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---
category: language
language: perl6
filename: learnperl6.p6
contributors:
- ["vendethiel", "http://github.com/vendethiel"]
- ["Samantha McVey", "https://cry.nu"]
---
Perl 6 is a highly capable, feature-rich programming language made for at
least the next hundred years.
The primary Perl 6 compiler is called [Rakudo](http://rakudo.org), which runs on
the JVM and [the MoarVM](http://moarvm.com).
Meta-note: double pound signs (`##`) are used to indicate paragraphs,
while single pound signs (`#`) indicate notes.
`#=>` represents the output of a command.
```perl6
# Single line comments start with a pound sign.
#`( Multiline comments use #` and a quoting construct.
(), [], {}, 「」, etc, will work.
)
# Use the same syntax for multiline comments to embed comments.
for #`(each element in) @array {
put #`(or print element) $_ #`(with newline);
}
```
## Variables
```perl6
## In Perl 6, you declare a lexical variable using the `my` keyword:
my $variable;
## Perl 6 has 3 basic types of variables: scalars, arrays, and hashes.
```
### Scalars
```perl6
# Scalars represent a single value. They start with the `$` sigil:
my $str = 'String';
# Double quotes allow for interpolation (which we'll see later):
my $str2 = "String";
## Variable names can contain but not end with simple quotes and dashes,
## and can contain (and end with) underscores:
my $person's-belongings = 'towel'; # this works!
my $bool = True; # `True` and `False` are Perl 6's boolean values.
my $inverse = !$bool; # Invert a bool with the prefix `!` operator.
my $forced-bool = so $str; # And you can use the prefix `so` operator
$forced-bool = ?$str; # to turn its operand into a Bool. Or use `?`.
```
### Arrays and Lists
```perl6
## Arrays represent multiple values. An array variable starts with the `@`
## sigil. Unlike lists, from which arrays inherit, arrays are mutable.
my @array = 'a', 'b', 'c';
# equivalent to:
my @letters = <a b c>; # array of words, delimited by space.
# Similar to perl5's qw, or Ruby's %w.
@array = 1, 2, 3;
say @array[2]; # Array indices start at 0. Here the third element
# is being accessed.
say "Interpolate an array using []: @array[]";
#=> Interpolate an array using []: 1 2 3
@array[0] = -1; # Assigning a new value to an array index
@array[0, 1] = 5, 6; # Assigning multiple values
my @keys = 0, 2;
@array[@keys] = @letters; # Assignment using an array containing index values
say @array; #=> a 6 b
```
### Hashes, or key-value Pairs.
```perl6
## Hashes are pairs of keys and values. You can construct a `Pair` object
## using the syntax `Key => Value`. Hash tables are very fast for lookup,
## and are stored unordered. Keep in mind that keys get "flattened" in hash
## context, and any duplicated keys are deduplicated.
my %hash = 'a' => 1, 'b' => 2;
%hash = a => 1, # keys get auto-quoted when => (fat comma) is used.
b => 2, # Trailing commas are okay.
;
## Even though hashes are internally stored differently than arrays,
## Perl 6 allows you to easily create a hash from an even numbered array:
%hash = <key1 value1 key2 value2>; # Or:
%hash = "key1", "value1", "key2", "value2";
%hash = key1 => 'value1', key2 => 'value2'; # same result as above
## You can also use the "colon pair" syntax. This syntax is especially
## handy for named parameters that you'll see later.
%hash = :w(1), # equivalent to `w => 1`
:truey, # equivalent to `:truey(True)` or `truey => True`
:!falsey, # equivalent to `:falsey(False)` or `falsey => False`
;
## The :truey and :!falsey constructs are known as the
## `True` and `False` shortcuts respectively.
say %hash{'key1'}; # You can use {} to get the value from a key.
say %hash<key2>; # If it's a string without spaces, you can actually use
# <> (quote-words operator). `{key1}` doesn't work,
# as Perl6 doesn't have barewords.
```
## Subs
```perl6
## Subroutines, or functions as most other languages call them, are
## created with the `sub` keyword.
sub say-hello { say "Hello, world" }
## You can provide (typed) arguments. If specified, the type will be checked
## at compile-time if possible, otherwise at runtime.
sub say-hello-to( Str $name ) {
say "Hello, $name !";
}
## A sub returns the last value of the block. Similarly, the semicolon in
## the last can be omitted.
sub return-value { 5 }
say return-value; # prints 5
sub return-empty { }
say return-empty; # prints Nil
## Some control flow structures produce a value, like `if`:
sub return-if {
if True { "Truthy" }
}
say return-if; # prints Truthy
## Some don't, like `for`:
sub return-for {
for 1, 2, 3 { 'Hi' }
}
say return-for; # prints Nil
## Positional arguments are required by default. To make them optional, use
## the `?` after the parameters' names.
sub with-optional( $arg? ) {
# This sub returns `(Any)` (Perl's null-like value) if
# no argument is passed. Otherwise, it returns its argument.
$arg;
}
with-optional; # returns Any
with-optional(); # returns Any
with-optional(1); # returns 1
## You can also give them a default value when they're not passed.
## Required parameters must come before optional ones.
sub greeting( $name, $type = "Hello" ) {
say "$type, $name!";
}
greeting("Althea"); #=> Hello, Althea!
greeting("Arthur", "Good morning"); #=> Good morning, Arthur!
## You can also, by using a syntax akin to the one of hashes
## (yay unified syntax !), pass *named* arguments to a `sub`. They're
## optional, and will default to "Any".
sub with-named( $normal-arg, :$named ) {
say $normal-arg + $named;
}
with-named(1, named => 6); #=> 7
## There's one gotcha to be aware of, here: If you quote your key, Perl 6
## won't be able to see it at compile time, and you'll have a single `Pair`
## object as a positional parameter, which means
## `with-named(1, 'named' => 6);` fails.
with-named(2, :named(5)); #=> 7
## To make a named argument mandatory, you can append `!` to the parameter,
## which is the inverse of `?`:
sub with-mandatory-named( :$str! ) {
say "$str!";
}
with-mandatory-named(str => "My String"); #=> My String!
with-mandatory-named; # runtime error:"Required named parameter not passed"
with-mandatory-named(3);# runtime error:"Too many positional parameters passed"
## If a sub takes a named boolean argument...
sub takes-a-bool( $name, :$bool ) {
say "$name takes $bool";
}
## ... you can use the same "short boolean" hash syntax:
takes-a-bool('config', :bool); #=> config takes True
takes-a-bool('config', :!bool); #=> config takes False
## You can also provide your named arguments with default values:
sub named-def( :$def = 5 ) {
say $def;
}
named-def; #=> 5
named-def(def => 15); #=> 15
## Since you can omit parenthesis to call a function with no arguments,
## you need `&` in the name to store `say-hello` in a variable. This means
## `&say-hello` is a code object and not a subroutine call.
my &s = &say-hello;
my &other-s = sub { say "Anonymous function!" }
## A sub can have a "slurpy" parameter, or "doesn't-matter-how-many". For
## this, you must use `*@` (slurpy) which will "take everything else". You can
## have as many parameters *before* a slurpy one, but not *after*.
sub as-many($head, *@rest) {
say @rest.join(' / ') ~ " !";
}
say as-many('Happy', 'Happy', 'Birthday');#=> Happy / Birthday !
# Note that the splat (the *) did not
# consume the parameter before it.
## You can call a function with an array using the "argument list flattening"
## operator `|` (it's not actually the only role of this operator,
## but it's one of them).
sub concat3($a, $b, $c) {
say "$a, $b, $c";
}
concat3(|@array); #=> a, b, c
# `@array` got "flattened" as a part of the argument list
```
## Containers
```perl6
## In Perl 6, values are actually stored in "containers". The assignment
## operator asks the container on the left to store the value on its right.
## When passed around, containers are marked as immutable which means that,
## in a function, you'll get an error if you try to mutate one of your
## arguments. If you really need to, you can ask for a mutable container by
## using the `is rw` trait:
sub mutate( $n is rw ) {
$n++;
}
my $m = 42;
