{__DIE__}> hook is called
even inside an eval(). Do not use this to rewrite a pending exception
-in C<$@>, or as a bizarre substitute for overriding CORE::GLOBAL::die().
+in C<$@>, or as a bizarre substitute for overriding C<CORE::GLOBAL::die()>.
This strange action at a distance may be fixed in a future release
so that C<$SIG{__DIE__}> is only called if your program is about
to exit, as was the original intent. Any other use is deprecated.
=back
=head2 Error Indicators
+X<error> X<exception>
The variables C<$@>, C<$!>, C<$^E>, and C<$?> contain information
about different types of error conditions that may appear during
English> in libraries is strongly discouraged. See the
Devel::SawAmpersand module documentation from CPAN
( http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/Devel/ )
-for more information.
+for more information. Writing C<use English '-no_match_vars';>
+avoids the performance penalty.
Having to even think about the C<$^S> variable in your exception
handlers is simply wrong. C<$SIG{__DIE__}> as currently implemented