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diff --git a/perl6.html.markdown b/perl6.html.markdown
index 13f383fe..2821f0d4 100644
--- a/perl6.html.markdown
+++ b/perl6.html.markdown
@@ -1,112 +1,159 @@
---
-name: perl6
category: language
language: perl6
-filename: learnperl6.pl
+filename: learnperl6.p6
contributors:
- - ["Nami-Doc", "http://github.com/Nami-Doc"]
+ - ["vendethiel", "http://github.com/vendethiel"]
+ - ["Samantha McVey", "https://cry.nu"]
---
-Perl 6 is a highly capable, feature-rich programming language made for the
-upcoming hundred years.
+Perl 6 is a highly capable, feature-rich programming language made for at
+least the next hundred years.
-Perl 6 runs on [the Parrot VM](http://parrot.org/), the JVM
-and [the MoarVM](http://moarvm.com).
+The primary Perl 6 compiler is called [Rakudo](http://rakudo.org), which runs on
+the JVM and [the MoarVM](http://moarvm.com).
-Meta-note : the triple pound signs are here to denote headlines,
-double paragraphs, and single notes.
+Meta-note : double pound signs (##) are used to indicate paragraphs, while
+single pound signs (#) indicate notes.
`#=>` represents the output of a command.
-```perl
+```perl6
# Single line comment start with a pound
#`(
Multiline comments use #` and a quoting construct.
(), [], {}, 「」, etc, will work.
)
+```
-### Variables
+## Variables
-# In Perl 6, you declare a lexical variable using `my`
+```perl6
+## In Perl 6, you declare a lexical variable using `my`
my $variable;
-# Perl 6 has 4 kinds of variables:
+## Perl 6 has 3 basic types of variables: scalars, arrays, and hashes.
+```
+
+### Scalars
-## * Scalars. They represent a single value. They start with a `$`
+```perl6
+# Scalars represent a single value. They start with a `$`
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 $weird'variable-name_ = 5; # works !
+## Variable names can contain but not end with simple quotes and dashes,
+## and can contain (and end with) underscores :
+my $weird'variable-name_ = 5; # works !
-my $bool = True; # `True` and `False` are Perl 6's boolean
+my $bool = True; # `True` and `False` are Perl 6's boolean values.
my $inverse = !$bool; # You can invert a bool with the prefix `!` operator
my $forced-bool = so $str; # And you can use the prefix `so` operator
# which turns its operand into a Bool
+```
+
+### Arrays and Lists
-## * Lists. They represent multiple values. Their name start with `@`.
+```perl6
+## Arrays represent multiple values. Their name start with `@`.
+## Lists are similar but are an immutable type.
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.
+ # Similar to perl5's qw, or Ruby's %w.
my @array = 1, 2, 3;
say @array[2]; # Array indices start at 0 -- This is the third element
-say "Interpolate an array using [] : @array[]";
-#=> Interpolate an array using [] : 1 2 3
+say "Interpolate all elements of an array using [] : @array[]";
+#=> Interpolate all elements of an array using [] : 1 2 3
@array[0] = -1; # Assign a new value to an array index
@array[0, 1] = 5, 6; # Assign multiple values
my @keys = 0, 2;
-@array[@keys] = @letters; # Assign using an array
+@array[@keys] = @letters; # Assignment using an array containing index values
say @array; #=> a 6 b
+```
+
+### Hashes, or key-value Pairs.
-## * Hashes, or key-value Pairs.
-# Hashes are actually arrays of Pairs
-# (you can construct a Pair object using the syntax `Key => Value`),
-# except they get "flattened" (hash context), removing duplicated keys.
+```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 = 1 => 2,
3 => 4;
-my %hash = autoquoted => "key", # keys get auto-quoted
+my %hash = foo => "bar", # keys get auto-quoted
"some other" => "value", # trailing commas are okay
;
-my %hash = <key1 value1 key2 value2>; # you can also create a hash
- # from an even-numbered array
-my %hash = key1 => 'value1', key2 => 'value2'; # same as this
-
-# You can also use the "colon pair" syntax:
-# (especially handy for named parameters that you'll see later)
-my %hash = :w(1), # equivalent to `w => 1`
- # this is useful for the `True` shortcut:
- :truey, # equivalent to `:truey(True)`, or `truey => True`
- # and for the `False` one:
+
+## Even though hashes are internally stored differently than arrays,
+## Perl 6 allows you to easily create a hash from an even numbered array:
+my %hash = <key1 value1 key2 value2>;
+
+my %hash = key1 => 'value1', key2 => 'value2'; # same result as above
+
+## You can also use the "colon pair" syntax:
+## (especially handy for named parameters that you'll see later)
+my %hash = :w(1), # equivalent to `w => 1`
+ # this is useful for the `True` shortcut:
+ :truey, # equivalent to `:truey(True)`, or `truey => True`
+ # and for the `False` one:
:!falsey, # equivalent to `:falsey(False)`, or `falsey => False`
;
say %hash{'key1'}; # You can use {} to get the value from a key
say %hash<key2>; # If it's a string, you can actually use <>
# (`{key1}` doesn't work, as Perl6 doesn't have barewords)
+```
-## * Subs (subroutines, or functions in most other languages).
-# Stored in variable, they use `&`.
-sub say-hello { say "Hello, world" }
+## Subs
-sub say-hello-to(Str $name) { # You can provide the type of an argument
- # and it'll be checked at compile-time.
+```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, $name !";
}
-## It can also have optional arguments:
+## A sub returns the last value of the block.
+sub return-value {
+ 5;
+}
+say return-value; # prints 5
+sub return-empty {
+}
+say return-empty; # prints Nil
+
+## Some control flow structures produce a value, like if:
+sub return-if {
+ if True {
+ "Truthy";
+ }
+}
+say return-if; # prints Truthy
+
+## Some don't, like for:
+sub return-for {
+ for 1, 2, 3 { }
+}
+say return-for; # prints Nil
+
+## A sub can have optional arguments:
sub with-optional($arg?) { # the "?" marks the argument optional
- say "I might return `(Any)` if I don't have an argument passed,
- or I'll return my argument";
+ say "I might return `(Any)` (Perl's 'null'-like value) if I don't have
+ an argument passed, or I'll return my argument";
$arg;
}
with-optional; # returns Any
@@ -121,34 +168,34 @@ hello-to; #=> Hello, World !
hello-to(); #=> Hello, World !
hello-to('You'); #=> Hello, You !
-## You can also, by using a syntax akin to the one of hashes (yay unified syntax !),
-## pass *named* arguments to a `sub`.
-# They're optional, and will default to "Any" (Perl's "null"-like value).
+## You can also, by using a syntax akin to the one of hashes
+## (yay unified syntax !), pass *named* arguments to a `sub`.
+## They're optional, and will default to "Any".
sub with-named($normal-arg, :$named) {
say $normal-arg + $named;
}
with-named(1, named => 6); #=> 7
-# There's one gotcha to be aware of, here:
-# If you quote your key, Perl 6 won't be able to see it at compile time,
-# and you'll have a single Pair object as a positional paramater,
-# which means this fails:
+## There's one gotcha to be aware of, here:
+## If you quote your key, Perl 6 won't be able to see it at compile time,
+## and you'll have a single Pair object as a positional parameter,
+## which means this fails:
with-named(1, 'named' => 6);
with-named(2, :named(5)); #=> 7
-# To make a named argument mandatory, you can use `?`'s inverse, `!`
+## To make a named argument mandatory, you can use `?`'s inverse, `!`
sub with-mandatory-named(:$str!) {
say "$str !";
}
with-mandatory-named(str => "My String"); #=> My String !