mutate $m; #=> 43
say $m; #=> 43
## This works because we are passing the container $m to the `mutate` sub.
## If we try to just pass a number instead of passing a variable it won't work
## because there is no container being passed and integers are immutable by
## themselves:
mutate 42; # Parameter '$n' expected a writable container, but got Int value
## Similar error would be obtained, if a bound variable is passed to
## to the subroutine:
my $v := 50; # binding 50 to the variable $v
mutate $v; # Parameter '$n' expected a writable container, but got Int value
## If what you want is a copy instead, use the `is copy` trait which will
## cause the argument to be copied and allow you to modify the argument
## inside the routine.
## A sub itself returns a container, which means it can be marked as rw:
my $x = 42;
sub x-store() is rw { $x }
x-store() = 52; # in this case, the parentheses are mandatory
# (else Perl 6 thinks `x-store` is an identifier)
say $x; #=> 52
```
## Control Flow Structures
### Conditionals
```perl6
## - `if`
## Before talking about `if`, we need to know which values are "Truthy"
## (represent True), and which are "Falsey" (represent False). Only these
## values are Falsey: 0, (), {}, "", Nil, A type (like `Str` or `Int`) and
## of course False itself. Any other value is Truthy.
if True {
say "It's true!";
}
unless False {
say "It's not false!";
}
## As you can see, you don't need parentheses around conditions. However, you
## do need the curly braces around the "body" block. For example,
## `if (true) say;` doesn't work.
## You can also use their statement modifier (postfix) versions:
say "Quite truthy" if True; #=> Quite truthy
say "Quite falsey" unless False; #=> Quite falsey
## - Ternary operator, "x ?? y !! z"
## This returns $value-if-true if the condition is true and $value-if-false
## if it is false.
## my $result = condition ?? $value-if-true !! $value-if-false;
my $age = 30;
say $age > 18 ?? "You are an adult" !! "You are under 18";
#=> You are an adult
```
### given/when, or Perl 6's switch construct
```perl6
## `given...when` looks like other languages' `switch`, but is much more
## powerful thanks to smart matching and Perl 6's "topic variable", $_.
##
## The topic variable $_ contains the default argument of a block, a loop's
## current iteration (unless explicitly named), etc.
##
## `given` simply puts its argument into `$_` (like a block would do),
## and `when` compares it using the "smart matching" (`~~`) operator.
##
## Since other Perl 6 constructs use this variable (as said before, like `for`,
## blocks, etc), this means the powerful `when` is not only applicable along
## with a `given`, but instead anywhere a `$_` exists.
given "foo bar" {
say $_; #=> foo bar
when /foo/ { # Don't worry about smart matching yet. Just know
say "Yay !"; # `when` uses it. This is equivalent to `if $_ ~~ /foo/`.
}
when $_.chars > 50 { # smart matching anything with True is True,
# i.e. (`$a ~~ True`)
# so you can also put "normal" conditionals.
# This `when` is equivalent to this `if`:
# `if $_ ~~ ($_.chars > 50) {...}`
# which means: `if $_.chars > 50 {...}`
say "Quite a long string !";
}
default { # same as `when *` (using the Whatever Star)
say "Something else"
}
}
```
### Looping constructs
```perl6
## - `loop` is an infinite loop if you don't pass it arguments, but can also
## be a C-style `for` loop:
loop {
say "This is an infinite loop !";
last; # last breaks out of the loop, like
# the `break` keyword in other languages
}
loop (my $i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
next if $i == 3; # `next` skips to the next iteration, like `continue`
# in other languages. Note that you can also use postfix
# conditionals, loops, etc.
say "This is a C-style for loop!";
}
## - `for` - Iterating through an array
my @array = 1, 2, 6, 7, 3;
## Accessing the array's elements with the topic variable $_.
for @array {
say "I've got $_ !";
}
## Accessing the array's elements with a "pointy block", `->`.
## Here each element is read-only.
for @array -> $variable {
say "I've got $variable !";
}
## Accessing the array's elements with a "doubly pointy block", `<->`.
## Here each element is read-write so mutating `$variable` mutates
## that element in the array.
for @array <-> $variable {
say "I've got $variable !";
}
## As we saw with given, a for loop's default "current iteration" variable
## is `$_`. That means you can use `when` in a `for`loop just like you were
## able to in a `given`.
for @array {
say "I've got $_";
.say; # This is also allowed. A dot call with no "topic" (receiver)
# is sent to `$_` by default
$_.say; # This is equivalent to the above statement.
}
for @array {
# You can...
next if $_ == 3; # Skip to the next iteration (`continue` in C-like lang.)
redo if $_ == 4; # Re-do iteration, keeping the same topic variable (`$_`)
last if $_ == 5; # Or break out of loop (like `break` in C-like lang.)
}
## The "pointy block" syntax isn't specific to the `for` loop. It's just a way
## to express a block in Perl 6.
sub long-computation { "Finding factors of large primes" }
if long-computation() -> $result {
say "The result is $result.";
}
```
## Operators
```perl6
## Since Perl languages are very much operator-based languages, Perl 6
## operators are actually just funny-looking subroutines, in syntactic
## categories, like infix:<+> (addition) or prefix:<!> (bool not).
## The categories are:
## - "prefix": before (like `!` in `!True`).
## - "postfix": after (like `++` in `$a++`).
## - "infix": in between (like `*` in `4 * 3`).
## - "circumfix": around (like `[`-`]` in `[1, 2]`).
## - "post-circumfix": around, after another term (like `{`-`}` in
## `%hash{'key'}`)
## The associativity and precedence list are explained below.
## Alright, you're set to go!
## Equality Checking
##------------------
## - `==` is numeric comparison
3 == 4; #=> False
3 != 4; #=> True
## - `eq` is string comparison
'a' eq 'b'; #=> False
'a' ne 'b'; #=> True, not equal
'a' !eq 'b'; #=> True, same as above
## - `eqv` is canonical equivalence (or "deep equality")
(1, 2) eqv (1, 3); #=> False
(1, 2) eqv (1, 2); #=> True
Int === Int #=> True
## - `~~` is the smart match operator
## Aliases the left hand side to $_ and then evaluates the right hand side.
## Here are some common comparison semantics:
## String or numeric equality
'Foo' ~~ 'Foo'; # True if strings are equal.
12.5 ~~ 12.50; # True if numbers are equal.
## Regex - For matching a regular expression against the left side.
## Returns a `Match` object, which evaluates as True if regexp matches.
my $obj = 'abc' ~~ /a/;
say $obj; #=> ｢a｣
say $obj.WHAT; #=> (Match)
## Hashes
'key' ~~ %hash; # True if key exists in hash.
## Type - Checks if left side "is of type" (can check superclasses and
## roles).
say 1 ~~ Int; #=> True
## Smart-matching against a boolean always returns that boolean
## (and will warn).
say 1 ~~ True; #=> True
say False ~~ True; #=> True
## General syntax is `$arg ~~ &bool-returning-function;`. For a complete list
## of combinations, use this table:
## http://perlcabal.org/syn/S03.html#Smart_matching
## Of course, you also use `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=` for numeric comparison.
## Their string equivalent are also available: `lt`, `le`, `gt`, `ge`.
3 > 4; # False
3 >= 4; # False
3 < 4; # True
3 <= 4; # True
'a' gt 'b'; # False
'a' ge 'b'; # False
'a' lt 'b'; # True
'a' le 'b'; # True
## Range constructor
##------------------
3 .. 7; # 3 to 7, both included
3 ..^ 7; # 3 to 7, exclude right endpoint.
3 ^.. 7; # 3 to 7, exclude left endpoint. Same as `4..7`.
3 ^..^ 7; # 3 to 7, exclude both endpoints. Same as `4..6`.
## This also works as a shortcut for `0..^N`:
^10; # means 0..^10
## This also allows us to demonstrate that Perl 6 has lazy/infinite arrays,
## using the Whatever Star:
my @array = 1..*; # 1 to Infinite! Equivalent to `1..Inf`.
say @array[^10]; # You can pass ranges as subscripts and it'll return
# an array of results. This will print
# "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10" (and not run out of memory!)
## Note: when reading an infinite list, Perl 6 will "reify" the elements
## it needs, then keep them in memory. They won't be calculated more than once.
## It also will never calculate more elements that are needed.
## An array subscript can also be a closure. It'll be called with the length
## as the argument:
say join(' ', @array[15..*]); #=> 15 16 17 18 19
## which is equivalent to:
say join(' ', @array[-> $n { 15..$n }]);
## Note: if you try to do either of those with an infinite array,
## you'll trigger an infinite loop (your program won't finish).
## You can use that in most places you'd expect, even when assigning to
## an array:
my @numbers = ^20;
## Here the numbers increase by 6, like an arithmetic sequence; more on the
## sequence (`...`) operator later.
my @seq = 3, 9 ... * > 95; # 3 9 15 21 27 [...] 81 87 93 99;
