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Weblog: Tablet
in Perl 6
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Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta Larry Wall: You should not take this picture to mean that linguistics is the opposite of common sense. But there are many computer scientists who have complained that it should be more like engineering and less like an art. And I disagree, but that's okay. Main GoalEnjoy life and enjoy the freedom of expressing yourself. Which means: support you as much as possible, and not force you in any way. Perl 6 tries to be even better than Perl 5 as your humble servant for translating your thoughts into executable code (if possible). StrategyEvery style and level of expertise has to be supported. And even more difficult: all of them have to play together well. The default often imitates a natural language (e.g., English). The following oft-repeated terms encapsulate strategies and concepts for this. TermsTIMTOWTDIPerl's everlasting slogan: "There is more than one way to do it," meaning your way is valid, too. Just be aware of logical consequences. Visual MetaphorPeople like to see their code as a picture at first glance. Therefore names and operators should be distinctive, similar things should look similar, different things different. Larry likes to add: weird things should also look weird. And sometimes even characters can be ideograms; like the Z meta-operator, which shows visually how it works (first left then right, then next left, etc.). TopicalizerThis also has to do with natural attention flow. If a topic or first word of a sentence sets an understandable context for what follows, the meaning is built up word for word. This is much easier to grasp, than if the last word of a block resolves the block's entire meaning (like regex modifiers do in Perl 5). In particular, for and given are called topicalizers, because they set $_, the current topic variable. Context sensitiveThe same term or symbol might do different things in different contexts, although we have done our very best to consistently represent the same general idea. Maybe the best example is the * aka Whatever. But every context is its own domain, optimized to solve the problems of that domain. Maximum reuseNot only is syntax reused, to minimize the stuff you have to remember, but concepts are reused also, wherever possible. For example, Pairs are used to build hashes or named parameters in routines calls. There are plenty more examples. Maybe the biggest one: the regex engine that parses your code is the same engine you use in your program. No special rulesMost of the special rules that plagued Perl 5 are gone or generalized. One pass parsingPerl 6 is much easier to understand, both for people and also for software parsers. The language is designed to be understood by machines in one read, dividing the source in smaller and smaller units. As a nice side effect: syntax errors can only damage the understanding of small units. Keep easy things easy and hard things possibleBeside TIMTOWTDI, the other ancient slogan is "Make easy things easy and hard things possible." Even if nearly every cool idea is crammed into Perl 6, we don't lose track of the basics. Features are made as accessible and free of artificial prerequisites as possible. For example, printing a variable as a line without explicit quotes and newline (say $var), or reading a file without a file handle (slurp("filename").lines). Rule of thumb: if you can think of a concept as trivial, then it should be. On the other hand, if you can think of a computable solution, it should at least be doable in Perl (no artificial walls). Huffman codingThis is a refinement of the last rule: common, often used things have short, straightforward names. More verbose names indicate more rare, harder to grasp concepts, or things that overwrite the default rules ("weird things should look weird"). It also implies that the defaults lean toward what a beginner (non-Perl 5 programmer) might expect ("hide the fancy stuff"). Water bed theory of linguistic complexityThis philosophy underlies the two previous terms. All Perl words should reflect logical units which can be freely combined. Making it more complicated than necessary is obviously not desirable. But oversimplification will create artificial complexity somewhere else. Like a water bed, where you can press down in one place but the water will go up in another. All your paradigms are belong to usWe learn, take and adapt from every source possible to offer the best of all breeds. You should be able to keep your style when switching to Perl. Perl 6 supports the structured, object oriented, aspect oriented, functional, design by contract, declarative and logic programming paradigms. Buzzword compliantThis term is an extension to the previous. Not only every programming paradigm, but also every technique or neat trick loudly marketed out there as "must have" "in the [%DATE%]", should be available in Perl 6 (or at least be possible), as long there is expressive value in it. A few examples include "named parameters", "lvalue subroutines", "parametizable subclasses" or "hygienic macros". Second system syndromeWe are very aware that many ambitious software projects that are rebuilt from scratch fail. Especially those which aim to be "even better in all ways" successors of already successful creations. In fact, this happens so often that the term "second system syndrome" was coined. We chose this path for Perl 6 anyway, because we believe it's the only way to get a significantly better language. (Gradual improvements are flowing into Perl 5 all the time, sometimes inspired from Perl 6.) That's why the unofficial motto of Perl 6 is "Second system syndrome done right". TrendsAs a consequence of these principles, various trends can be observed. Design ProcessThe initial source of the Perl 6 design came from 361 RFC (request for comments) submissions by people from all over the world. Larry Wall sorted and commented on them in several documents called the Apocalypses (meaning "revelations"). Damian Conway wrote, for each Apocalypse, an Exegesis ("explanation"), that expounded Larry's ideas. These are now all historic documents that not have changed since, because they were much harder to maintain than the Synopses ("abstracts" or "comparisons" (with Perl 5)). The Synopsis documents, along with the test suite, form the official specification of Perl 6. More details on that can be found in the history section. The Synopses are continually edited because the more we think about the syntax and semantics, the more detailed the picture gets. The other important input comes from the implementors. They uncover cases that worked only in theory, and important corner cases not thought about before. This mutual influence of specification and implementation we call the whirlpool model of software development, which is an intended pun on the well-known waterfall model. Design changes are usually discussed in the p6l mailing list and the #perl6 channel on the freenode IRC network.
