builtin(3pm) Perl Programmers Reference Guide builtin(3pm)
NAME
builtin - Perl pragma to import built-in utility functions
SYNOPSIS
use builtin qw(
true false is_bool
weaken unweaken is_weak
blessed refaddr reftype
created_as_string created_as_number
ceil floor
indexed
trim
is_tainted
export_lexically
);
DESCRIPTION
Perl provides several utility functions in the "builtin" package. These
are plain functions, and look and behave just like regular user-defined
functions do. They do not provide new syntax or require special
parsing. These functions are always present in the interpreter and can
be called at any time by their fully-qualified names. By default they
are not available as short names, but can be requested for convenience.
Individual named functions can be imported by listing them as import
parameters on the "use" statement for this pragma.
The overall "builtin" mechanism, as well as every individual function
it provides, are currently experimental.
Warning: At present, the entire "builtin" namespace is experimental.
Calling functions in it will trigger warnings of the
"experimental::builtin" category.
Lexical Import
This pragma module creates lexical aliases in the currently-compiling
scope to these builtin functions. This is similar to the lexical effect
of other pragmas such as strict and feature.
sub classify
{
my $val = shift;
use builtin 'is_bool';
return is_bool($val) ? "boolean" : "not a boolean";
}
# the is_bool() function is no longer visible here
# but may still be called by builtin::is_bool()
Because these functions are imported lexically, rather than by package
symbols, the user does not need to take any special measures to ensure
they don't accidentally appear as object methods from a class.
package An::Object::Class {
use builtin 'true', 'false';
...
}
# does not appear as a method
An::Object::Class->true;
# Can't locate object method "true" via package "An::Object::Class"
# at ...
FUNCTIONS
true
$val = true;
Returns the boolean truth value. While any scalar value can be tested
for truth and most defined, non-empty and non-zero values are
considered "true" by perl, this one is special in that "is_bool"
considers it to be a distinguished boolean value.
This gives an equivalent value to expressions like "!!1" or "!0".
false
$val = false;
Returns the boolean fiction value. While any non-true scalar value is
considered "false" by perl, this one is special in that "is_bool"
considers it to be a distinguished boolean value.
This gives an equivalent value to expressions like "!!0" or "!1".
is_bool
$bool = is_bool($val);
Returns true when given a distinguished boolean value, or false if not.
A distinguished boolean value is the result of any boolean-returning
builtin function (such as "true" or "is_bool" itself), boolean-
returning operator (such as the "eq" or "==" comparison tests or the
"!" negation operator), or any variable containing one of these
results.
This function used to be named "isbool". A compatibility alias is
provided currently but will be removed in a later version.
weaken
weaken($ref);
Weakens a reference. A weakened reference does not contribute to the
reference count of its referent. If only weakened references to a
referent remain, it will be disposed of, and all remaining weak
references to it will have their value set to "undef".
unweaken
unweaken($ref);
Strengthens a reference, undoing the effects of a previous call to
"weaken".
is_weak
$bool = is_weak($ref);
Returns true when given a weakened reference, or false if not a
reference or not weak.
This function used to be named "isweak". A compatibility alias is
provided currently but will be removed in a later version.
blessed
$str = blessed($ref);
Returns the package name for an object reference, or "undef" for a non-
reference or reference that is not an object.
refaddr
$num = refaddr($ref);
Returns the memory address for a reference, or "undef" for a non-
reference. This value is not likely to be very useful for pure Perl
code, but is handy as a means to test for referential identity or
uniqueness.
reftype
$str = reftype($ref);
Returns the basic container type of the referent of a reference, or
"undef" for a non-reference. This is returned as a string in all-
capitals, such as "ARRAY" for array references, or "HASH" for hash
references.
created_as_string
$bool = created_as_string($val);
Returns a boolean representing if the argument value was originally
created as a string. It will return true for any scalar expression
whose most recent assignment or modification was of a string-like
nature - such as assignment from a string literal, or the result of a
string operation such as concatenation or regexp. It will return false
for references (including any object), numbers, booleans and undef.