@numbers[5..*] = 3, 9 ... *; # even though the sequence is infinite,
# only the 15 needed values will be calculated.
say @numbers; #=> 0 1 2 3 4 3 9 15 21 [...] 81 87
# (only 20 values)
## and (&&), or (||)
##------------------
3 && 4; # 4, which is Truthy. Calls `.Bool` on both 3 and 4 and gets `True`
# so it returns 4 since both are `True`.
3 && 0; # 0
0 && 4; # 0
0 || False; # False. Calls `.Bool` on `0` and `False` which are both `False`
# so it retusns `False` since both are `False`.
## Short-circuit (and tight) versions of the above
## Return the first argument that evaluates to False, or the last argument.
my ( $a, $b, $c ) = 1, 0, 2;
$a && $b && $c; # Returns 0, the first False value
## || Returns the first argument that evaluates to True
$b || $a; # 1
## And because you're going to want them, you also have compound assignment
## operators:
$a *= 2; # multiply and assignment. Equivalent to $a = $a * 2;
$b %%= 5; # divisible by and assignment. Equivalent to $b = $b %% 2;
$c div= 3; # return divisor and assignment. Equivalent to $c = $c div 3;
$d mod= 4; # return remainder and assignment. Equivalent to $d = $d mod 4;
@array .= sort; # calls the `sort` method and assigns the result back
```
## More on subs!
```perl6
## As we said before, Perl 6 has *really* powerful subs. We're going
## to see a few more key concepts that make them better than in any
## other language :-).
```
### Unpacking!
```perl6
## Unpacking is the ability to "extract" arrays and keys
## (AKA "destructuring"). It'll work in `my`s and in parameter lists.
my ($f, $g) = 1, 2;
say $f; #=> 1
my ($, $, $h) = 1, 2, 3; # keep the non-interesting values anonymous (`$`)
say $h; #=> 3
my ($head, *@tail) = 1, 2, 3; # Yes, it's the same as with "slurpy subs"
my (*@small) = 1;
sub unpack_array( @array [$fst, $snd] ) {
say "My first is $fst, my second is $snd! All in all, I'm @array[].";
# (^ remember the `[]` to interpolate the array)
}
unpack_array(@tail); #=> My first is 2, my second is 3! All in all, I'm 2 3.
## If you're not using the array itself, you can also keep it anonymous,
## much like a scalar:
sub first-of-array( @ [$fst] ) { $fst }
first-of-array(@small); #=> 1
first-of-array(@tail); # Error: "Too many positional parameters passed"
# (which means the array is too big).
## You can also use a slurp...
sub slurp-in-array(@ [$fst, *@rest]) { # You could keep `*@rest` anonymous
say $fst + @rest.elems; # `.elems` returns a list's length.
# Here, `@rest` is `(3,)`, since `$fst`
# holds the `2`.
}
slurp-in-array(@tail); #=> 3
## You could even extract on a slurpy (but it's pretty useless ;-).)
sub fst(*@ [$fst]) { # or simply: `sub fst($fst) { ... }`
say $fst;
}
fst(1); #=> 1
fst(1, 2); # errors with "Too many positional parameters passed"
## You can also destructure hashes (and classes, which you'll learn about
## later). The syntax is basically the same as
## `%hash-name (:key($variable-to-store-value-in))`.
## The hash can stay anonymous if you only need the values you extracted.
sub key-of( % (:value($val), :qua($qua)) ) {
say "Got val $val, $qua times.";
}
## Then call it with a hash. You need to keep the curly braces for it to be a
## hash or use `%()` instead to indicate a hash is being passed.
key-of({value => 'foo', qua => 1}); #=> Got val foo, 1 times.
key-of(%(value => 'foo', qua => 1)); #=> Got val foo, 1 times.
#key-of(%hash); # the same (for an equivalent `%hash`)
## The last expression of a sub is returned automatically (though you may
## indicate explicitly by using the `return` keyword, of course):
sub next-index( $n ) {
$n + 1;
}
my $new-n = next-index(3); # $new-n is now 4
## This is true for everything, except for the looping constructs (due to
## performance reasons): there's no reason to build a list if we're just going to
## discard all the results. If you still want to build one, you can use the
## `do` statement prefix or the `gather` prefix, which we'll see later:
sub list-of( $n ) {
do for ^$n { # note the range-to prefix operator `^` (`0..^N`)
$_ # current loop iteration known as the "topic" variable
}
}
my @list3 = list-of(3); #=> (0, 1, 2)
```
### lambdas (or anonymous subroutines)
```perl6
## You can create a lambda with `-> {}` ("pointy block") ,
## `{}` ("block") or `sub {}`.
my &lambda1 = -> $argument {
"The argument passed to this lambda is $argument"
}
my &lambda2 = {
"The argument passed to this lambda is $_"
}
my &lambda3 = sub ($argument) {
"The argument passed to this lambda is $argument"
}
## `-> {}` and `{}` are pretty much the same thing, except that the former can
## take arguments, and that the latter can be mistaken as a hash by the parser.
## We can, for example, add 3 to each value of an array using the
## `map` function with a lambda:
my @arrayplus3 = map({ $_ + 3 }, @array); # $_ is the implicit argument
## A sub (`sub {}`) has different semantics than a block (`{}` or `-> {}`):
## A block doesn't have a "function context" (though it can have arguments),
## which means that if you return from it, you're going to return from the
## parent function. Compare:
sub is-in( @array, $elem ) {
# this will `return` out of the `is-in` sub once the condition evaluated
## to True, the loop won't be run anymore.
map({ return True if $_ == $elem }, @array);
}
## with:
sub truthy-array( @array ) {
# this will produce an array of `True` and `False`:
# (you can also say `anon sub` for "anonymous subroutine")
map(sub ($i) { if $i { return True } else { return False } }, @array);
# ^ the `return` only returns from the anonymous `sub`
}
## The `anon` declarator can be used to create an anonymous sub from a
## regular subroutine. The regular sub knows its name but its symbol is
## prevented from getting installed in the lexical scope, the method table
## and everywhere else.
my $anon-sum = anon sub summation(*@a) { [+] *@a }
say $anon-sum.name; #=> summation
say $anon-sum(2, 3, 5); #=> 10
#say summation; #=> Error: Undeclared routine: ...
## You can also use the "whatever star" to create an anonymous subroutine.
## (it'll stop at the furthest operator in the current expression)
my @arrayplus3 = map(*+3, @array); # `*+3` is the same as `{ $_ + 3 }`
my @arrayplus3 = map(*+*+3, @array); # Same as `-> $a, $b { $a + $b + 3 }`
# also `sub ($a, $b) { $a + $b + 3 }`
say (*/2)(4); #=> 2
# Immediately execute the function Whatever created.
say ((*+3)/5)(5); #=> 1.6
# It works even in parens!
## But if you need to have more than one argument (`$_`) in a block (without
## wanting to resort to `-> {}`), you can also use the implicit argument
## syntax, `$^`:
map({ $^a + $^b + 3 }, @array);
# which is equivalent to the following which uses a `sub`:
map(sub ($a, $b) { $a + $b + 3 }, @array);
## The parameters `$^a`, `$^b`, etc. are known as placeholder parameters or
## self-declared positional parameters. They're sorted lexicographically so
## `{ $^b / $^a }` is equivalent `-> $a, $b { $b / $a }`.
```
### About types...
```perl6
## Perl 6 is gradually typed. This means you can specify the type of your
## variables/arguments/return types, or you can omit the type annotations in
## in which case they'll default to `Any`. Obviously you get access to a few
## base types, like `Int` and `Str`. The constructs for declaring types are
## "subset", "class", "role", etc. which you'll see later.
## For now, let us examine "subset" which is a "sub-type" with additional
## checks. For example, "a very big integer is an Int that's greater than 500".
## You can specify the type you're subtyping (by default, `Any`), and add
## additional checks with the `where` clause:
subset VeryBigInteger of Int where * > 500;
## Or the set of the whole numbers:
subset WholeNumber of Int where * >= 0;
```
### Multiple Dispatch
```perl6
## Perl 6 can decide which variant of a `sub` to call based on the type of the
## arguments, or on arbitrary preconditions, like with a type or `where`:
## with types:
multi sub sayit( Int $n ) { # note the `multi` keyword here
say "Number: $n";
}
multi sayit( Str $s ) { # a multi is a `sub` by default
say "String: $s";
}
sayit("foo"); #=> "String: foo"
sayit(25); #=> "Number: 25"
sayit(True); # fails at *compile time* with "calling 'sayit' will never
# work with arguments of types ..."
## with arbitrary preconditions (remember subsets?):
multi is-big(Int $n where * > 50) { "Yes!" } # using a closure
multi is-big(Int $n where {$_ > 50}) { "Yes!" } # similar to above
multi is-big(Int $ where 10..50) { "Quite." } # Using smart-matching
# (could use a regexp, etc)
multi is-big(Int $) { "No" }
subset Even of Int where * %% 2;
multi odd-or-even(Even) { "Even" } # The main case using the type.