-with-mandatory-named; # run time error: "Required named parameter not passed"
-with-mandatory-named(3); # run time error: "Too many positional parameters passed"
+with-mandatory-named; # run time error: "Required named parameter not passed"
+with-mandatory-named(3);# run time error:"Too many positional parameters passed"
## If a sub takes a named boolean argument ...
sub takes-a-bool($name, :$bool) {
say "$name takes $bool";
}
-# ... you can use the same "short boolean" hash syntax:
+## ... you can use the same "short boolean" hash syntax:
takes-a-bool('config', :bool); # config takes True
takes-a-bool('config', :!bool); # config takes False
@@ -157,64 +204,76 @@ sub named-def(:$def = 5) {
say $def;
}
named-def; #=> 5
-named-def(:10def); #=> 10
named-def(def => 15); #=> 15
-# Since you can omit parenthesis to call a function with no arguments,
-# you need "&" in the name to capture `say-hello`.
+## Since you can omit parenthesis to call a function with no arguments,
+## you need "&" in the name to store `say-hello` in a variable.
my &s = &say-hello;
my &other-s = sub { say "Anonymous function !" }
-# A sub can have a "slurpy" parameter, or "doesn't-matter-how-many"
-sub as-many($head, *@rest) { # `*@` (slurpy) will basically "take everything else".
- # Note: you can have parameters *before* (like here)
- # a slurpy one, but not *after*.
+## A sub can have a "slurpy" parameter, or "doesn't-matter-how-many"
+sub as-many($head, *@rest) { #`*@` (slurpy) will "take everything else"
+## Note: you can have parameters *before* a slurpy one (like here),
+## but not *after*.
say @rest.join(' / ') ~ " !";
}
say as-many('Happy', 'Happy', 'Birthday'); #=> Happy / Birthday !
- # Note that the splat did not consume
- # the parameter before.
+ # Note that the splat (the *) did not
+ # consume the parameter before.
## You can call a function with an array using the
-# "argument list flattening" operator `|`
-# (it's not actually the only role of this operator, but it's one of them)
+## "argument list flattening" operator `|`
+## (it's not actually the only role of this operator, but it's one of them)
sub concat3($a, $b, $c) {
say "$a, $b, $c";
}
concat3(|@array); #=> a, b, c
# `@array` got "flattened" as a part of the argument list
+```
+
+## Containers
-### Containers
-# In Perl 6, values are actually stored in "containers".
-# The assignment operator asks the container on the left to store the value on
-# its right. When passed around, containers are marked as immutable.
-# Which means that, in a function, you'll get an error if you try to
-# mutate one of your arguments.
-# If you really need to, you can ask for a mutable container using `is rw`:
+```perl6
+## In Perl 6, values are actually stored in "containers".
+## The assignment operator asks the container on the left to store the value on
+## its right. When passed around, containers are marked as immutable.
+## Which means that, in a function, you'll get an error if you try to
+## mutate one of your arguments.
+## If you really need to, you can ask for a mutable container using `is rw`:
sub mutate($n is rw) {
$n++;
say "\$n is now $n !";
}
-# If what you want is a copy instead, use `is copy`.
+my $m = 42;
+mutate $m; # $n is now 43 !
+
+## This works because we are passing the container $m to mutate. If we try
+## to just pass a number instead of passing a variable it won't work because
+## there is no container being passed and integers are immutable by themselves:
+
+mutate 42; # Parameter '$n' expected a writable container, but got Int value
-# A sub itself returns a container, which means it can be marked as rw:
+## If what you want a copy instead, use `is copy`.
+
+## 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 `mod` is an identifier)
+ # (else Perl 6 thinks `x-store` is an identifier)
say $x; #=> 52
+```
+## Control Flow Structures
+### Conditionals
-### Control Flow Structures
-## Conditionals
-
-# - `if`
-# Before talking about `if`, we need to know which values are "Truthy"
-# (represent True), and which are "Falsey" (or "Falsy") -- represent False.
-# Only these values are Falsey: (), 0, "0", "", Nil, A type (like `Str` or `Int`),
-# and of course False itself.
-# Every other value is Truthy.
+```perl6
+## - `if`
+## Before talking about `if`, we need to know which values are "Truthy"
+## (represent True), and which are "Falsey" (or "Falsy") -- represent False.
+## Only these values are Falsey: 0, (), {}, "", Nil, A type (like `Str` or
+## `Int`) and of course False itself.
+## Every other value is Truthy.
if True {
say "It's true !";
}
@@ -223,52 +282,68 @@ unless False {
say "It's not false !";
}
-# As you can see, you don't need parentheses around conditions.
-# However, you do need the brackets around the "body" block:
+## As you can see, you don't need parentheses around conditions.
+## However, you do need the brackets around the "body" block:
# if (true) say; # This doesn't work !
-# You can also use their postfix versions, with the keyword after:
+## You can also use their postfix versions, with the keyword after:
say "Quite truthy" if True;
-# - Ternary conditional, "?? !!" (like `x ? y : z` in some other languages)
-my $a = $condition ?? $value-if-true !! $value-if-false;
-
-# - `given`-`when` looks like other languages `switch`, but much more
-# powerful thanks to smart matching and thanks to Perl 6's "topic variable", $_.
-#
-# This variable contains the default argument of a block,
-# a loop's current iteration (unless explicitly named), etc.
-#
-# `given` simply puts its argument into `$_` (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.
+## - Ternary conditional, "?? !!" (like `x ? y : z` in some other languages)
+## returns $value-if-true if the condition is true and $value-if-false
+## if it is false.
+## my $result = $value condition ?? $value-if-true !! $value-if-false;
+
+my $age = 30;
+say $age > 18 ?? "You are an adult" !! "You are under 18";
+```
+
+### given/when, or switch
+
+```perl6
+## - `given`-`when` looks like other languages' `switch`, but is much more
+## powerful thanks to smart matching and Perl 6's "topic variable", $_.
+##
+## This variable contains the default argument of a block,
+## a loop's current iteration (unless explicitly named), etc.
+##
+## `given` simply puts its argument into `$_` (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 `when` uses it.
+ when /foo/ { # Don't worry about smart matching yet – just know `when` uses it
# This is equivalent to `if $_ ~~ /foo/`.
say "Yay !";
}
- when $_.chars > 50 { # smart matching anything with True (`$a ~~ True`) is True,
+ 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) ~~ True {...}
+ # 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
+### Looping constructs
-# - `loop` is an infinite loop if you don't pass it arguments,
-# but can also be a C-style `for` loop:
+```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
+ last; # last breaks out of the loop, like the `break` keyword in other
+ # languages
}
loop (my $i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
@@ -278,16 +353,16 @@ loop (my $i = 0; $i < 5; $i++) {
say "This is a C-style for loop !";
}
-# - `for` - Passes through an array
+## - `for` - Passes through an array
for @array -> $variable {
say "I've got $variable !";
}
-# As we saw with given, for's default "current iteration" variable is `$_`.
-# That means you can use `when` in a `for` just like you were in a when.
+## As we saw with given, for's default "current iteration" variable is `$_`.
+## That means you can use `when` in a `for` just like you were 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; # the above and this are equivalent.
@@ -295,218 +370,237 @@ for @array {
for @array {
# You can...
- next if $_ == 3; # Skip to the next iteration (`continue` in C-like languages).
- redo if $_ == 4; # Re-do the iteration, keeping the same topic variable (`$_`).
- last if $_ == 5; # Or break out of a loop (like `break` in C-like languages).
+ next if $_ == 3; # Skip to the next iteration (`continue` in C-like languages)
+ redo if $_ == 4; # Re-do the iteration, keeping the same topic variable (`$_`)
+ last if $_ == 5; # Or break out of a loop (like `break` in C-like languages)
}
-# The "pointy block" syntax isn't specific to for.
-# It's just a way to express a block in Perl6.
+## The "pointy block" syntax isn't specific to for.
+## It's just a way to express a block in Perl6.
if long-computation() -> $result {
say "The result is $result";
}
+```
-# Now that you've seen how to traverse a list, you need to be aware of something:
-# List context (@) flattens. If you traverse nested lists, you'll actually be traversing a
-# shallow list.
-for 1, 2, (3, (4, ((5)))) {
- say "Got $_.";
-} #=> Got 1. Got 2. Got 3. Got 4. Got 5.
