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Synopsis_04 - Blocks and Statements |
for statement
Synopsis_04 - Blocks and Statements
Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>
Maintainer: Larry Wall <larry@wall.org> Date: 19 Aug 2004 Last Modified: 25 Feb 2006 Number: 4 Version: 10
This document summarizes Apocalypse 4, which covers the block and statement syntax of Perl.
Every block is a closure. (That is, in the abstract, they're all anonymous subroutines that take a snapshot of their lexical scope.) How any block is invoked and how its results are used is a matter of context, but closures all work the same on the inside.
Blocks are delimited by curlies, or by the beginning and end of the
current compilation unit (either the current file or the current
eval string). Unlike in Perl 5, there are (by policy) no implicit
blocks around standard control structures. (You could write a macro
that violates this, but resist the urge.) Variables that mediate
between an outer statement and an inner block (such as loop variables)
should generally be declared as formal parameters to that block. There
are three ways to declare formal parameters to a closure.
$func = sub ($a, $b) { print if $a eq $b }; # standard sub declaration
$func = -> $a, $b { print if $a eq $b }; # a "pointy" sub
$func = { print if $^a eq $^b } # placeholder arguments
A bare closure without placeholder arguments that uses $_
(either explicitly or implicitly) is treated as though $_ were a
a formal parameter:
$func = { print if $_ }; # Same as: $func = -> $_ { print if $_ };
$func("printme");
In any case, all formal parameters are the equivalent of my variables
within the block. See S06 for more on function parameters.
Except for such formal parameter declarations, all lexically scoped
declarations are visible from the point of declaration to the end of
the enclosing block. Period. Lexicals may not ``leak'' from a block to any
other external scope (at least, not without some explicit aliasing
action on the part of the block, such as exportation of a symbol
from a module). The ``point of declaration'' is the moment the compiler
sees ``my $foo'', not the end of the statement as in Perl 5, so
my $x = $x;
will no longer see the value of the outer $x; you'll need to say
my $x = $OUTER::x;
instead. (It's illegal to declare $x twice in the same scope.)
As in Perl 5, ``our $foo'' introduces a lexically scoped alias for
a variable in the current package.
The new constant declarator introduces a lexically scoped name
for a compile-time constant, either a variable or a 0-ary sub, which
may be initialized with either a pseudo-assignment or a block:
constant Num $pi = 3;
constant Num PI { 3 }
constant Num π = atan(2,2) * 4;
In any case the initializing value is evaluated at BEGIN time.
There is a new state declarator that introduces a lexically scoped
variable like my does, but with a lifetime that persists for the
life of the closure, so that it keeps its value from the end of one
call to the beginning of the next. Separate clones of the closure
get separate state variables.
Perl 5's ``local'' function has been renamed to temp to better
reflect what it does. There is also a let function that sets a
hypothetical value. It works exactly like temp, except that the
value will be restored only if the current block exits unsuccessfully.
(See Definition of Success below for more.) temp and let temporize
or hypotheticalize the value or the variable depending on whether you
do assignment or binding.
A line ending with a closing brace ``}'', followed by nothing but
whitespace or comments, will terminates statement if an end of statement
can occur there. That is, these two statements are equivalent:
my $x = sub { 3 }
my $x = sub { 3 };
End-of-statement cannot occur within a bracketed expression, so this still works:
my $x = [
sub { 3 }, # this comma is not optional
sub { 3 } # the statement won't terminate here
];
Because subroutine declarations are expressions, not statements, this is now invalid:
sub f { 3 } sub g { 3 } # two terms occur in a row
But these two are valid:
sub f { 3 }; sub g { 3 };
sub f { 3 }; sub g { 3 } # the trailing semicolon is optional
The if and unless statements work almost exactly as they do in
Perl 5, except that you may omit the parentheses on the conditional:
if $foo == 123 {
...
}
elsif $foo == 321 {
...
}
else {
...
}
Conditional statement modifiers also work as in Perl 5. So do the
implicit conditionals implied by short-circuit operators. And there's
a new elsunless in Perl 6--except that you have to spell it elsif not.
:-)
The while and until statements work as in Perl 5, except that you
may leave out the parentheses around the conditional:
while $bar < 100 {
...
}
Looping statement modifiers are the same as in Perl 5, except that
to avoid confusion applying one to a do block is specifically
disallowed. Instead of
do {
...