# We don't name the argument.
multi odd-or-even($) { "Odd" } # "everthing else" hence the $ variable
## You can even dispatch based on the presence of positional and
## named arguments:
multi with-or-without-you($with) {
say "I wish I could but I can't";
}
multi with-or-without-you(:$with) {
say "I can live! Actually, I can't.";
}
multi with-or-without-you {
say "Definitely can't live.";
}
## This is very, very useful for many purposes, like `MAIN` subs (covered
## later), and even the language itself uses it in several places.
##
## - `is`, for example, is actually a `multi sub` named `trait_mod:<is>`,
## and it works off that.
## - `is rw`, is simply a dispatch to a function with this signature:
## sub trait_mod:<is>(Routine $r, :$rw!) {}
##
## (commented out because running this would be a terrible idea!)
```
## Scoping
```perl6
## In Perl 6, unlike many scripting languages, (such as Python, Ruby, PHP),
## you must declare your variables before using them. The `my` declarator
## you have learned uses "lexical scoping". There are a few other declarators,
## (`our`, `state`, ..., ) which we'll see later. This is called
## "lexical scoping", where in inner blocks, you can access variables from
## outer blocks.
my $file_scoped = 'Foo';
sub outer {
my $outer_scoped = 'Bar';
sub inner {
say "$file_scoped $outer_scoped";
}
&inner; # return the function
}
outer()(); #=> 'Foo Bar'
## As you can see, `$file_scoped` and `$outer_scoped` were captured.
## But if we were to try and use `$outer_scoped` outside the `outer` sub,
## the variable would be undefined (and you'd get a compile time error).
```
## Twigils
```perl6
## There are many special `twigils` (composed sigils) in Perl 6. Twigils
## define the variables' scope.
## The * and ? twigils work on standard variables:
## * Dynamic variable
## ? Compile-time variable
## The ! and the . twigils are used with Perl 6's objects:
## ! Attribute (instance attribute)
## . Method (not really a variable)
## `*` twigil: Dynamic Scope
## These variables use the `*` twigil to mark dynamically-scoped variables.
## Dynamically-scoped variables are looked up through the caller, not through
## the outer scope.
my $*dyn_scoped_1 = 1;
my $*dyn_scoped_2 = 10;
sub say_dyn {
say "$*dyn_scoped_1 $*dyn_scoped_2";
}
sub call_say_dyn {
my $*dyn_scoped_1 = 25; # Defines $*dyn_scoped_1 only for this sub.
$*dyn_scoped_2 = 100; # Will change the value of the file scoped variable.
say_dyn(); #=> 25 100, $*dyn_scoped 1 and 2 will be looked
# for in the call.
# It uses the value of $*dyn_scoped_1 from inside
# this sub's lexical scope even though the blocks
# aren't nested (they're call-nested).
}
say_dyn(); #=> 1 10
call_say_dyn(); #=> 25 100
# Uses $*dyn_scoped_1 as defined in call_say_dyn even though
# we are calling it from outside.
say_dyn(); #=> 1 100 We changed the value of $*dyn_scoped_2 in
# call_say_dyn so now its value has changed.
```
## Object Model
```perl6
## To call a method on an object, add a dot followed by the method name:
## `$object.method`
## Classes are declared with the `class` keyword. Attributes are declared
## with the `has` keyword, and methods declared with the `method` keyword.
## Every attribute that is private uses the ! twigil. For example: `$!attr`.
## Immutable public attributes use the `.` twigil which creates a read-only
## method named after the attribute. In fact, declaring an attribute with `.`
## is equivalent to declaring the same attribute with `!` and then creating
## a read-only method with the attribute's name. However, this is done for us
## by Perl 6 automatically. The easiest way to remember the `$.` twigil is
## by comparing it to how methods are called.
## Perl 6's object model ("SixModel") is very flexible, and allows you to
## dynamically add methods, change semantics, etc... Unfortunately, these will
## not all be covered here, and you should refer to:
## https://docs.perl6.org/language/objects.html.
class Human {
has Str $.name; # `$.name` is immutable but with an accessor method.
has Str $.bcountry; # Use `$!bplace` to modify it inside the class.
has Str $.ccountry is rw; # This attribute can be modified from outside.
has Int $!age = 0; # A private attribute with default value.
method birthday {
$!age += 1; # Add a year to human's age
}
method get-age {
return $!age;
}
# This method is private to the class. Note the `!` before the
# method's name.
method !do-decoration {
return "$!name was born in $!bcountry and now lives in $!ccountry."
}
# This method is public, just like `birthday` and `get-age`.
method get-info {
self.do-decoration; # Invoking a method on `self` inside the class.
# Use `self!priv-method` for private method.
# Use `self.publ-method` for public method.
}
};
## Create a new instance of Human class with $.attrib set to 5.
## Note: you can't set private-attribute from here (more later on).
my $person1 = Human.new(
name => "Jord",
bcountry = "Iceland",
ccountry => "Iceland"
);
say $person1.name; #=> Jord
say $person1.bcountry; #=> Togo
say $person1.ccountry; #=> Togo
# $person1.bcountry = "Mali"; # This fails, because the `has $.bcountry`
# is immutable. Jord can't change his birthplace.
$person1.ccountry = "France"; # This works because the `$.ccountry` is mutable
# (`is rw`). Now Jord's current country is France.
# Calling methods on the instance objects.
$person1.birthday; #=> 1
$person1.get-info; #=> Jord was born in Togo and now lives in France.
$person1.do-decoration; # This fails since the method `do-decoration` is
# private.
```
### Object Inheritance
```perl6
## Perl 6 also has inheritance (along with multiple inheritance). While
## methods are inherited, submethods are not. Submethods are useful for
## object construction and destruction tasks, such as BUILD, or methods that
## must be overridden by subtypes. We will learn about BUILD later on.
class Parent {
has $.age;
has $.name;
# This submethod won't be inherited by the Child class.
submethod favorite-color {
say "My favorite color is Blue";
}
# This method is inherited
method talk { say "Hi, my name is $!name" }
}
# Inheritance uses the `is` keyword
class Child is Parent {
method talk { say "Goo goo ga ga" }
# This shadows Parent's `talk` method.
# This child hasn't learned to speak yet!
}
my Parent $Richard .= new(age => 40, name => 'Richard');
$Richard.favorite-color; #=> "My favorite color is Blue"
$Richard.talk; #=> "Hi, my name is Richard"
## $Richard is able to access the submethod and he knows how to say his name.
my Child $Madison .= new(age => 1, name => 'Madison');
$Madison.talk; #=> "Goo goo ga ga", due to the overridden method.
# $Madison.favorite-color # does not work since it is not inherited.
## When you use `my T $var`, `$var` starts off with `T` itself in it,
## so you can call `new` on it.
## (`.=` is just the dot-call and the assignment operator:
## `$a .= b` is the same as `$a = $a.b`)
## Also note that `BUILD` (the method called inside `new`)
## will set parent's properties too, so you can pass `val => 5`.
```
### Roles, or Mixins
```perl6
## Roles are supported too (which are called Mixins in other languages)
role PrintableVal {
has $!counter = 0;
method print {
say $.val;
}
}
## you "apply" a role (or mixin) with `does` keyword:
class Item does PrintableVal {
has $.val;
## When `does`-ed, a `role` literally "mixes in" the class:
## the methods and attributes are put together, which means a class
## can access the private attributes/methods of its roles (but
## not the inverse!):
method access {
say $!counter++;
}
## However, this:
## method print {}
## is ONLY valid when `print` isn't a `multi` with the same dispatch.
## (this means a parent class can shadow a child class's `multi print() {}`,
## but it's an error if a role does)
## NOTE: You can use a role as a class (with `is ROLE`). In this case,
## methods will be shadowed, since the compiler will consider `ROLE`
## to be a class.
}
```
## Exceptions
```perl6
## Exceptions are built on top of classes, in the package `X` (like `X::IO`).
## In Perl6 exceptions are automatically 'thrown':
open 'foo'; #=> Failed to open file foo: no such file or directory
## It will also print out what line the error was thrown at
## and other error info.
## You can throw an exception using `die`:
die 'Error!'; #=> Error!
## Or more explicitly:
X::AdHoc.new(payload => 'Error!').throw; #=> Error!