-
-# ... However: (forcing item context with `$`)
-for 1, 2, $(3, 4) {
- say "Got $_.";
-} #=> Got 1. Got 2. Got 3 4.
-
-# Note that the last one actually joined 3 and 4.
-# While `$(...)` will apply item to context to just about anything, you can also create
-# an array using `[]`:
-for [1, 2, 3, 4] {
- say "Got $_.";
-} #=> Got 1 2 3 4.
-
-# You need to be aware of when flattening happens exactly.
-# The general guideline is that argument lists flatten, but not method calls.
-# Also note that `.list` and array assignment flatten (`@ary = ...`) flatten.
-((1,2), 3, (4,5)).map({...}); # iterates over three elements (method call)
-map {...}, ((1,2),3,(4,5)); # iterates over five elements (argument list is flattened)
-
-(@a, @b, @c).pick(1); # picks one of three arrays (method call)
-pick 1, @a, @b, @c; # flattens argument list and pick one element
-
-### Operators
+## Operators
-## Since Perl languages are very much operator-based languages
+```perl6
+## Since Perl languages are very much operator-based languages,
## Perl 6 operators are actually just funny-looking subroutines, in syntactic
-## categories, like infix:<+> (addition) or prefix:<!> (bool not).
+## categories, like infix:<+> (addition) or prefix:<!> (bool not).
## The categories are:
-# - "prefix": before (like `!` in `!True`).
-# - "postfix": after (like `++` in `$a++`).
-# - "infix": in between (like `*` in `4 * 3`).
-# - "circumfix": around (like `[`-`]` in `[1, 2]`).
-# - "post-circumfix": around, after another term (like `{`-`}` in `%hash{'key'}`)
+## - "prefix": before (like `!` in `!True`).
+## - "postfix": after (like `++` in `$a++`).
+## - "infix": in between (like `*` in `4 * 3`).
+## - "circumfix": around (like `[`-`]` in `[1, 2]`).
+## - "post-circumfix": around, after another term (like `{`-`}` in
+## `%hash{'key'}`)
## The associativity and precedence list are explained below.
-# Alright, you're set to go !
+## Alright, you're set to go !
## * Equality Checking
-# - `==` is numeric comparison
+## - `==` is numeric comparison
3 == 4; # False
3 != 4; # True
-# - `eq` is string comparison
+## - `eq` is string comparison
'a' eq 'b';
'a' ne 'b'; # not equal
'a' !eq 'b'; # same as above
-# - `eqv` is canonical equivalence (or "deep equality")
+## - `eqv` is canonical equivalence (or "deep equality")
(1, 2) eqv (1, 3);
-# - `~~` is smart matching
-# For a complete list of combinations, use this table:
-# http://perlcabal.org/syn/S03.html#Smart_matching
-'a' ~~ /a/; # true if matches regexp
-'key' ~~ %hash; # true if key exists in hash
-$arg ~~ &bool-returning-function; # `True` if the function, passed `$arg`
- # as an argument, returns `True`.
-1 ~~ Int; # "has type" (check superclasses and roles)
-1 ~~ True; # smart-matching against a boolean always returns that boolean
- # (and will warn).
-
-# You also, of course, have `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`.
-# Their string equivalent are also avaiable : `lt`, `le`, `gt`, `ge`.
+## - 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 "has type" (can check superclasses and roles)
+
+1 ~~ Int; # True
+
+## Smart-matching against a boolean always returns that boolean (and will warn).
+
+1 ~~ True; # True
+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
+
+## You also, of course, have `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`.
+## Their string equivalent are also available : `lt`, `le`, `gt`, `ge`.
3 > 4;
## * Range constructors
3 .. 7; # 3 to 7, both included
-# `^` on either side them exclusive on that side :
+## `^` on either side them exclusive on that side :
3 ^..^ 7; # 3 to 7, not included (basically `4 .. 6`)
-# This also works as a shortcut for `0..^N`:
+## 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:
+## This also allows us to demonstrate that Perl 6 has lazy/infinite arrays,
+## using the Whatever Star:
my @array = 1..*; # 1 to Infinite ! `1..Inf` is the same.
say @array[^10]; # you can pass arrays 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.
-
-# Warning, though: if you try this example in the REPL and just put `1..*`,
-# Perl 6 will be forced to try and evaluate the whole array (to print it),
-# so you'll end with an infinite loop.
-
-# You can use that in most places you'd expect, even assigning to an array
+## 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.
+## Trying
+
+## 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 assigning to an array
my @numbers = ^20;
-@numbers[5..*] = 3, 9 ... * > 90; # The right hand side could be infinite as well.
- # (but not both, as this would be an infinite loop)
-say @numbers; #=> 3 9 15 21 27 [...] 81 87
+## Here numbers increase by "6"; more on `...` 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
+## * And &&, Or ||
3 && 4; # 4, which is Truthy. Calls `.Bool` on `4` and gets `True`.
0 || False; # False. Calls `.Bool` on `0`
## * Short-circuit (and tight) versions of the above
-$a && $b && $c; # Returns the first argument that evaluates to False,
- # or the last argument.
-$a || $b;
+# Returns the first argument that evaluates to False, or the last argument.
-# And because you're going to want them,
-# you also have composed assignment operators:
-$a *= 2; # multiply and assignment
+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;
$b %%= 5; # divisible by and assignment
@array .= sort; # calls the `sort` method and assigns the result back
+```
+
+## More on subs !
-### More on subs !
-# As we said before, Perl 6 has *really* powerful subs. We're going to see
-# a few more key concepts that make them better than in any other language :-).
+```perl6
+## As we said before, Perl 6 has *really* powerful subs. We're going to see
+## a few more key concepts that make them better than in any other language :-).
+```
+
+### Unpacking !
-## Unpacking !
-# It's the ability to "extract" arrays and keys.
-# It'll work in `my`s and in parameter lists.
-my ($a, $b) = 1, 2;
-say $a; #=> 1
-my ($, $, $c) = 1, 2, 3; # keep the non-interesting anonymous
-say $c; #=> 3
+```perl6
+## It's the ability to "extract" arrays and keys (AKA "destructuring").
+## It'll work in `my`s and in parameter lists.
+my ($f, $g) = 1, 2;
+say $f; #=> 1
+my ($, $, $h) = 1, 2, 3; # keep the non-interesting anonymous
+say $h; #=> 3
my ($head, *@tail) = 1, 2, 3; # Yes, it's the same as with "slurpy subs"
my (*@small) = 1;
-sub foo(@array [$fst, $snd]) {
+sub unpack_array(@array [$fst, $snd]) {
say "My first is $fst, my second is $snd ! All in all, I'm @array[].";
# (^ remember the `[]` to interpolate the array)
}
-foo(@tail); #=> My first is 2, my second is 3 ! All in all, I'm 2 3
+unpack_array(@tail); #=> My first is 2, my second is 3 ! All in all, I'm 2 3
-# If you're not using the array itself, you can also keep it anonymous,
-# much like a scalar:
+## If you're not using the array itself, you can also keep it anonymous,
+## much like a scalar:
sub first-of-array(@ [$fst]) { $fst }
first-of-array(@small); #=> 1
first-of-array(@tail); # Throws an error "Too many positional parameters passed"
# (which means the array is too big).
-# You can also use a slurp ...
+## You can also use a slurp ...
sub slurp-in-array(@ [$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 ;-).)
+## You could even extract on a slurpy (but it's pretty useless ;-).)
sub fst(*@ [$fst]) { # or simply : `sub fst($fst) { ... }`
say $fst;
}
fst(1); #=> 1
fst(1, 2); # errors with "Too many positional parameters passed"
-# You can also destructure hashes (and classes, which you'll learn about later !)
-# The syntax is basically `%hash-name (:key($variable-to-store-value-in))`.
-# The hash can stay anonymous if you only need the values you extracted.