} while $x;
you should write
loop {
...
} while $x;
Loop modifiers next, last, and redo work as in Perl 5.
There is no longer a continue block. Instead, use a NEXT block
within the loop. See below.
The loop statement is the C-style for loop in disguise:
loop ($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++) {
...
}
As seen in the previous section, the 3-part loop spec may be entirely
omitted to write an infinite loop. If you omit the 3-part loop spec
you may add a while or until statement modifier at the end
to make it a ``repeat at least once'' loop. Unlike do in Perl 5,
it's a real loop block, so you may use loop modifiers.
for statementThere is no foreach statement any more. It's always spelled for
in Perl 6, so it always takes a list as an argument:
for @foo { print }
As mentioned earlier, the loop variable is named by passing a parameter to the closure:
for @foo -> $item { print $item }
Multiple parameters may be passed, in which case the list is traversed more than one element at a time:
for %hash.kv -> $key, $value { print "$key => $value\n" }
To process two arrays in parallel, use the each function:
for each(@a;@b) -> $a, $b { print "[$a, $b]\n" }
or use the zip function to generate a list of tuples that each can be bound
to multiple arguments enclosed in square brackets:
for zip(@a;@b) -> [$a, $b] { print "[$a, $b]\n" }
The list is evaluated lazily by default, so instead of using a while
to read a file a line at a time as you would in Perl 5:
while (my $line = <STDIN>) {...}
in Perl 6 you should use a for (plus a unary = ``iterate the
iterator'' operator) instead:
for =$*IN -> $line {...}
This has the added benefit of limiting the scope of the $line
parameter to the block it's bound to. (The while's declaration of
$line continues to be visible past the end of the block. Remember,
no implicit block scopes.) It is also possible to write
while =$*IN -> $line {...}
Note also that Perl 5's special rule causing
while (<>) {...}
to automatically assign to $_ is not carried over to Perl 6. That
should now be written:
for =<> {...}
which is short for
for =$*ARGS {...}
Parameters are by default readonly within the block. You can
declare a parameter read/write by including the ``is rw'' trait.
If you rely on $_ as the implicit parameter to a block,
then $_ is considered read/write by default. That is,
the construct:
for @foo {...}
is actually short for:
for @foo -> $_ is rw {...}
so you can modify the current list element in that case. However, any time you specify the arguments, they default to read only.
When used as statement modifers, for and given use a private
instance of $_ for the left side of the statement. The outer $_
can be referred to as $OUTER::_. (And yes, this implies that the
compiler may have to retroactively change the binding of <$_> on the
left side. But it's what people expect of a pronoun like ``it''.)
In Perl 5, a bare block is deemed to be a do-once loop. In Perl 6,
the bare block is not a do-once. Instead do {...} is the do-once
loop (which is another reason you can't put a while or until
modifier on it).
For any statement, prefixing with a do allows you to
return the value of that statement and use it in an expression:
$x = do if $a { $b } else { $c };
This construct only allows you to prefix a statement. If you want to continue the expression after the statement you must use the curly form.
Since do is defined as going in front of a statement, it follows
that it can always be followed by a statement label. This is particularly
useful for the do-once block, since it is offically a loop and can take
therefore loop control statements.
A switch statement is a means of topicalizing, so the switch keyword
is the English topicalizer, given. The keyword for individual
cases is when:
given EXPR {
when EXPR { ... }
when EXPR { ... }
default { ... }
}
The current topic is always aliased to the special variable $_.
The given block is just one way to set the current topic, but a
switch statement can be any block that sets $_, including a for
loop (in which the first loop parameter is the topic) or the body
of a method (if you have declared the invocant as $_). So switching
behavior is actually caused by the when statements in the block,
not by the nature of the block itself. A when statement implicitly
does a ``smart match'' between the current topic ($_) and the argument
of the when. If the smart match succeeds, the associated closure
is executed, and the surrounding block is automatically broken out
of. If the smart match fails, control passes to the next statement
normally, which may or may not be a when statement. Since when
statements are presumed to be executed in order like normal statements,
it's not required that all the statements in a switch block be when
statements (though it helps the optimizer to have a sequence of
contiguous when statements, because then it can arrange to jump
directly to the first appropriate test that might possibly match.)