## In Perl 6, `orelse` is similar to the `or` operator, except it only matches
## undefined variables instead of anything evaluating as `False`.
## Undefined values include: `Nil`, `Mu` and `Failure` as well as `Int`, `Str`
## and other types that have not been initialized to any value yet.
## You can check if something is defined or not using the defined method:
my $uninitialized;
say $uninitiazilzed.defined; #=> False
## When using `orelse` it will disarm the exception and alias $_ to that
## failure. This will prevent it to being automatically handled and printing
## lots of scary error messages to the screen. We can use the `exception`
## method on the `$_` variable to access the exception
open 'foo' orelse say "Something happened {.exception}";
## This also works:
open 'foo' orelse say "Something happened $_"; #=> Something happened
#=> Failed to open file foo: no such file or directory
## Both of those above work but in case we get an object from the left side
## that is not a failure we will probably get a warning. We see below how we
## can use try` and `CATCH` to be more specific with the exceptions we catch.
```
### Using `try` and `CATCH`
```perl6
## By using `try` and `CATCH` you can contain and handle exceptions without
## disrupting the rest of the program. The `try` block will set the last
## exception to the special variable `$!` (known as the error variable).
## Note: This has no relation to $!variables seen inside class definitions.
try open 'foo';
say "Well, I tried! $!" if defined $!;
#=> Well, I tried! Failed to open file foo: no such file or directory
## Now, what if we want more control over handling the exception?
## Unlike many other languages, in Perl 6, you put the `CATCH` block *within*
## the block to `try`. Similar to how the `$_` variable was set when we
## 'disarmed' the exception with `orelse`, we also use `$_` in the CATCH block.
## Note: The `$!` variable is only set *after* the `try` block has caught an
## exception. By default, a `try` block has a `CATCH` block of its own that
## catches any exception (`CATCH { default {} }`).
try {
my $a = (0 %% 0);
CATCH {
say "Something happened: $_"
}
}
#=> Something happened: Attempt to divide by zero using infix:<%%>
## You can redefine it using `when`s (and `default`) to handle the exceptions
## you want to catch explicitly:
try {
open 'foo';
CATCH {
# In the `CATCH` block, the exception is set to the $_ variable.
when X::AdHoc {
say "Error: $_"
}
when X::Numeric::DivideByZero {
say "Error: $_";
}
## Any other exceptions will be re-raised, since we don't have a `default`.
## Basically, if a `when` matches (or there's a `default`), the
## exception is marked as "handled" so as to prevent its re-throw
## from the `CATCH` block. You still can re-throw the exception (see below)
## by hand.
}
}
#=>Error: Failed to open file /dir/foo: no such file or directory
## There are also some subtleties to exceptions. Some Perl 6 subs return a
## `Failure`, which is a wrapper around an `Exception` object which is
## "unthrown". They're not thrown until you try to use the variables containing
## them unless you call `.Bool`/`.defined` on them - then they're handled.
## (the `.handled` method is `rw`, so you can mark it as `False` back yourself)
## You can throw a `Failure` using `fail`. Note that if the pragma `use fatal`
## is on, `fail` will throw an exception (like `die`).
fail "foo"; # We're not trying to access the value, so no problem.
try {
fail "foo";
CATCH {
default {
say "It threw because we tried to get the fail's value!"
}
}
}
## There is also another kind of exception: Control exceptions.
## Those are "good" exceptions, which happen when you change your program's
## flow, using operators like `return`, `next` or `last`.
## You can "catch" those with `CONTROL` (not 100% working in Rakudo yet).
```
## Packages
```perl6
## Packages are a way to reuse code. Packages are like "namespaces", and any
## element of the six model (`module`, `role`, `class`, `grammar`, `subset` and
## `enum`) are actually packages. (Packages are the lowest common denominator)
## Packages are important - especially as Perl is well-known for CPAN,
## the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network.
## You can use a module (bring its declarations into scope) with
## the `use` keyword:
use JSON::Tiny; # if you installed Rakudo* or Panda, you'll have this module
say from-json('[1]').perl; #=> [1]
## You should not declare packages using the `package` keyword (unlike Perl 5).
## Instead, use `class Package::Name::Here;` to declare a class, or if you only
## want to export variables/subs, you can use `module` instead.
module Hello::World { # bracketed form
# If `Hello` doesn't exist yet, it'll just be a "stub",
# that can be redeclared as something else later.
# ... declarations here ...
}
unit module Parse::Text; # file-scoped form which extends until
# the end of the file
grammar Parse::Text::Grammar {
# A grammar is a package, which you could `use`.
# You will learn more about grammars in the regex section
}
## As said before, any part of the six model is also a package.
## Since `JSON::Tiny` uses its own `JSON::Tiny::Actions` class, you can use it:
my $actions = JSON::Tiny::Actions.new;
## We'll see how to export variables and subs in the next part.
```
## Declarators
```perl6
## In Perl 6, you get different behaviors based on how you declare a variable.
## You've already seen `my` and `has`, we'll now explore the others.
## `our` - these declarations happen at `INIT` time -- (see "Phasers" below).
## It's like `my`, but it also creates a package variable. All packagish
## things such as `class`, `role`, etc. are `our` by default.
module Var::Increment {
our $our-var = 1; # Note: `our`-declared variables cannot be typed.
my $my-var = 22;
our sub Inc {
our sub available { # If you try to make inner `sub`s `our`...
# ... Better know what you're doing (Don't !).
say "Don't do that. Seriously. You'll get burned.";
}
my sub unavailable { # `sub`s are `my`-declared by default
say "Can't access me from outside, I'm 'my'!";
}
say ++$our-var; # Increment the package variable and output its value
}
}
say $Var::Increment::our-var; #=> 1, this works!
say $Var::Increment::my-var; #=> (Any), this will not work!
Var::Increment::Inc; #=> 2
Var::Increment::Inc; #=> 3 , notice how the value of $our-var was
# retained.
Var::Increment::unavailable; #=> Could not find symbol '&unavailable'
## `constant` - these declarations happen at `BEGIN` time. You can use
## the `constant` keyword to declare a compile-time variable/symbol:
constant Pi = 3.14;
constant $var = 1;
## And if you're wondering, yes, it can also contain infinite lists.
constant why-not = 5, 15 ... *;
say why-not[^5]; #=> 5 15 25 35 45
## `state` - these declarations happen at run time, but only once. State
## variables are only initialized one time. In other languages such as C
## they exist as `static` variables.
sub fixed-rand {
state $val = rand;
say $val;
}
fixed-rand for ^10; # will print the same number 10 times
## Note, however, that they exist separately in different enclosing contexts.
## If you declare a function with a `state` within a loop, it'll re-create the
## variable for each iteration of the loop. See:
for ^5 -> $a {
sub foo {
state $val = rand; # This will be a different value for
# every value of `$a`
}
for ^5 -> $b {
say foo; # This will print the same value 5 times,
# but only 5. Next iteration will re-run `rand`.
}
}
```
## Phasers
```perl6
## Phasers in Perl 6 are blocks that happen at determined points of time in
## your program. They are called phasers because they mark a change in the
## phase of a program. For example, when the program is compiled, a for loop
## runs, you leave a block, or an exception gets thrown (The `CATCH` block is
## actually a phaser!). Some of them can be used for their return values,
## some of them can't (those that can have a "[*]" in the beginning of their
## explanation text). Let's have a look!
## Compile-time phasers
BEGIN { say "[*] Runs at compile time, as soon as possible, only once" }
CHECK { say "[*] Runs at compile time, as late as possible, only once" }
## Run-time phasers
INIT { say "[*] Runs at run time, as soon as possible, only once" }
END { say "Runs at run time, as late as possible, only once" }
## Block phasers
ENTER { say "[*] Runs everytime you enter a block, repeats on loop blocks" }
LEAVE {
say "Runs everytime you leave a block, even when an exception
happened. Repeats on loop blocks."
}
PRE {
say "Asserts a precondition at every block entry,
before ENTER (especially useful for loops)";
say "If this block doesn't return a truthy value,
an exception of type X::Phaser::PrePost is thrown.";
}
## Example:
for 0..2 {
PRE { $_ > 1 } # This is going to blow up with "Precondition failed"
}
POST {
say "Asserts a postcondition at every block exit,
after LEAVE (especially useful for loops)";
say "If this block doesn't return a truthy value,
an exception of type X::Phaser::PrePost is thrown, like PRE.";
}
for 0..2 {
POST { $_ < 2 } # This is going to blow up with "Postcondition failed"
}
## Block/exceptions phasers
sub {
KEEP { say "Runs when you exit a block successfully
(without throwing an exception)" }
UNDO { say "Runs when you exit a block unsuccessfully
(by throwing an exception)" }
}
## Loop phasers
for ^5 {
FIRST { say "[*] The first time the loop is run, before ENTER" }
NEXT { say "At loop continuation time, before LEAVE" }
LAST { say "At loop termination time, after LEAVE" }
}
## Role/class phasers
COMPOSE { "When a role is composed into a class. /!\ NOT YET IMPLEMENTED" }
## They allow for cute tricks or clever code...:
say "This code took " ~ (time - CHECK time) ~ "s to compile";
## ... or clever organization:
sub do-db-stuff {
$db.start-transaction; # start a new transaction
KEEP $db.commit; # commit the transaction if all went well
UNDO $db.rollback; # or rollback if all hell broke loose
}
```
## Statement prefixes
```perl6
## Those act a bit like phasers: they affect the behavior of the following
## code. Though, they run in-line with the executable code, so they're in
## lowercase. (`try` and `start` are theoretically in that list, but explained
## elsewhere) Note: all of these (except start) don't need explicit curly
## braces `{` and `}`.
## `do` - (which you already saw) runs a block or a statement as a term.
## Normally you cannot use a statement as a value (or "term"). `do` helps us
## do it.
# my $value = if True { 1 } # this fails since `if` is a statement
my $a = do if True { 5 } # with `do`, `if` is now a term returning a value
## `once` - makes sure a piece of code only runs once.
for ^5 {
once say 1
}; #=> 1, only prints ... once
## Similar to `state`, they're cloned per-scope.
for ^5 {
sub { once say 1 }()
}; #=> 1 1 1 1 1, prints once per lexical scope.