It is unlikely that you will want to use this for regular data
validation within Perl, as it will not return true for regular numbers
that are still perfectly usable as strings, nor for any object
reference - especially objects that overload the stringification
operator in an attempt to behave more like strings. For example
my $val = URI->new( "https://metacpan.org/" );
if( created_as_string $val ) { ... } # this will not execute
created_as_number
$bool = created_as_number($val);
Returns a boolean representing if the argument value was originally
created as a number. It will return true for any scalar expression
whose most recent assignment or modification was of a numerical nature
- such as assignment from a number literal, or the result of a
numerical operation such as addition. It will return false for
references (including any object), strings, booleans and undef.
It is unlikely that you will want to use this for regular data
validation within Perl, as it will not return true for regular strings
of decimal digits that are still perfectly usable as numbers, nor for
any object reference - especially objects that overload the
numification operator in an attempt to behave more like numbers. For
example
my $val = Math::BigInt->new( 123 );
if( created_as_number $val ) { ... } # this will not execute
While most Perl code should operate on scalar values without needing to
know their creation history, these two functions are intended to be
used by data serialisation modules such as JSON encoders or similar
situations, where language interoperability concerns require making a
distinction between values that are fundamentally stringlike versus
numberlike in nature.
ceil
$num = ceil($num);
Returns the smallest integer value greater than or equal to the given
numerical argument.
floor
$num = floor($num);
Returns the largest integer value less than or equal to the given
numerical argument.
indexed
@ivpairs = indexed(@items)
Returns an even-sized list of number/value pairs, where each pair is
formed of a number giving an index in the original list followed by the
value at that position in it. I.e. returns a list twice the size of
the original, being equal to
(0, $items[0], 1, $items[1], 2, $items[2], ...)
Note that unlike the core "values" function, this function returns
copies of its original arguments, not aliases to them. Any
modifications of these copies are not reflected in modifications to the
original.
my @x = ...;
$_++ for indexed @x; # The @x array remains unaffected
This function is primarily intended to be useful combined with multi-
variable "foreach" loop syntax; as
foreach my ($index, $value) (indexed LIST) {
...
}
In scalar context this function returns the size of the list that it
would otherwise have returned, and provokes a warning in the "scalar"
category.
trim
$stripped = trim($string);
Returns the input string with whitespace stripped from the beginning
and end. trim() will remove these characters:
" ", an ordinary space.
"\t", a tab.
"\n", a new line (line feed).
"\r", a carriage return.
and all other Unicode characters that are flagged as whitespace. A
complete list is in "Whitespace" in perlrecharclass.
$var = " Hello world "; # "Hello world"
$var = "\t\t\tHello world"; # "Hello world"
$var = "Hello world\n"; # "Hello world"
$var = "\x{2028}Hello world\x{3000}"; # "Hello world"
"trim" is equivalent to:
$str =~ s/\A\s+|\s+\z//urg;
For Perl versions where this feature is not available look at the
String::Util module for a comparable implementation.
is_tainted
$bool = is_tainted($var);
Returns true when given a tainted variable.
export_lexically
export_lexically($name1, $ref1, $name2, $ref2, ...)
Exports new lexical names into the scope currently being compiled.
Names given by the first of each pair of values will refer to the
corresponding item whose reference is given by the second. Types of
item that are permitted are subroutines, and scalar, array, and hash
variables. If the item is a subroutine, the name may optionally be
prefixed with the "&" sigil, but for convenience it doesn't have to.
For items that are variables the sigil is required, and must match the
type of the variable.
export_lexically func => \&func,
'&func' => \&func; # same as above
export_lexically '$scalar' => \my $var;
# The following are not permitted
export_lexically '$var' => \@arr; # sigil does not match
export_lexically name => \$scalar; # implied '&' sigil does not match
export_lexically '*name' => \*globref; # globrefs are not supported
This must be called at compile time; which typically means during a
"BEGIN" block. Usually this would be used as part of an "import" method
of a module, when invoked as part of a "use ..." statement.
SEE ALSO
perlop(1), perlfunc(1), Scalar::Util(3)
perl v5.38.2 2023-11-28 builtin(3pm)
perl 5.38.2 - Generated Sun Dec 15 13:50:08 CST 2024