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta These are the Perl 6 Tablets, a comprehensive manual, aimed to support many different ways of learning. The content is nicely sorted and indexed and many links allow you to follow your interest freely. For a lightweight introduction, try the Perl 6 Tutorial. If its too easy, read the specs.
DISCLAIMER: This docs moved to tablets.perl6.org/ and no longer represent the current state. Tablet 2: Basic Syntax (Spaces, Comments, Literals, Quoting, Formatting) Tablet 3: Variables (Sigils, Twigils, Assignment, Typing, Scopes) Tablet 4: Operators (Comparison, Math, String, Logic, Metaops) Tablet 5: IO (Command Line, Files, Sockets, Network, Misc.) Tablet 6: Blocks (Conditions, Loops) Tablet 7: Subroutines (Signatures, Modules) Tablet 8: Objects (Classes, Roles) Tablet 9: Regex (Rules, Grammars) Tablet 10: Metaprogramming (Macros, DSL) Appendix A: Index (all ops, builtins, methods and it terms, alphabetically ordered) Appendix B: Tables, short reference (cheat sheets ans summary tables) Appendix C: Cookbook (chunks of everyday Perl 5, translated into idiomatic Perl 6)
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
MacrosClean MacrosDirty MacrosOperatorsour &postfix:<²> := &infix:<**>.assuming(b => 2); Changing Internal GrammarDSL
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Project Pages
Downloads (sources, binaries):CPAN:
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Wikis:
more Info:
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Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta Larry Wall: We put the "Regular" back into "Expression". Like quotes, are Regular Expressions now a sublanguage, a language inside the language, instead of being just funny strings. They are parsed by a completely different set of rules, which are stored in the special variable $~Regex ($~Trans for transliterations and $~P5Regex for compatible Regexes). But these rules are made much more consistant with the main language than before. Literal CharacterEvery alphanumeric character has no special meaning and stand for the character visible. If a backslash (\) is standing directly in front of the character it becomes a metacharacter. For not alphanumeric chars the opposite is true. Inside of quotes every char is literal. MetacharacterModifierOperatorsrx/.../ aka Q :regex /.../ Methodscomb Special Variables$/ MatchingSubstitutionTransliterationmy $escaped = $html.trans([ '&', '<', '>' ] =>); GrammarsPredefined RulesAre listed here. <prior> is somehow an exception.
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Damian Conway: In order to understand how object orientation works in Perl, we first need to agree what object orientation actually is. And that's surprisingly hard to do. Object-oriented programming has been around for at least three decades now, and in that time many opinions, theories, and even ideologies have been formulated on the subject. Each has purported to definitively characterize object orientation. Most are mutually inconsistent. No two are exactly alike. ClassesAttributesMethodsSubmethodsInheritanceDelegationRoles
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta This is a small tour, showing the best features and improvements of Perl 6 in short examples, compared to similar working Perl 5 examples. Command LineMaking output will become simpler and easier for newbies.
Perl 5 Perl 6
print "bananas are good\n"; say "bananas are good";
print "and I said: $quotes{\"me\"}\n"; say "and I said: %quotes{"me"}.";
print "and I said: $quotes{\"me\"}\n"; say "and I said: %quotes<me>.";
print "What is ... "; $result = prompt "What is ... ";
chomp($result = <>);
File IOFile::Slurp is in the Perl 6 core language and file reading is simpler then ever (and autochomp included).
Perl 5 Perl 6
$content = do { local $/; $content = slurp "poetry.txt";
open my $FH, "poetry.txt"; <$FH>
};
chomp(@content = do { @content = lines "poetry.txt";
open my $FH, "poetry.txt"; <$FH>
});
Automatic multithreadingApplying operations to junctions and arrays is now syntactically compact and readable. Perl 6 will create threads where appropriate to use multiple processors, cores or hyperthreading for high level language SIMD concurrent processing.
Perl 5 Perl 6
my $sum; my $sum = [+] @numbers;
$sum += $_ for @numbers;
for (0 .. $#factor1) { @product = @factor1 >>*<< @factor2;
$product[$] = $factor1[$] * $factor2[$_];
}
The Perl 5 code is a simplification, of course Perl6 "does the right thing" when the arrays have different lengths. ComparisonHere are junctions, then chained comparison operators.