## `gather` - co-routine thread. The `gather` constructs allows us to `take`
## several values from an array/list, much like `do`.
say gather for ^5 {
take $_ * 3 - 1;
take $_ * 3 + 1;
}
#=> -1 1 2 4 5 7 8 10 11 13
say join ',', gather if False {
take 1;
take 2;
take 3;
}
# Doesn't print anything.
## `eager` - evaluates a statement eagerly (forces eager context)
## Don't try this at home:
# eager 1..*; # this will probably hang for a while (and might crash ...).
## But consider:
constant thrice = gather for ^3 { say take $_ }; # Doesn't print anything
## versus:
constant thrice = eager gather for ^3 { say take $_ }; #=> 0 1 2
```
## Iterables
```perl6
## Iterables are objects that can be iterated over which are
## are similar to the `for` construct.
## `flat` - flattens iterables.
say (1, 10, (20, 10) ); #=> (1 10 (20 10)), notice how neste lists are
# preserved
say (1, 10, (20, 10) ).flat; #=> (1 10 20 10), now the iterable is flat
## - `lazy` - defers actual evaluation until value is fetched by forcing
## lazy context.
my @lazy-array = (1..100).lazy;
say @lazy-array.is-lazy; #=> True, check for laziness with the `is-lazy` method.
say @lazy-array; #=> [...] List has not been iterated on!
my @lazy-array { .print }; # This works and will only do as much work as
# is needed.
# ( **TODO** explain that gather/take and map are all lazy)
## `sink` - an `eager` that discards the results by forcing sink context.
constant nilthingie = sink for ^3 { .say } #=> 0 1 2
say nilthingie.perl; #=> Nil
## `quietly` - suppresses warnings in blocks.
quietly { warn 'This is a warning!' }; #=> No output
## `contend` - attempts side effects under STM
## Not yet implemented!
```
## More operators thingies!
```perl6
## Everybody loves operators! Let's get more of them.
## The precedence list can be found here:
## https://docs.perl6.org/language/operators#Operator_Precedence
## But first, we need a little explanation about associativity:
## Binary operators:
$a ! $b ! $c; # with a left-associative `!`, this is `($a ! $b) ! $c`
$a ! $b ! $c; # with a right-associative `!`, this is `$a ! ($b ! $c)`
$a ! $b ! $c; # with a non-associative `!`, this is illegal
$a ! $b ! $c; # with a chain-associative `!`, this is `($a ! $b) and ($b ! $c)`
$a ! $b ! $c; # with a list-associative `!`, this is `infix:<>`
## Unary operators:
!$a! # with left-associative `!`, this is `(!$a)!`
!$a! # with right-associative `!`, this is `!($a!)`
!$a! # with non-associative `!`, this is illegal
```
### Create your own operators!
```perl6
## Okay, you've been reading all of that, so you might want to try something
## more exciting?! I'll tell you a little secret (or not-so-secret):
## In Perl 6, all operators are actually just funny-looking subroutines.
## You can declare an operator just like you declare a sub:
# prefix refers to the operator categories (prefix, infix, postfix, etc).
sub prefix:<win>( $winner ) {
say "$winner Won!";
}
win "The King"; #=> The King Won!
# (prefix means 'before')
## you can still call the sub with its "full name":
say prefix:<!>(True); #=> False
prefix:<win>("The Queen"); #=> The Queen Won!
sub postfix:<!>( Int $n ) {
[*] 2..$n; # using the reduce meta-operator... See below ;-)!
}
say 5!; #=> 120
# Postfix operators ('after') have to come *directly* after the term.
# No whitespace. You can use parentheses to disambiguate, i.e. `(5!)!`
sub infix:<times>( Int $n, Block $r ) { # infix ('between')
for ^$n {
$r(); # You need the explicit parentheses to call the function in `$r`,
# else you'd be referring at the variable itself, like with `&r`.
}
}
3 times -> { say "hello" }; #=> hello
#=> hello
#=> hello
## It's recommended to put spaces around your
## infix operator calls.
## For circumfix and post-circumfix ones
sub circumfix:<[ ]>( Int $n ) {
$n ** $n
}
say [5]; #=> 3125
# circumfix means 'around'. Again, no whitespace.
sub postcircumfix:<{ }>( Str $s, Int $idx ) {
## post-circumfix is 'after a term, around something'
$s.substr($idx, 1);
}
say "abc"{1}; #=> b
# after the term `"abc"`, and around the index (1)
## This really means a lot -- because everything in Perl 6 uses this.
## For example, to delete a key from a hash, you use the `:delete` adverb
## (a simple named argument underneath):
%h{$key}:delete;
## equivalent to:
postcircumfix:<{ }>( %h, $key, :delete ); # (you can call operators like this)
## It's *all* using the same building blocks! Syntactic categories
## (prefix infix ...), named arguments (adverbs), ..., etc. used to build
## the language - are available to you. Obviously, you're advised against
## making an operator out of *everything* -- with great power comes great
## responsibility.
```
### Meta operators!
```perl6
## Oh boy, get ready!. Get ready, because we're delving deep into the rabbit's
## hole, and you probably won't want to go back to other languages after
## reading this. (I'm guessing you don't want to go back at this point but
## let's continue, for the journey is long and enjoyable!).
## Meta-operators, as their name suggests, are *composed* operators.
## Basically, they're operators that act on another operators.
## The reduce meta-operator is a prefix meta-operator that takes a binary
## function and one or many lists. If it doesn't get passed any argument,
## it either returns a "default value" for this operator (a meaningless value)
## or `Any` if there's none (examples below). Otherwise, it pops an element
## from the list(s) one at a time, and applies the binary function to the last
## result (or the list's first element) and the popped element.
## To sum a list, you could use the reduce meta-operator with `+`, i.e.:
say [+] 1, 2, 3; #=> 6, equivalent to (1+2)+3.
## To multiply a list
say [*] 1..5; #=> 120, equivalent to ((((1*2)*3)*4)*5).
## You can reduce with any operator, not just with mathematical ones.
## For example, you could reduce with `//` to get first defined element
## of a list:
say [//] Nil, Any, False, 1, 5; #=> False
# (Falsey, but still defined)
## Or with relational operators, i.e., `>` to check elements of a list
## are ordered accordingly:
say say [>] 234, 156, 6, 3, -20; #=> True
## Default value examples:
say [*] (); #=> 1
say [+] (); #=> 0
# meaningless values, since N*1=N and N+0=N.
say [//]; #=> (Any)
# There's no "default value" for `//`.
## You can also call it with a function you made up, using double brackets:
sub add($a, $b) { $a + $b }
say [[&add]] 1, 2, 3; #=> 6
## The zip meta-operator is an infix meta-operator that also can be used as a
## "normal" operator. It takes an optional binary function (by default, it
## just creates a pair), and will pop one value off of each array and call
## its binary function on these until it runs out of elements. It returns an
## array with all of these new elements.
say (1, 2) Z (3, 4); #=> ((1, 3), (2, 4)), since by default the function
# makes an array.
say 1..3 Z+ 4..6; #=> (5, 7, 9), using the custom infix:<+> function
## Since `Z` is list-associative (see the list above),
## you can use it on more than one list
(True, False) Z|| (False, False) Z|| (False, False); # (True, False)
## And, as it turns out, you can also use the reduce meta-operator with it:
[Z||] (True, False), (False, False), (False, False); # (True, False)
## And to end the operator list:
## The sequence operator is one of Perl 6's most powerful features:
## it's composed of first, on the left, the list you want Perl 6 to deduce from
## (and might include a closure), and on the right, a value or the predicate
## that says when to stop (or a Whatever Star for a lazy infinite list).
my @list = 1, 2, 3...10; # basic arithmetic sequence
# my @list = 1, 3, 6...10; # this dies because Perl 6 can't figure out the end
my @list = 1, 2, 3...^10; # as with ranges, you can exclude the last element
# (the iteration ends when the predicate matches).
my @list = 1, 3, 9...* > 30; # you can use a predicate (with the Whatever Star).