+## You can also destructure hashes (and classes, which you'll learn about later)
+## The syntax is basically `%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, $qua times.";
}
-# Then call it with a hash: (you need to keep the brackets for it to be a hash)
+## Then call it with a hash: (you need to keep the brackets for it to be a hash)
key-of({value => 'foo', qua => 1});
#key-of(%hash); # the same (for an equivalent `%hash`)
## The last expression of a sub is returned automatically
-# (though you may use the `return` keyword, of course):
+## (though you may use the `return` keyword, of course):
sub next-index($n) {
$n + 1;
}
my $new-n = next-index(3); # $new-n is now 4
-# This is true for everything, except for the looping constructs
-# (due to performance reasons): there's reason to build a list
-# if we're just going to discard all the results.
-# If you still want to build one, you can use the `do` statement prefix:
-# (or the `gather` prefix, which we'll see later)
+## This is true for everything, except for the looping constructs
+## (due to performance reasons): there's reason to build a list
+## if we're just going to discard all the results.
+## If you still want to build one, you can use the `do` statement prefix:
+## (or the `gather` prefix, which we'll see later)
sub list-of($n) {
do for ^$n { # note the use of the range-to prefix operator `^` (`0..^N`)
$_ # current loop iteration
}
}
my @list3 = list-of(3); #=> (0, 1, 2)
+```
+### lambdas
+
+```perl6
## You can create a lambda with `-> {}` ("pointy block") or `{}` ("block")
my &lambda = -> $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.
+## `-> {}` 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 map:
+## We can, for example, add 3 to each value of an array using map:
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:
+## 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
@@ -519,56 +613,62 @@ sub truthy-array(@array) {
# ^ the `return` only returns from the anonymous `sub`
}
-# You can also use the "whatever star" to create an anonymous function
-# (it'll stop at the furthest operator in the current expression)
+## You can also use the "whatever star" to create an anonymous function
+## (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 + $b + 3 }`
say (*/2)(4); #=> 2
- # Immediatly execute the function Whatever created.
+ # Immediately execute the function Whatever created.
say ((*+3)/5)(5); #=> 1.6
# works even in parens !
-# But if you need to have more than one argument (`$_`)
-# in a block (without wanting to resort to `-> {}`),
-# you can also use the implicit argument syntax, `$^` :
+## But if you need to have more than one argument (`$_`)
+## in a block (without wanting to resort to `-> {}`),
+## you can also use the implicit argument syntax, `$^` :
map({ $^a + $^b + 3 }, @array); # equivalent to following:
map(sub ($a, $b) { $a + $b + 3 }, @array); # (here with `sub`)
-# Note : those are sorted lexicographically.
+## Note : those are sorted lexicographically.
# `{ $^b / $^a }` is like `-> $a, $b { $b / $a }`
+```
-## About types...
-# Perl6 is gradually typed. This means you can specify the type
-# of your variables/arguments/return types, or you can omit them
-# and they'll default to "Any".
-# You obviously get access to a few base types, like Int and Str.
-# The constructs for declaring types are "class", "role",
-# which you'll see later.
-
-# For now, let us examinate "subset":
-# a "subset" 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" keyword:
+### About types...
+
+```perl6
+## Perl6 is gradually typed. This means you can specify the type
+## of your variables/arguments/return types, or you can omit them
+## and they'll default to "Any".
+## You obviously get access to a few base types, like Int and Str.
+## The constructs for declaring types are "class", "role",
+## which you'll see later.
+
+## For now, let us examine "subset":
+## a "subset" 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" keyword:
subset VeryBigInteger of Int where * > 500;
+```
+
+### Multiple Dispatch
-## Multiple Dispatch
-# 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 a `where`:
+```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 a `where`:
-# with types
+## 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
+multi sayit(Str $s) { # a multi is a `sub` by default
say "String: $s";
}
sayit("foo"); # prints "String: foo"
sayit(True); # fails at *compile time* with
# "calling 'sayit' will never work with arguments of types ..."
-# with arbitrary precondition (remember subsets?):
+## with arbitrary precondition (remember subsets?):
multi is-big(Int $n where * > 50) { "Yes !" } # using a closure
multi is-big(Int $ where 10..50) { "Quite." } # Using smart-matching
# (could use a regexp, etc)
@@ -580,7 +680,7 @@ multi odd-or-even(Even) { "Even" } # The main case using the type.
# We don't name the argument.
multi odd-or-even($) { "Odd" } # "else"
-# You can even dispatch based on a positional's argument presence !
+## You can even dispatch based on a positional's argument presence !
multi with-or-without-you(:$with!) { # You need make it mandatory to
# be able to dispatch against it.
say "I can live ! Actually, I can't.";
@@ -588,127 +688,174 @@ multi with-or-without-you(:$with!) { # You need make it mandatory to
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 is using 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 because running this would be a terrible idea !)
-
-
-### Scoping
-# In Perl 6, contrarily to many scripting languages (like Python, Ruby, PHP),
-# you are to declare your variables before using them. You know `my`.
-# (there are 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 $foo = 'Foo';
-sub foo {
- my $bar = 'Bar';
- sub bar {
- say "$foo $bar";
+## This is very, very useful for many purposes, like `MAIN` subs (covered
+## later), and even the language itself is using 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 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 $outer_scoped";
}
- &bar; # return the function
+ &inner; # return the function
}
-foo()(); #=> 'Foo Bar'
+outer()(); #=> 'Foo Bar'
-# As you can see, `$foo` and `$bar` were captured.
-# But if we were to try and use `$bar` outside of `foo`,
-# the variable would be undefined (and you'd get a compile time error).
+## As you can see, `$file_scoped` and `$outer_scoped` were captured.
+## But if we were to try and use `$bar` outside of `foo`,
+## the variable would be undefined (and you'd get a compile time error).
+```
-# Perl 6 has another kind of scope : dynamic scope.
-# They use the twigil (composed sigil) `*` to mark dynamically-scoped variables:
-my $*a = 1;
-# Dyamically-scoped variables depend on the current call stack,
-# instead of the current block depth.
-sub foo {
- my $*foo = 1;
- bar(); # call `bar` in-place
-}
-sub bar {
- say $*foo; # `$*a` will be looked in the call stack, and find `foo`'s,
- # even though the blocks aren't nested (they're call-nested).
- #=> 1
-}
+## Twigils
-### Object Model
+```perl6
+## There are many special `twigils` (composed sigil's) 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 (class member)
+## . Method (not really a variable)
-## Perl 6 has a quite comprehensive object model
-# You declare a class with the keyword `class`, fields with `has`,
-# methods with `method`. Every field to private, and is named `$!attr`,
-# but you have `$.` to get a public (immutable) accessor along with it.
-# (using `$.` is like using `$!` plus a `method` with the same name)
+## `*` 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
-# (Perl 6's object model ("SixModel") is very flexible,
-# and allows you to dynamically add methods, change semantics, etc ...
-# (this will not be covered here, and you should refer to the Synopsis).
+my $*dyn_scoped_1 = 1;
+my $*dyn_scoped_2 = 10;
-class A {
- has $.field; # `$.field` is immutable.
- # From inside the class, use `$!field` to modify it.
- has $.other-field is rw; # You can obviously mark a public field `rw`.
- has Int $!private-field = 10;
+sub say_dyn {
+ say "$*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:
+## => $object.method
+## Classes are declared with the `class` keyword. Attributes are declared
+## with the `has` keyword, and methods declared with `method`.
+## Every attribute that is private uses the ! twigil for example: `$!attr`.
+## Immutable public attributes use the `.` twigil.
+## (you can make them mutable with `is rw`)
+## The easiest way to remember the `$.` twigil is 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 ...
+## (these will not all be covered here, and you should refer to:
+## https://docs.perl6.org/language/objects.html.
+
+class Attrib-Class {
+ has $.attrib; # `$.attrib` is immutable.
+ # From inside the class, use `$!attrib` to modify it.
+ has $.other-attrib is rw; # You can mark a public attribute `rw`.
+ has Int $!private-attrib = 10;
method get-value {
- $.field + $!private-field + $n;
+ $.attrib + $!private-attrib;
}
-
- method set-value($n) {
- # $.field = $n; # As stated before, you can't use the `$.` immutable version.
