=head1 NAME
-CORE - Virtual namespace for Perl's core routines
+CORE - Pseudo-namespace for Perl's core routines
=head1 SYNOPSIS
- BEGIN
- {
- *CORE::GLOBAL::hex = sub { 1; };
- }
+ BEGIN {
+ *CORE::GLOBAL::hex = sub { 1; };
+ }
- print hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 1
- print CORE::hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 80
+ print hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 1
+ print CORE::hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 80
=head1 DESCRIPTION
-The C<CORE> namespace gives access to the original build-in functions from
-Perl. There is no C<CORE>-package, and therefore you do not need to use or
-require the CORE-module prior to accessing routines in this namespace.
+The C<CORE> namespace gives access to the original built-in functions of
+Perl. There is no C<CORE> package, and therefore you do not need to use or
+require an hypothetical "CORE" module prior to accessing routines in this
+namespace.
-A list of the build-in functions in Perl can be found in L<perlfunc>.
+A list of the built-in functions in Perl can be found in L<perlfunc>.
=head1 OVERRIDING CORE FUNCTIONS
-The C<CORE::GLOBAL> namespace allows you to override the Perl build-in
-routines with your own version:
+To override a Perl built-in routine with your own version, you need to
+import it at compile-time. This can be conveniently achieved with the
+C<subs> pragma. This will affect only the package in which you've imported
+the said subroutine:
- *CORE::GLOBAL::hex = sub
- {
- # ... your code here
- };
+ use subs 'chdir';
+ sub chdir { ... }
+ chdir $somewhere;
-The new routine will be called whenever a build-in function is called
+To override a built-in globally (that is, in all namespaces), you need to
+import your function into the C<CORE::GLOBAL> pseudo-namespace at compile
+time:
+
+ BEGIN {
+ *CORE::GLOBAL::hex = sub {
+ # ... your code here
+ };
+ }
+
+The new routine will be called whenever a built-in function is called
without a qualifying package:
- print hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 1
+ print hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 1
-If you want access to the original, unaltered routine, use the C<CORE::>
-prefix:
+In both cases, if you want access to the original, unaltered routine, use
+the C<CORE::> prefix:
- print CORE::hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 80
+ print CORE::hex("0x50"),"\n"; # prints 80
=head1 AUTHOR
-Tels <nospam-abuse@bloodgate.com> 2007.
+This documentation provided by Tels <nospam-abuse@bloodgate.com> 2007.
=head1 SEE ALSO
-L<perl>, L<perlfunc>.
+L<perlsub>, L<perlfunc>.
=cut