Perl 5 Perl 6
if ($a == 3 or $a == 4 or $a == 7) {...} if $a = 3 | 4 | 7 {...}
if (4 < $a and $a < 12) {...} if 4 < $a < 12 {...}
if (4 < $a and $a <= 12) {...} if $a ~~ 4^..12 {...}
$a = defined $b ? $b : $c; $a = $b // $c;
The defined-OR operator eases lot of cases where Perl 5 newbies could fall into traps. Case construct
Perl 5 Perl 6
given $a {
if ($a == 2 or $a == 5) {...} }} when 2 | 5 {...}
elsif ($a == 6 or $a == 7 or $a == 8 or $a == 9) {} when 6 .. 9 {...}
elsif ($a =~ /g/) {...} when 'g' {...}
else {...} default {...}
}
That new construct (backported to 5.10) is clear to read, very versatile and when used in combination with junctions, becomes even clearer. Powerful for loopsList iteration via for is now much more versatile.
Perl 5 Perl 6
for my $i (0..15) {...} for ^16 -> $i {...}
for (my $i=15; $i>1; $i-2) {...} for 15,*-2...1 -> $i {...}
for my $key (keys %hash) { for %hash.kv -> $key, $value {
print "$key => $hash{$key}\n"; ... say "$key => $value"; ...
for my $i (0..$#a) { for zip(@a; @b; @c) -> $a, $b, $c {...}
my $a = @a[$i];
my $b = @b[$i];
my $c = @c[$i]; ...
Named parameters in subroutines
Perl 5 Perl 6
sub routine { sub routine ($a, $b, *@rest) {...}
my $a = shift;
my $b = shift;
my @rest = @_;
}
Objects with auto generated new and getters and settersSimple Object creation is now as easy as it gets.
Perl 5 Perl 6
package Heart::Gold; class Heart::Gold {
has $.speed;
sub new { method stop { $.speed = 0 }
bless {speed => 0 }, shift; }
}
my Heart::Gold $hg1 .= new;
sub speed { $hg1.speed = 100;
my $self = shift; my $hg2 = $hg1.clone;
my $speed = shift;
if (defined $speed) { $self->{speed} = $speed }
else { $self->{speed} }
}
sub stop {
my $self = shift;
$self->{speed} = 0;
}
The new, getter, setter and clone methods are auto generated. Methods now are called "method".
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta BasicssubyaddaanonymouspointyreturnSignaturesPositional ParameterNamed ParameterOptional ParameterRequired ParameterMultiple DispatchCurryingWrappingNamespacesScopePackageModuleClass
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta TrendsUbiquityAs always, Perl is optimized for freedom and richness of expression. General PurposePerl 5 still has a lot of builtins, showing for which task the language was created. But to become more general purpose, the core was enhanced and some other parts got removed. File IO, Network and IPC, Formats, and finally that long deprecated pre P5 DB-binding (dbmopen) went out of the core or at least into sensible module namespace. The optional type system enables compiler optimisations to make Perl even usable in cases where you had to switch to C before. Less Unix CentricPerl 1 was a child of the Unix world, borrowing a lot of folklore and words. As Perl 6 had to regularize the Regex and reform some other parts, this heritage has become less visible. UnicodePer default all Perl 6 code is Unicode and you can use any weird character for any part of the syntax. Simple EnglishIn Perl 5 we had my, our, use, require, bless, can, ISA (is a), chop and also of course if, else, goto and all the loops. Perl 6 adds given, when, gather, take, loop, WHERE, HOW, WHO and lot more everyday English, which should make it easy to read and understand. Hidden ComplexityEven simple Perl 6 looks pretty much like older Perl, it has a tremendous complexity inside, which only have to show up if you really need it. Functional ProgrammingHigh order functions, currying, you name it. All that goodies are there, as Perl 6 aims to a full support of functional programming. Object OrientedOOP syntax is now more simplified, compact, knows about encapsulation and has many new features, including dynamic class composition. Like in Smalltalk or Ruby every "thing" (values, vars, blocks, routines) is an object and ops are "just" methods. It helps to have internally everything in its place. But programmer still can pretend it's not the case. Full IntrospectionBecause every object knows his attributes and methods, you can ask the compiler nearly anything about the state of your program. MetalanguageAnd because classes are made to get extended or changed, Perl 6 has not only full metaprogramming capabilities, beyond your wildest dreams. It is a metalanguage with a beginner friendly default that aims to become a family of languages. Rule of thumb: everything is allowed, as long as you declare it. One Spec - Many ImplementationsUnlike every other Perl so far, Perl 6 has a precise specification, written in Perl 6. This allows to have several implementations, even syntactical compatible ones. Syntactical Changes
Operator
Variable
Flow Control
Traps
News
Native Perl 6 (new idioms)
For more native Perl 6, read the cookbook.
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta Blockdogather and takegotoleavesubConditionalifbinary contect elsifelseunlessgivenwhencontinuedefaultLoopsloopvoid context whilebinary contect untilbinary contect forlazy list contect repeat
Intro - Chapter: 0:History 1:Design 2:Basics 3:Var 4:Op 5:IO 6:Block 7:Sub 8:OOP 9:Rx 10:Meta |
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