- $!field = $n; # This works, because `$!` is always mutable.
-
- $.other-field = 5; # This works, because `$.other-field` is `rw`.
+
+ method set-value($param) { # Methods can take parameters
+ $!attrib = $param; # This works, because `$!` is always mutable.
+ # $.attrib = $param; # Wrong: You can't use the `$.` immutable version.
+
+ $.other-attrib = 5; # This works, because `$.other-attrib` is `rw`.
}
-
+
method !private-method {
say "This method is private to the class !";
}
};
-# Create a new instance of A with $.field set to 5 :
-# Note: you can't set private-field from here (more later on).
-my $a = A.new(field => 5);
-$a.get-value; #=> 18
-#$a.field = 5; # This fails, because the `has $.field` is immutable
-$a.other-field = 10; # This, however, works, because the public field
- # is mutable (`rw`).
+## Create a new instance of Attrib-Class with $.attrib set to 5 :
+## Note: you can't set private-attribute from here (more later on).
+my $class-obj = Attrib-Class.new(attrib => 5);
+say $class-obj.get-value; #=> 15
+# $class-obj.attrib = 5; # This fails, because the `has $.attrib` is immutable
+$class-obj.other-attrib = 10; # This, however, works, because the public
+ # attribute is mutable (`rw`).
+```
-## Perl 6 also has inheritance (along with multiple inheritance)
-# (though considered a misfeature by many)
+### Object Inheritance
-class A {
- has $.val;
-
- submethod not-inherited {
- say "This method won't be available on B.";
- say "This is most useful for BUILD, which we'll see later";
+```perl6
+## Perl 6 also has inheritance (along with multiple inheritance)
+## While `method`'s are inherited, `submethod`'s 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 Child.
+ submethod favorite-color {
+ say "My favorite color is Blue";
}
-
- method bar { $.val * 5 }
+ # This method is inherited
+ method talk { say "Hi, my name is $!name" }
}
-class B is A { # inheritance uses `is`
- method foo {
- say $.val;
- }
-
- method bar { $.val * 10 } # this shadows A's `bar`
+# 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, he knows how to say his name.
+
+my Child $Madison .= new(age => 1, name => 'Madison');
+$Madison.talk; # prints "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 properties too, so you can pass `val => 5`.
+```
-# 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 properties too, so you can pass `val => 5`.
-my B $b .= new(val => 5);
-
-# $b.not-inherited; # This won't work, for reasons explained above
-$b.foo; # prints 5
-$b.bar; #=> 50, since it calls B's `bar`
+### Roles, or Mixins
+```perl6
## Roles are supported too (also called Mixins in other languages)
role PrintableVal {
has $!counter = 0;
@@ -717,150 +864,211 @@ role PrintableVal {
}
}
-# you "import" a mixin (a "role") with "does":
+## you "import" a mixin (a "role") with "does":
class Item does PrintableVal {
has $.val;
-
- # When `does`-ed, a `role` literally "mixes in" the class:
- # the methods and fields are put together, which means a class can access
- # the private fields/methods of its roles (but not the inverse !):
+
+ ## 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
-# Exceptions are built on top of classes, in the package `X` (like `X::IO`).
-# Unlike many other languages, in Perl 6, you put the `CATCH` block *within* the
-# block to `try`. By default, a `try` has a `CATCH` block that catches
-# any exception (`CATCH { default {} }`).
-# You can redefine it using `when`s (and `default`)
-# to handle the exceptions you want:
+
+ ## 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:
+die X::AdHoc.new(payload => '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 avoid it being automatically handled and printing lots of scary
+## error messages to the screen.
+## We can use the exception method on $_ to access the exception
+open 'foo' orelse say "Something happened {.exception}";
+
+## This also works:
+open 'foo' orelse say "Something happened $_"; #> Something happened
+ #> Failed to open file foo: no such file or directory
+## Both of those above work but in case we get an object from the left side that
+## is not a failure we will probably get a warning. We see below how we can use
+## `try` and `CATCH` to be more specific with the exceptions we catch.
+```
+
+### Using `try` and `CATCH`
+
+```perl6
+## By using `try` and `CATCH` you can contain and handle exceptions without
+## disrupting the rest of the program. `try` will set the last exception to
+## the special variable `$!` Note: This has no relation to $!variables.
+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 $_ was set when we 'disarmed' the
+## exception with orelse, we also use $_ in the CATCH block.
+## Note: ($! is only set *after* the `try` block)
+## By default, a `try` has a `CATCH` block 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:
try {
open 'foo';
- CATCH {
- when X::AdHoc { say "unable to open file !" }
- # Any other exception will be re-raised, since we don't have a `default`
- # Basically, if a `when` matches (or there's a `default`) marks the exception as
- # "handled" so that it doesn't get re-thrown from the `CATCH`.
- # You still can re-throw the exception (see below) by hand.
+ CATCH { # In the `CATCH` block, the exception is set to $_
+ when X::AdHoc { say "Error: $_" }
+ #=>Error: Failed to open file /dir/foo: no such file or directory
+
+ ## Any other exception will be re-raised, since we don't have a `default`
+ ## Basically, if a `when` matches (or there's a `default`) marks the
+ ## exception as
+ ## "handled" so that it doesn't get re-thrown from the `CATCH`.
+ ## You still can re-throw the exception (see below) by hand.
}
}
-# You can throw an exception using `die`:
-die X::AdHoc.new(payload => 'Error !');
-
-# You can access the last exception with `$!` (usually used in a `CATCH` block)
-
-# There are also some subtelties to exceptions. Some Perl 6 subs return a `Failure`,
-# which is a kind of "unthrown exception". They're not thrown until you tried to look
-# at their content, 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`).
+## There are also some subtleties to exceptions. Some Perl 6 subs return a
+## `Failure`, which is a kind of "unthrown exception". They're not thrown until
+## you tried to look at their content, 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 try to get the fail's value!" }
+ 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).
+## 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 `use`
+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`.
-### Packages
-# 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 denomitor)
-# Packages are important - especially as Perl is well-known for CPAN,
-# the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network.
-# You usually don't use packages directly: you use `class Package::Name::Here;`,
-# or if you only want to export variables/subs, you can use `module`:
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 ...
}
-module Parse::Text; # file-scoped form
+unit module Parse::Text; # file-scoped form
+
grammar Parse::Text::Grammar { # A grammar is a package, which you could `use`
-}
+} # You will learn more about grammars in the regex section
-# NOTE for Perl 5 users: even though the `package` keyword exists,
-# the braceless form is invalid (to catch a "perl5ism"). This will error out:
-# package Foo; # because Perl 6 will think the entire file is Perl 5
-# Just use `module` or the brace version of `package`.
+## 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;
-# You can use a module (bring its declarations into scope) with `use`
-use JSON::Tiny; # if you installed Rakudo* or Panda, you'll have this module
-say from-json('[1]').perl; #=> [1]
+## We'll see how to export variables and subs in the next part:
+```
-# 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;
+## Declarators
-# We'll see how to export variables and subs in the next part:
+```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.
-### Declarators
-# 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` declarations happen at `INIT` time -- (see "Phasers" below)
+## It's like `my`, but it also creates a package variable.
+## (All packagish things (`class`, `role`, etc) are `our` by default)
+module Var::Increment {
+ our $our-var = 1; # Note: you can't put a type constraint like Int on an
+ my $my-var = 22; # `our` variable.
+ our sub Inc {
-## * `our` (happens at `INIT` time -- see "Phasers" below)
-# Along with `my`, there are several others declarators you can use.
-# The first one you'll want for the previous part is `our`.
-# (All packagish things (`class`, `role`, etc) are `our` by default)
-# it's like `my`, but it also creates a package variable:
-module Foo::Bar {
- our $n = 1; # note: you can't put a type constraint on an `our` variable
- our sub inc {
our sub available { # If you try to make inner `sub`s `our`...