my @list = 1, 3, 9 ... { $_ > 30 }; # (equivalent to the above
# using a block here).
my @fib = 1, 1, *+* ... *; # lazy infinite list of fibonacci sequence,
# computed using a closure!
my @fib = 1, 1, -> $a, $b { $a + $b } ... *; # (equivalent to the above)
my @fib = 1, 1, { $^a + $^b } ... *; # (also equivalent to the above)
## $a and $b will always take the previous values, meaning here
## they'll start with $a = 1 and $b = 1 (values we set by hand),
## then $a = 1 and $b = 2 (result from previous $a+$b), and so on.
say @fib[^10]; #=> 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55
# (using a range as the index)
## Note: as for ranges, once reified, elements aren't re-calculated.
## That's why `@primes[^100]` will take a long time the first time you print
## it, then will be instateneous.
```
## Regular Expressions
```perl6
## I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for this one. Well, now that you know
## a good deal of Perl 6 already, we can get started. First off, you'll have to
## forget about "PCRE regexps" (perl-compatible regexps).
##
## IMPORTANT: Don't skip them because you know PCRE. They're different. Some
## things are the same (like `?`, `+`, and `*`), but sometimes the semantics
## change (`|`). Make sure you read carefully, because you might trip over a
## new behavior.
##
## Perl 6 has many features related to RegExps. After all, Rakudo parses itself.
## We're first going to look at the syntax itself, then talk about grammars
## (PEG-like), differences between `token`, `regex` and `rule` declarators,
## and some more. Side note: you still have access to PCRE regexps using the
## `:P5` modifier which we won't be discussing this in this tutorial, though.
##
## In essence, Perl 6 natively implements PEG ("Parsing Expression Grammars").
## The pecking order for ambiguous parses is determined by a multi-level
## tie-breaking test:
## - Longest token matching: `foo\s+` beats `foo` (by 2 or more positions)
## - Longest literal prefix: `food\w*` beats `foo\w*` (by 1)
## - Declaration from most-derived to less derived grammars
## (grammars are actually classes)
## - Earliest declaration wins
say so 'a' ~~ /a/; #=> True
say so 'a' ~~ / a /; #=> True, more readable with some spaces!
## In all our examples, we're going to use the smart-matching operator against
## a regexp. We're converting the result using `so` to a Boolean value because,
## in fact, it's returning a `Match` object. They know how to respond to list
## indexing, hash indexing, and return the matched string. The results of the
## match are available in the `$/` variable (implicitly lexically-scoped). You
## can also use the capture variables which start at 0: `$0`, `$1', `$2`...
##
## You can also note that `~~` does not perform start/end checking, meaning
## the regexp can be matched with just one character of the string. We'll
## explain later how you can do it.
## In Perl 6, you can have any alphanumeric as a literal, everything else has
## to be escaped by using a backslash or quotes.
say so 'a|b' ~~ / a '|' b /; #=> `True`, it wouldn't mean the same thing if
# `|` wasn't escaped.
say so 'a|b' ~~ / a \| b /; #=> `True`, another way to escape it.
## The whitespace in a regexp is actually not significant, unless you use the
## `:s` (`:sigspace`, significant space) adverb.
say so 'a b c' ~~ / a b c /; #=> `False`, space is not significant here!
say so 'a b c' ~~ /:s a b c /; #=> `True`, we added the modifier `:s` here.
## If we use only one space between strings in a regex, Perl 6 will warn us:
say so 'a b c' ~~ / a b c /; #=> `False`, with warning about space
say so 'a b c' ~~ / a b c /; #=> `False`
## Please use quotes or :s (:sigspace) modifier (or, to suppress this warning,
## omit the space, or otherwise change the spacing). To fix this and make the
## spaces less ambiguous, either use at least two spaces between strings
## or use the `:s` adverb.
## As we saw before, we can embed the `:s` inside the slash delimiters, but we
## can also put it outside of them if we specify `m` for 'match':
say so 'a b c' ~~ m:s/a b c/; #=> `True`
## By using `m` to specify 'match', we can also use delimiters other than
## slashes:
say so 'abc' ~~ m{a b c}; #=> `True`
say so 'abc' ~~ m[a b c]; #=> `True`
# m/.../ is equivalent to /.../
## Use the :i adverb to specify case insensitivity:
say so 'ABC' ~~ m:i{a b c}; #=> `True`
## However, whitespace is important as for how modifiers are applied (
## (which you'll see just below) ...
## Quantifying - `?`, `+`, `*` and `**`.
## `?` - zero or one match
so 'ac' ~~ / a b c /; #=> `False`
so 'ac' ~~ / a b? c /; #=> `True`, the "b" matched 0 times.
so 'abc' ~~ / a b? c /; #=> `True`, the "b" matched 1 time.
## ...As you read before, whitespace is important because it determines which
## part of the regexp is the target of the modifier:
so 'def' ~~ / a b c? /; #=> `False`, only the `c` is optional
so 'def' ~~ / a b? c /; #=> `False`, whitespace is not significant
so 'def' ~~ / 'abc'? /; #=> `True`, the whole "abc" group is optional
## Here (and below) the quantifier applies only to the `b`
## `+` - one or more matches
so 'ac' ~~ / a b+ c /; #=> `False`, `+` wants at least one matching
so 'abc' ~~ / a b+ c /; #=> `True`, one is enough
so 'abbbbc' ~~ / a b+ c /; #=> `True`, matched 4 "b"s
## `*` - zero or more matches
so 'ac' ~~ / a b* c /; #=> `True`, they're all optional.
so 'abc' ~~ / a b* c /; #=> `True`
so 'abbbbc' ~~ / a b* c /; #=> `True`
so 'aec' ~~ / a b* c /; #=> `False`. "b"(s) are optional, not replaceable.
## `**` - (Unbound) Quantifier
## If you squint hard enough, you might understand why exponentation is used
## for quantity.
so 'abc' ~~ / a b**1 c /; #=> `True`, (exactly one time)
so 'abc' ~~ / a b**1..3 c /; #=> `True`, (one to three times)
so 'abbbc' ~~ / a b**1..3 c /; #=> `True`
so 'abbbbbbc' ~~ / a b**1..3 c /; #=> `False, (too much)
so 'abbbbbbc' ~~ / a b**3..* c /; #=> `True`, (infinite ranges are okay)
## `<[]>` - Character classes
## Character classes are the equivalent of PCRE's `[]` classes, but they use a
## more perl6-ish syntax:
say 'fooa' ~~ / f <[ o a ]>+ /; #=> 'fooa'
## You can use ranges:
say 'aeiou' ~~ / a <[ e..w ]> /; #=> 'ae'
## Just like in normal regexes, if you want to use a special character, escape
## it (the last one is escaping a space which would be equivalent to using
## ' '):
say 'he-he !' ~~ / 'he-' <[ a..z \! \ ]> + /; #=> 'he-he !'
## You'll get a warning if you put duplicate names (which has the nice effect
## of catching the raw quoting):
'he he' ~~ / <[ h e ' ' ]> /;
# Warns "Repeated character (') unexpectedly found in character class"
## You can also negate character classes... (`<-[]>` equivalent to `[^]` in PCRE)
so 'foo' ~~ / <-[ f o ]> + /; #=> False
## ... and compose them:
so 'foo' ~~ / <[ a..z ] - [ f o ]> + /; #=> `False`, (any letter except f and o)
so 'foo' ~~ / <-[ a..z ] + [ f o ]> + /; #=> `True`, (no letter except f and o)
so 'foo!' ~~ / <-[ a..z ] + [ f o ]> + /; #=> `True`, (the + doesn't replace the
# left part)
```
### Grouping and capturing
```perl6
## Group: you can group parts of your regexp with `[]`. Unlike PCRE's `(?:)`,
## these groups are *not* captured.
so 'abc' ~~ / a [ b ] c /; # `True`. The grouping does pretty much nothing
so 'foo012012bar' ~~ / foo [ '01' <[0..9]> ] + bar /;
## The previous line returns `True`. The regex matches "012" 1 or more time
## (achieved by the the `+` applied to the group).
## But this does not go far enough, because we can't actually get back what
## we matched.
## Capture: The results of a regexp can be *captured* by using parentheses.
so 'fooABCABCbar' ~~ / foo ( 'A' <[A..Z]> 'C' ) + bar /; # `True`. (using `so`
# here, `$/` below)
## So, starting with the grouping explanations.
## As we said before, our `Match` object is stored inside the `$/` variable:
say $/; # Will either print some weird stuff or `Nil` if nothing matched.
## As we also said before, it has array indexing:
say $/[0]; #=> ｢ABC｣ ｢ABC｣
# These corner brackets are `Match` objects.
# Here, we have an array of these.
say $0; # The same as above.