The default case:
default {...}
is exactly equivalent to
when true {...}
Because when statements are executed in order, the default must
come last. You don't have to use an explicit default--you can just
fall off the last when into ordinary code. But use of a default
block is good documentation.
If you use a for loop with a named parameter, the parameter is
also aliased to $_ so that it can function as the topic of any
when statements within the loop. If you use a for statement
with multiple parameters, only the first parameter is aliased to $_
as the topic.
You can explicitly break out of a when block (and its surrounding
switch) early using the break verb. You can explicitly break out
of a when block and go to the next statement by using continue.
(Note that, unlike C's idea of falling through, subsequent when
conditions are evaluated. To jump into the next when block you
must use a goto.)
If you have a switch that is the main block of a for loop, and
you break out of the switch either implicitly or explicitly, it merely
goes to the next iteration of the loop. You must use last to break
out of the entire loop early. Of course, an explicit next would
be clearer than a break if you really want to go to the next iteration.
Possibly we'll outlaw break in a loop topicalizer.
Unlike many other languages, Perl 6 specifies exception handlers by
placing a CATCH block within that block that is having its exceptions
handled.
The Perl 6 equivalent to Perl 5's eval {...} is try {...}.
(Perl 6's eval function only evaluates strings, not blocks.)
A try block by default has a CATCH block that handles all
exceptions by ignoring them. If you define a CATCH block within
the try, it replaces the default CATCH. It also makes the try
keyword redundant, because any block can function as a try block
if you put a CATCH block within it.
An exception handler is just a switch statement on an implicit topic
supplied within the CATCH block. That implicit topic is the current
exception object, also known as $!. Inside the CATCH block, it's
also bound to $_, since it's the topic. Because of smart matching,
ordinary when statements are sufficiently powerful to pattern
match the current exception against classes or patterns or numbers
without any special syntax for exception handlers. If none of the
cases in the CATCH handles the exception, the exception is rethrown.
To ignore all unhandled exceptions, use an empty default case.
(In other words, there is an implicit die $! just inside the end
of the CATCH block. Handled exceptions break out past this implicit
rethrow.)
All abnormal control flow is, in the general case, handled by the
exception mechanism (which is likely to be optimized away in specific
cases.) Here ``abnormal'' means any transfer of control outward that
is not just falling off the end of a block. A return,
for example, is considered a form of abnormal control flow, since it
can jump out of multiple levels of closure to the end of the scope
of the current subroutine definition. Loop commands like next
are abnormal, but looping because you hit the end of the block is not.
The implicit break of a when block is abnormal.
A CATCH block handles only ``bad'' exceptions, and lets control
exceptions pass unhindered. Control exceptions may be caught with a
CONTROL block. Generally you don't need to worry about this unless
you're defining a control construct. You may have one CATCH block
and one CONTROL block, since some user-defined constructs may wish to
supply an implicit CONTROL block to your closure, but let you define
your own CATCH block.
A return always exits from the lexically surrounding sub
or method definition (that is, from a function officially declared
with the sub, method, or submethod keywords). Pointy subs
and bare closures are transparent to return. If you pass a reference
to a closure outside of its official ``sub'' scope, it is illegal to
return from it. You may only leave the closure block itself with leave
or by falling off the end of it.
To return a value from a pointy sub or bare closure, you either
just let the block return the value of its final expression, or you can
use leave. A leave by default exits from the innermost block.
But you may change the behavior of leave with selector adverbs:
leave :from(Loop) :label<LINE> <== 1,2,3; # XXX "with"?
The innermost block matching the selection criteria will be exited. The return value, if any, must be passed as a list. To return pairs as part of the value, you can use a pipe:
leave <== :foo:bar:baz(1) if $leaving;
or going the other way::
$leaving and :foo:bar:baz(1) ==> leave;
In theory, any user-defined control construct can catch any control
exception it likes. However, there have to be some culturally enforced
standards on which constructs capture which exceptions. Much like
return may only return from an ``official'' subroutine or method,
a loop exit like next should be caught by the construct the user
expects it to be caught by. In particular, if the user labels a loop
with a specific label, and calls a loop control from within the lexical
scope of that loop, and if that call mentions the outer loop's label,
then that outer loop is the one that must be controlled. (This search
of lexical scopes is limited to the current ``official'' subroutine.)
If there is no such lexically scoped outer loop in current subroutine.