# Better know what you're doing (Don't !).
- say "Don't do that. Seriously. You'd get burned.";
+ say "Don't do that. Seriously. You'll get burned.";
}
+
my sub unavailable { # `my sub` is the default
- say "Can't access me from outside, I'm my !";
+ say "Can't access me from outside, I'm 'my'!";
}
+ say ++$our-var; # Increment the package variable and output its value
}
-
- say ++$n; # lexically-scoped variables are still available
+
}
-say $Foo::Bar::n; #=> 1
-Foo::Bar::inc; #=> 2
-Foo::Bar::inc; #=> 3
+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` (happens at `BEGIN` time)
-# You can use the `constant` keyword to declare a compile-time variable/symbol:
+## 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.
+## 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` (happens at run time, but only once)
-# State variables are only executed one time
-# (they exist in other langages such as C as `static`)
+## State variables are only initialized one time
+## (they exist in other languages such as C as `static`)
sub fixed-rand {
state $val = rand;
- say $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:
+## 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`
@@ -870,20 +1078,23 @@ for ^5 -> $a {
# Next iteration will re-run `rand`.
}
}
+```
+## Phasers
-
-### Phasers
-# Phasers in Perl 6 are blocks that happen at determined points of time in your
-# program. When the program is compiled, when a for loop runs, when you leave a
-# block, when an exception gets thrown ... (`CATCH` 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 !
+```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.
+## (`CATCH` 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, instead as late 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" }
@@ -891,15 +1102,37 @@ 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." }
+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.";
+}
-PRE { say "Asserts a precondition at every block entry, before ENTER (especially useful for loops)" }
-POST { say "Asserts a postcondition at every block exit, after LEAVE (especially useful for loops)" }
+## 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)" }
+ 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
@@ -912,40 +1145,43 @@ for ^5 {
## * Role/class phasers
COMPOSE { "When a role is composed into a class. /!\ NOT YET IMPLEMENTED" }
-# They allow for cute trick or clever code ...:
-say "This code took " ~ (time - CHECK time) ~ "s to run";
+## They allow for cute tricks or clever code ...:
+say "This code took " ~ (time - CHECK time) ~ "s to compile";
-# ... or clever organization:
+## ... or clever organization:
sub do-db-stuff {
- ENTER $db.start-transaction; # New transaction everytime we enter the sub
+ $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
-### Statement prefixes
-# 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 somewhere else)
-# Note: all of these (except start) don't need explicit brackets `{` and `}`.
+```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 brackets `{` and `}`.
-# - `do` (that you already saw) - runs a block or a statement as a term
-# You can't normally use a statement as a value (or "term"):
-#
-# my $value = if True { 1 } # `if` is a statement - parse error
-#
-# This works:
+## - `do` (that you already saw) - runs a block or a statement as a term
+## You can't normally use a statement as a value (or "term"):
+##
+## my $value = if True { 1 } # `if` is a statement - parse error
+##
+## This works:
my $a = do if True { 5 } # with `do`, `if` is now a term.
-# - `once` - Makes sure a piece of code only runs once
+## - `once` - Makes sure a piece of code only runs once
for ^5 { once say 1 }; #=> 1
# Only prints ... once.
-# Like `state`, they're cloned per-scope
+## Like `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
-# Gather allows you to `take` several values in an array,
-# much like `do`, but allows you to take any expression.
+## - `gather` - Co-routine thread
+## Gather allows you to `take` several values in an array,
+## much like `do`, but allows you to take any expression.
say gather for ^5 {
take $_ * 3 - 1;
take $_ * 3 + 1;
@@ -956,56 +1192,76 @@ say join ',', gather if False {
take 3;
} # Doesn't print anything.
-# - `eager` - Evaluate 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:
+## - `eager` - Evaluate 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 3 4
-# - `lazy` - Defer actual evaluation until value is fetched (forces lazy context)
-# Not yet implemented !!
+## versus:
+constant thrice = eager gather for ^3 { say take $_ }; #=> 0 1 2
+```
-# - `sink` - An `eager` that discards the results (forces sink context)
+## Iterables
+
+```perl6
+## Iterables are objects that can be iterated similar to the `for` construct
+## `flat`, flattens iterables:
+say (1, 10, (20, 10) ); #> (1 10 (20 10)) Notice how grouping is maintained
+say (1, 10, (20, 10) ).flat; #> (1 10 20 10) Now the iterable is flat
+
+## - `lazy` - Defer actual evaluation until value is fetched
+## (forces 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 (forces sink context)
constant nilthingie = sink for ^3 { .say } #=> 0 1 2
say nilthingie.perl; #=> Nil
-# - `quietly` - Supresses warnings
-# Not yet implemented !
+## - `quietly` blocks will suppress warnings:
+quietly { warn 'This is a warning!' }; #=> No output
-# - `contend` - Attempts side effects under STM
-# Not yet implemented !
+## - `contend` - Attempts side effects under STM
+## Not yet implemented !
+```
-### More operators thingies !
+## More operators thingies !
+```perl6
## Everybody loves operators ! Let's get more of them
-# The precedence list can be found here:
-# http://perlcabal.org/syn/S03.html#Operator_precedence
-# But first, we need a little explanation about associativity:
+## 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:
+## * 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 ! $c; # with a list-associative `!`, this is `infix:<>`
-# * Unary operators:
+## * Unary operators:
!$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 !
-# Okay, you've been reading all of that, so I guess I should try
-# to show you something exciting.
-# I'll tell you a little secret (or not-so-secret):
-# In Perl 6, all operators are actually just funny-looking subroutines.
+### Create your own operators !
-# You can declare an operator just like you declare a sub:
+```perl6
+## Okay, you've been reading all of that, so I guess I should try
+## to show you something 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:
sub prefix:<win>($winner) { # refer to the operator categories
# (yes, it's the "words operator" `<>`)
say "$winner Won !";
@@ -1013,7 +1269,7 @@ sub prefix:<win>($winner) { # refer to the operator categories
win "The King"; #=> The King Won !
# (prefix is before)
-# you can still call the sub with its "full name"
+## you can still call the sub with its "full name":
say prefix:<!>(True); #=> False
sub postfix:<!>(Int $n) {
@@ -1036,102 +1292,106 @@ sub infix:<times>(Int $n, Block $r) { # infix in the middle
# You're very recommended to put spaces
# around your infix operator calls.
-# For circumfix and post-circumfix ones
+## For circumfix and post-circumfix ones
sub circumfix:<[ ]>(Int $n) {
$n ** $n
}
say [5]; #=> 3125
- # circumfix is around. Again, not whitespace.
+ # circumfix is around. Again, no whitespace.
sub postcircumfix:<{ }>(Str $s, Int $idx) {
- # post-circumfix is
- # "after a term, around something"
+ ## 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):
+## 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:
+## equivalent to:
postcircumfix:<{ }>(%h, $key, :delete); # (you can call operators like that)
-# It's *all* using the same building blocks!
-# Syntactic categories (prefix infix ...), named arguments (adverbs), ...,
-# - used to build the language - are available to you.
-# (you are, obviously, recommended against making an operator out of
-# *everything* -- with great power comes great responsibility)
+## It's *all* using the same building blocks!
+## Syntactic categories (prefix infix ...), named arguments (adverbs), ...,
+## - used to build the language - are available to you.
+## (you are, obviously, recommended against making an operator out of
+## *everything* -- with great power comes great responsibility)
+```
+
+### Meta operators !
-## Meta operators !
-# Oh boy, get ready. Get ready, because we're dwelving deep
-# into the rabbit's hole, and you probably won't want to go
-# back to other languages after reading that.
-# (I'm guessing you don't want to already at that point).
-# Meta-operators, as their name suggests, are *composed* operators.
-# Basically, they're operators that apply another operator.
+```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 that.
+## (I'm guessing you don't want to already at that point).
+## Meta-operators, as their name suggests, are *composed* operators.
+## Basically, they're operators that apply another operator.