## Our capture is `$0` because it's the first and only one capture in the
## regexp. You might be wondering why it's an array, and the answer is simple:
## Some captures (indexed using `$0`, `$/[0]` or a named one) will be an array
## if and only if they can have more than one element. Thus any capture with
## `*`, `+` and `**` (whatever the operands), but not with `?`.
## Let's use examples to see that:
## Note: We quoted A B C to demonstrate that the whitespace between them isn't
## significant. If we want the whitespace to *be* significant there, we
## can use the :sigspace modifier.
say so 'fooABCbar' ~~ / foo ( "A" "B" "C" )? bar /; #=> `True`
say $/[0]; #=> ｢ABC｣
say $0.WHAT; #=> (Match)
# There can't be more than one, so it's only a single match object.
say so 'foobar' ~~ / foo ( "A" "B" "C" )? bar /; #=> True
say $0.WHAT; #=> (Any)
# This capture did not match, so it's empty
so 'foobar' ~~ / foo ( "A" "B" "C" ) ** 0..1 bar /; #=> `True`
say $0.WHAT; #=> (Array)
# A specific quantifier will always capture an Array,
# be a range or a specific value (even 1).
## The captures are indexed per nesting. This means a group in a group will be
## nested under its parent group: `$/[0][0]`, for this code:
'hello-~-world' ~~ / ( 'hello' ( <[ \- \~ ]> + ) ) 'world' /;
say $/[0].Str; #=> hello~
say $/[0][0].Str; #=> ~
## This stems from a very simple fact: `$/` does not contain strings, integers
## or arrays, it only contains Match objects. These contain the `.list`, `.hash`
## and `.Str` methods but you can also just use `match<key>` for hash access
## and `match[idx]` for array access.
say $/[0].list.perl; #=> (Match.new(...),).list
# We can see it's a list of Match objects. These contain
# a bunch of info: where the match started/ended,
# the "ast" (see actions later), etc.
# You'll see named capture below with grammars.
## Alternation - the `or` of regexps
## WARNING: They are DIFFERENT from PCRE regexps.
say so 'abc' ~~ / a [ b | y ] c /; #=> `True`. Either "b" or "y".
say so 'ayc' ~~ / a [ b | y ] c /; #=> `True`. Obviously enough...
## The difference between this `|` and the one you're used to is
## LTM ("Longest Token Matching"). This means that the engine will always
## try to match as much as possible in the string.
say 'foo' ~~ / fo | foo /; #=> `foo`, instead of `fo`, because it's longer.
## To decide which part is the "longest", it first splits the regex in
## two parts:
## The "declarative prefix" (the part that can be statically analyzed)
## and the procedural parts:
## - The declarative prefixes include alternations (`|`), conjunctions (`&`),
## sub-rule calls (not yet introduced), literals, characters classes and
## quantifiers.
## - The procedural part include everything else: back-references,
## code assertions, and other things that can't traditionnaly be represented
## by normal regexps.
##
## Then, all the alternatives are tried at once, and the longest wins.
## Examples:
## DECLARATIVE | PROCEDURAL
/ 'foo' \d+ [ <subrule1> || <subrule2> ] /;
## DECLARATIVE (nested groups are not a problem)
/ \s* [ \w & b ] [ c | d ] /;
## However, closures and recursion (of named regexps) are procedural.
## There are also more complicated rules, like specificity (literals win over
## character classes).
## Note: the first-matching `or` still exists, but is now spelled `||`
say 'foo' ~~ / fo || foo /; #=> `fo` now.
```
## Extra: the MAIN subroutine
```perl6
## The `MAIN` subroutine is called when you run a Perl 6 file directly. It's
## very powerful, because Perl 6 actually parses the arguments and pass them
## as such to the sub. It also handles named argument (`--foo`) and will even
## go as far as to autogenerate a `--help` flag.
sub MAIN($name) {
say "Hello, $name!";
}
## This produces:
## $ perl6 cli.pl
## Usage:
## t.pl <name>
## And since it's a regular Perl 6 sub, you can have multi-dispatch:
## (using a "Bool" for the named argument so that we can do `--replace`
## instead of `--replace=1`. The presence of `--replace` indicates truthness
## while its absence falseness).
subset File of Str where *.IO.d; # convert to IO object to check the file exists
multi MAIN('add', $key, $value, Bool :$replace) { ... }
multi MAIN('remove', $key) { ... }
multi MAIN('import', File, Str :$as) { ... } # omitting parameter name
## This produces:
## $ perl6 cli.pl
## Usage:
## cli.p6 [--replace] add <key> <value>
## cli.p6 remove <key>
## cli.p6 [--as=<Str>] import <File>
## As you can see, this is *very* powerful. It even went as far as to show inline
## the constants (the type is only displayed if the argument is `$`/is named).
```
## APPENDIX A:
### List of things
```perl6
## It's assumed by now you know the Perl6 basics. This section is just here to
## list some common operations, but which are not in the "main part" of the
## tutorial to avoid bloating it up.
## Operators
## Sort comparison - they return one value of the `Order` enum: `Less`, `Same`
## and `More` (which numerify to -1, 0 or +1 respectively).
1 <=> 4; # sort comparison for numerics
'a' leg 'b'; # sort comparison for string
$obj eqv $obj2; # sort comparison using eqv semantics
## Generic ordering
3 before 4; # True
'b' after 'a'; # True
## Short-circuit default operator - similar to `or` and `||`, but instead
## returns the first *defined* value:
say Any // Nil // 0 // 5; #=> 0
## Short-circuit exclusive or (XOR) - returns `True` if one (and only one) of
## its arguments is true
say True ^^ False; #=> True
## Flip flops - these operators (`ff` and `fff`, equivalent to P5's `..`
## and `...`) are operators that take two predicates to test: They are `False`
## until their left side returns `True`, then are `True` until their right
## side returns `True`. Similar to ranges, you can exclude the iteration when
## it become `True`/`False` by using `^` on either side. Let's start with an
## example :
for <well met young hero we shall meet later> {
# by default, `ff`/`fff` smart-match (`~~`) against `$_`:
if 'met' ^ff 'meet' { # Won't enter the if for "met"
.say # (explained in details below).
}
if rand == 0 ff rand == 1 { # compare variables other than `$_`
say "This ... probably will never run ...";
}
}
## This will print "young hero we shall meet" (excluding "met"): the flip-flop
## will start returning `True` when it first encounters "met" (but will still
## return `False` for "met" itself, due to the leading `^` on `ff`), until it
## sees "meet", which is when it'll start returning `False`.
## The difference between `ff` (awk-style) and `fff` (sed-style) is that `ff`
## will test its right side right when its left side changes to `True`, and can
## get back to `False` right away (*except* it'll be `True` for the iteration
## that matched) while `fff` will wait for the next iteration to try its right
## side, once its left side changed:
.say if 'B' ff 'B' for <A B C B A>; #=> B B
# because the right-hand-side was tested
# directly (and returned `True`).
# "B"s are printed since it matched that
# time (it just went back to `False`
# right away).
.say if 'B' fff 'B' for <A B C B A>; #=> B C B
# The right-hand-side wasn't tested until
# `$_` became "C"
# (and thus did not match instantly).
## A flip-flop can change state as many times as needed:
for <test start print it stop not printing start print again stop not anymore> {
.say if $_ eq 'start' ^ff^ $_ eq 'stop'; # exclude both "start" and "stop",
#=> "print it print again"
}
## You might also use a Whatever Star, which is equivalent to `True` for the
## left side or `False` for the right:
for (1, 3, 60, 3, 40, 60) { # Note: the parenthesis are superfluous here
# (sometimes called "superstitious parentheses")
.say if $_ > 50 ff *; # Once the flip-flop reaches a number greater
# than 50, it'll never go back to `False`
#=> 60 3 40 60
}
## You can also use this property to create an `if` that'll not go through the
## first time:
for <a b c> {
.say if * ^ff *; # the flip-flop is `True` and never goes back to `False`,
# but the `^` makes it *not run* on the first iteration
#=> b c
}
## The `===` operator is the value identity operator and uses `.WHICH` on the
## objects to compare them while `=:=` is the container identity operator
## and uses `VAR()` on the objects to compare them.
```
If you want to go further, you can:
- Read the [Perl 6 Docs](https://docs.perl6.org/). This is a great
resource on Perl6. If you are looking for something, use the search bar.
This will give you a dropdown menu of all the pages referencing your search
term (Much better than using Google to find Perl 6 documents!).
- Read the [Perl 6 Advent Calendar](http://perl6advent.wordpress.com/). This
is a great source of Perl 6 snippets and explanations. If the docs don't
describe something well enough, you may find more detailed information here.
This information may be a bit older but there are many great examples and
explanations. Posts stopped at the end of 2015 when the language was declared
stable and Perl 6.c was released.
- Come along on `#perl6` at `irc.freenode.net`. The folks here are
always helpful.
- Check the [source of Perl 6's functions and
classes](https://github.com/rakudo/rakudo/tree/nom/src/core). Rakudo is
mainly written in Perl 6 (with a lot of NQP, "Not Quite Perl", a Perl 6 subset
easier to implement and optimize).
- Read [the language design documents](http://design.perl6.org). They explain
P6 from an implementor point-of-view, but it's still very interesting.
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