## * Reduce meta-operator
-# It's a prefix meta-operator that takes a binary functions and
-# one or many lists. If it doesn't get passed any argument,
-# it either return 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.:
+## It's 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`
+## equivalent to `(1+2)+3`
+
say [*] 1..5; #=> 120
-# equivalent to `((((1*2)*3)*4)*5)`.
+## 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
-# the first defined element of a list:
+## You can reduce with any operator, not just with mathematical ones.
+## For example, you could reduce with `//` to get
+## the first defined element of a list:
say [//] Nil, Any, False, 1, 5; #=> False
# (Falsey, but still defined)
-
-# Default value examples:
-say [*] (); #=> 1
-say [+] (); #=> 0
+## 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:
+## 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
## * Zip meta-operator
-# This one is an infix meta-operator than 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 runs the an array with all these new elements.
-(1, 2) Z (3, 4); # ((1, 3), (2, 4)), since by default, the function makes an array
+## This one is an infix meta-operator than 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.
+(1, 2) Z (3, 4); # ((1, 3), (2, 4)), since by default, the function
+ # makes an array.
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
+## 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:
+## 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:
## * Sequence operator
-# 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 Whatever for a lazy infinite 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 Whatever for a lazy infinite list).
my @list = 1, 2, 3 ... 10; # basic deducing
-#my @list = 1, 3, 6 ... 10; # this throws you into an infinite loop,
- # because Perl 6 can't figure out the end
+#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 when the predicate matches).
my @list = 1, 3, 9 ... * > 30; # you can use a predicate
@@ -1142,256 +1402,296 @@ my @fib = 1, 1, *+* ... *; # lazy infinite list of fibonacci series,
# 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.
+## $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 be instant.
-
-### Regular Expressions
-# 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.
-# (we won't be discussing this in this tutorial, however)
-#
-# 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
+## 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 be instant.
+```
+
+## 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.
+## (we won't be discussing this in this tutorial, however)
+##
+## 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 /; # 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`, but 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 as `$/` (implicitly lexically-scoped).
-# You can also use the capture variables (`$0`, `$1`, ... starting at 0, not 1 !).
-#
-# You can also note that `~~` does not perform start/end checking
-# (meaning the regexp can be matched with just one char of the string),
-# we're going to explain later how you can do it.
-
-# In Perl 6, you can have any alphanumeric as a literal,
-# everything else has to be escaped, using a backslash or quotes.
-say so 'a|b' ~~ / a '|' b /; # `True`. Wouln't mean the same if `|` wasn't escaped
-say so 'a|b' ~~ / a \| b /; # `True`. Another way to escape it.
-
-# The whitespace in a regexp is actually not significant,
-# unless you use the `:s` (`:sigspace`, significant space) modifier.
-say so 'a b c' ~~ / a b c /; # `False`. Space is not significant here
-say so 'a b c' ~~ /:s a b c /; # `True`. We added the modifier `:s` here.
-
-# It is, however, important as for how modifiers (that you're gonna see just below)
-# are applied ...
+say so 'a' ~~ / a /; #=> True # More readable with some spaces!
+
+## In all our examples, we're going to use the smart-matching operator against
+## a regexp. We're converting the result using `so`, but in fact, it's
+## returning a `Match` object. They know how to respond to list indexing,
+## hash indexing, and return the matched string.
+## The results of the match are available as `$/` (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 char of the string),
+## we're going to explain later how you can do it.
+
+## In Perl 6, you can have any alphanumeric as a literal,
+## everything else has to be escaped, using a backslash or quotes.
+say so 'a|b' ~~ / a '|' b /; # `True`. Wouldn't mean the same 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' #> Space is not significant here;
+## 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`
+
+## Use the :i adverb to specify case insensitivity:
+say so 'ABC' ~~ m:i{a b c}; #> `True`
+
+## It is, however, important as for how modifiers (that you're gonna see just
+## below) are applied ...
## Quantifying - `?`, `+`, `*` and `**`.
-# - `?` - 0 or 1
-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 just 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' ~~ / ab?c /; # `False`. Whitespace is not significant
+## - `?` - 0 or 1
+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 just 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`
-
-# - `+` - 1 or more
-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
-
-# - `*` - 0 or more
-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:
+## Here (and below) the quantifier applies only to the `b`
+
+## - `+` - 1 or more
+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
+
+## - `*` - 0 or more
+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 ]> /; #=> 'aeiou'
-# Just like in normal regexes, if you want to use a special character, escape it
-# (the last one is escaping a space)
-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 wrote quoting:)
-'he he' ~~ / <[ h e ' ' ]> /; # Warns "Repeated characters found in characters class"
-# You can also negate them ... (equivalent to `[^]` in PCRE)
-so 'foo' ~~ / <-[ f o ]> + /; # False
+## You can use ranges:
+say 'aeiou' ~~ / a <[ e..w ]> /; #=> 'ae'
-# ... 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)
+## Just like in normal regexes, if you want to use a special character,
+## escape it (the last one is escaping a space)
+say 'he-he !' ~~ / 'he-' <[ a..z \! \ ]> + /; #=> 'he-he !'
-## Grouping and capturing
-# Group: you can group parts of your regexp with `[]`.
-# These groups are *not* captured (like PCRE's `(?:)`).
-so 'abc' ~~ / a [ b ] c /; # `True`. The grouping does pretty much nothing
-so 'fooABCABCbar' ~~ / foo [ A B C ] + bar /;
-# The previous line returns `True`.
-# We match the "abc" 1 or more time (the `+` was applied to the group).
+## You'll get a warning if you put duplicate names
+## (which has the nice effect of catching the wrote quoting:)
+'he he' ~~ / <[ h e ' ' ]> /; # Warns "Repeated characters found in characters
+ # class"
+
+## You can also negate them ... (equivalent to `[^]` in PCRE)
+so 'foo' ~~ / <-[ f o ]> + /; # False
-# But this does not go far enough, because we can't actually get back what
-# we matched.
-# Capture: We can actually *capture* the results of the regexp, using parentheses.
-so 'fooABCABCbar' ~~ / foo ( A B C ) + bar /; # `True`. (using `so` here, `$/` below)
+## ... 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)
+```
-# So, starting with the grouping explanations.
-# As we said before, our `Match` object is available as `$/`:
-say $/; # Will print some weird stuff (we'll explain) (or "Nil" if nothing matched).
+### Grouping and capturing
-# As we also said before, it has array indexing:
+```perl6
+## Group: you can group parts of your regexp with `[]`.
+## These groups are *not* captured (like PCRE's `(?:)`).
+so 'abc' ~~ / a [ b ] c /; # `True`. The grouping does pretty much nothing
+so 'foo012012bar' ~~ / foo [ '01' <[0..9]> ] + bar /;
+## The previous line returns `True`.
+## We match the "012" 1 or more time (the `+` was applied to the group).
+
+## But this does not go far enough, because we can't actually get back what
+## we matched.
+## Capture: We can actually *capture* the results of the regexp,
+## using parentheses.
+so 'fooABCABCbar' ~~ / foo ( 'A' <[A..Z]> 'C' ) + bar /; # `True`. (using `so`
+ # here, `$/` below)
+
+## So, starting with the grouping explanations.
+## As we said before, our `Match` object is available as `$/`:
+say $/; # Will print some weird stuff (we'll explain) (or "Nil" if
+ # nothing matched).
+
+## As we also said before, it has array indexing:
say $/[0]; #=> 「ABC」 「ABC」
# These weird 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 capture (indexed using `$0`, `$/[0]` or a named one) will be an array
-# IFF it can have more than one element
-# (so, with `*`, `+` and `**` (whatever the operands), but not with `?`).
-# Let's use examples to see that:
-so 'fooABCbar' ~~ / foo ( A B C )? bar /; # `True`
+## 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 capture (indexed using `$0`, `$/[0]` or a named one) will be an array
+## IFF it can have more than one element
+## (so, 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.
+so 'fooABCbar' ~~ / foo ( "A" "B" "C" )? bar /; # `True`
say $/[0]; #=> 「ABC」
say $0.WHAT; #=> (Match)
- # It can't be more than one, so it's only a single match object.
-so 'foobar' ~~ / foo ( A B C )? bar /; #=> True
+ # There can't be more than one, so it's only a single match object.
+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`
+so 'foobar' ~~ / foo ( "A" "B" "C" ) ** 0..1 bar /; # `True`
say $0.WHAT; #=> (Array)
# A specific quantifier will always capture an Array,
# may it be a range or a specific value (even 1).
-# The captures are indexed per nesting. This means a group in a group will be nested
-# under its parent group: `$/[0][0]`, for this code:
+## 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)
+## 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. Those contain a bunch of infos:
- # where the match started/ended, the "ast" (see actions later), etc.
+ # We can see it's a list of Match objects. Those contain
+ # a bunch of infos: where the match started/ended,
+ # the "ast" (see actions later), etc.
# You'll see named capture below with grammars.
## Alternatives - the `or` of regexps
-# WARNING: They are DIFFERENT from PCRE regexps.
+## WARNING: They are DIFFERENT from PCRE regexps.
so 'abc' ~~ / a [ b | y ] c /; # `True`. Either "b" or "y".
so 'ayc' ~~ / a [ b | y ] c /; # `True`. Obviously enough ...
-# The difference between this `|` and the one you're used to is LTM.
-# LTM means "Longest Token Matching". This means that the engine will always
-# try to match as much as possible in the strng
+## The difference between this `|` and the one you're used to is LTM.
+## LTM means "Longest Token Matching". This means that the engine will always
+## try to match as much as possible in the strng
'foo' ~~ / fo | foo /; # `foo`, 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.
-# Declarative prefixes include alternations (`|`), conjuctions (`&`),
-# sub-rule calls (not yet introduced), literals, characters classes and quantifiers.
-# The latter 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.
-# Exemples:
-# DECLARATIVE | PROCEDURAL
+## 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.
+## Declarative prefixes include alternations (`|`), conjunctions (`&`),
+## sub-rule calls (not yet introduced), literals, characters classes and
+## quantifiers.
+## The latter 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)
+## 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)
+## 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 `||`
+## Note: the first-matching `or` still exists, but is now spelled `||`
'foo' ~~ / fo || foo /; # `fo` now.
+```
+## Extra: the MAIN subroutine
-
-
-### Extra: the MAIN subroutime
-# The `MAIN` subroutine is called when you run a Perl 6 file directly.
-# It's very powerful, because Perl 6 actually parses the argument
-# 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`
+```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`
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 haz multi-dispatch:
-# (using a "Bool" for the named argument so that we can do `--replace`
-# instead of `--replace=1`)
+## This produces:
+## $ perl6 cli.pl
+## Usage:
+## t.pl <name>
+
+## And since it's a regular Perl 6 sub, you can haz multi-dispatch:
+## (using a "Bool" for the named argument so that we can do `--replace`
+## instead of `--replace=1`)
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:
-# $ perl 6 cli.pl
-# Usage:
-# t.pl [--replace] add <key> <value>
-# t.pl remove <key>
-# t.pl [--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:
-###
+## This produces:
+## $ perl6 cli.pl
+## Usage:
+## t.pl [--replace] add <key> <value>
+## t.pl remove <key>
+## t.pl [--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
-###
-# It's considered 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 bloat it up
+```perl6
+## It's considered 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 bloat it up
## Operators
## * Sort comparison
-# They return one value of the `Order` enum : `Less`, `Same` and `More`
-# (which numerify to -1, 0 or +1).
+## They return one value of the `Order` enum : `Less`, `Same` and `More`
+## (which numerify to -1, 0 or +1).
1 <=> 4; # sort comparison for numerics
'a' leg 'b'; # sort comparison for string
$obj eqv $obj2; # sort comparison using eqv semantics
@@ -1401,60 +1701,61 @@ $obj eqv $obj2; # sort comparison using eqv semantics
'b' after 'a'; # True
## * Short-circuit default operator
-# Like `or` and `||`, but instead returns the first *defined* value :
+## Like `or` and `||`, but instead returns the first *defined* value :
say Any // Nil // 0 // 5; #=> 0
## * Short-circuit exclusive or (XOR)
-# Returns `True` if one (and only one) of its arguments is true
+## Returns `True` if one (and only one) of its arguments is true
say True ^^ False; #=> True
## * Flip Flop
-# The flip flop operators (`ff` and `fff`, equivalent to P5's `..`/`...`).
-# are operators that take two predicates to test:
-# They are `False` until their left side returns `True`, then are `True` until
-# their right side returns `True`.
-# Like for ranges, you can exclude the iteration when it became `True`/`False`
-# by using `^` on either side.
-# Let's start with an example :
+## The flip flop operators (`ff` and `fff`, equivalent to P5's `..`/`...`).
+## are operators that take two predicates to test:
+## They are `False` until their left side returns `True`, then are `True` until
+## their right side returns `True`.
+## Like for ranges, you can exclude the iteration when it became `True`/`False`
+## by using `^` on either side.
+## Let's start with an example :
for <well met young hero we shall meet later> {
# by default, `ff`/`fff` smart-match (`~~`) against `$_`:
if 'met' ^ff 'meet' { # Won't enter the if for "met"
# (explained in details below).
.say
}
-
+
if rand == 0 ff rand == 1 { # compare variables other than `$_`
say "This ... probably will never run ...";
}
}
-# This will print "young hero we shall meet" (excluding "met"):
-# the flip-flop will start returning `True` when it first encounters "met"
-# (but will still return `False` for "met" itself, due to the leading `^`
-# on `ff`), until it sees "meet", which is when it'll start returning `False`.
-
-# The difference between `ff` (awk-style) and `fff` (sed-style) is that
-# `ff` will test its right side right when its left side changes to `True`,
-# and can get back to `False` right away
-# (*except* it'll be `True` for the iteration that matched) -
-# While `fff` will wait for the next iteration to
-# try its right side, once its left side changed:
+## This will print "young hero we shall meet" (excluding "met"):
+## the flip-flop will start returning `True` when it first encounters "met"
+## (but will still return `False` for "met" itself, due to the leading `^`
+## on `ff`), until it sees "meet", which is when it'll start returning `False`.
+
+## The difference between `ff` (awk-style) and `fff` (sed-style) is that
+## `ff` will test its right side right when its left side changes to `True`,
+## and can get back to `False` right away
+## (*except* it'll be `True` for the iteration that matched) -
+## While `fff` will wait for the next iteration to
+## try its right side, once its left side changed:
.say if 'B' ff 'B' for <A B C B A>; #=> B B
# because the right-hand-side was tested
# directly (and returned `True`).
- # "B"s are printed since it matched that time
- # (it just went back to `False` right away).
+ # "B"s are printed since it matched that
+ # time (it just went back to `False`
+ # right away).
.say if 'B' fff 'B' for <A B C B A>; #=> B C B
# The right-hand-side wasn't tested until
# `$_` became "C"
# (and thus did not match instantly).
-# A flip-flop can change state as many times as needed:
+## 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 this printing again"
+ #=> "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:
+## 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,
@@ -1462,8 +1763,8 @@ for (1, 3, 60, 3, 40, 60) { # Note: the parenthesis are superfluous here
#=> 60 3 40 60
}
-# You can also use this property to create an `If`
-# that'll not go through the first time :
+## 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
@@ -1471,15 +1772,28 @@ for <a b c> {
}
-# - `===` is value identity and uses `.WHICH` on the objects to compare them
-# - `=:=` is container identity and uses `VAR()` on the objects to compare them
+## - `===` is value identity and uses `.WHICH` on the objects to compare them
+## - `=:=` is container identity and uses `VAR()` on the objects to compare them
```
If you want to go further, you can:
- - Read the [Perl 6 Advent Calendar](http://perl6advent.wordpress.com/). This is probably the greatest source of Perl 6 information, snippets and such.
- - 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.
-
+ - 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.