Then a fallback search is made outward through the dynamic scopes in
the same way Perl 5 does. (The difference between Perl 5 and Perl 6
in this respect arises only because Perl 5 didn't have user-defined
control structures, hence the sub's lexical scope was always
the innermost dynamic scope, so the preference to the lexical scope
in the current sub was implicit. For Perl 6 we have to make this
preference explicit.)
In addition to next, last, and redo, Perl 6 also supports
goto. As with ordinary loop controls, the label is searched for
first lexically within the current subroutine, then dynamically outside
of it. Unlike with loop controls, however, scanning a scope includes
a scan of any lexical scopes included within the current candidate
scope. As in Perl 5, it is possible to goto into a lexical scope,
but only for lexical scopes that require no special initialization
of parameters. (Initialization of ordinary variables does not
count--presumably the presence of a label will prevent code-movement
optimizations past the label.) So, for instance, it's always possible
to goto into the next case of a when or into either the ``then''
or ``else'' branch of a conditional. You may not go into a given
or a for, though, because that would bypass a formal parameter
binding (not to mention list generation in the case of for).
(Note: the implicit default binding of an outer $_ to an inner $_
can be emulated for a bare block, so that doesn't fall under the
prohibition on bypassing formal binding.)
As in Perl 5, many built-in functions simply return undef when you ask
for a value out of range, or the function fails somehow. Unlike in
Perl 5, these may be ``interesting'' values of undef that contain
information about the error. If you try to use an undefined value,
that information can then be conveyed to the user. In essence, undef
can be an unthrown exception object that just happens to return 0 when
you ask it whether it's defined or it's true. Since $! contains the
current error code, saying die $! will turn an unthrown exception
into a thrown exception. (A bare die does the same.)
You can cause built-ins to automatically throw exceptions on failure using
use fatal;
The fail function responds to the caller's ``use fatal'' state. It
either returns an unthrown exception, or throws the exception.
If an exception is raised while $! already contains an exception
that is active and ``unhandled'', no information is discarded. The old
exception is pushed onto the exception stack within the new exception,
which is then bound to $! and, hopefully, propagated. The default
printout for the new exception should include the old exception
information so that the user can trace back to the original error.
(Likewise, rethrown exceptions add information about how the exception
is propagated.) The exception stack within $! is available as
$![].
Exception objects are born ``unhandled''. The $! object keeps track of
whether it's currently ``handled'' or ``unhandled''. The exception in $! still
exists after it has been caught, but catching it marks it as handled
if any of the cases in the switch matched. Handled exceptions don't
require their information to be preserved if another exception occurs.
A CATCH block is just a trait of the closure containing it. Other
blocks can be installed as traits as well. These other blocks are
called at various times, and some of them respond to various control
exceptions and exit values:
BEGIN {...}* at compile time, ASAP
CHECK {...}* at compile time, ALAP
INIT {...}* at run time, ASAP
END {...} at run time, ALAP
FIRST {...}* at first block entry time
ENTER {...}* at every block entry time
LEAVE {...} at every block exit time
KEEP {...} at every successful block exit
UNDO {...} at every unsuccessful block exit
NEXT {...} at loop continuation time
LAST {...} at loop termination time
PRE {...} assert precondition at every block entry
POST {...} assert postcondition at every block exit
CATCH {...} catch exceptions
CONTROL {...} catch control exceptions
Those marked with a * can also be used within an expression:
my $compiletime = BEGIN { localtime };
our $temphandle = FIRST { maketemp() };
Code that is generated at run time can still fire off CHECK
and INIT blocks, though of course those blocks can't do things that
would require travel back in time.
Some of these also have corresponding traits that can be set on variables. These have the advantage of passing the variable in question into the closure as its topic:
my $r will first { .set_random_seed() };
our $h will enter { .rememberit() } will undo { .forgetit() };
Apart from CATCH and CONTROL, which can only occur once, most of
these can occur multiple times within the block. So they aren't really
traits, exactly--they add themselves onto a list stored in the
actual trait. So if you examine the ENTER trait of a block, you'll
find that it's really a list of closures rather than a single closure.
The semantics of INIT and FIRST are not equivalent to each
other in the case of cloned closures. An INIT only runs once for
all copies of a cloned closure. A FIRST runs separately for each
clone, so separate clones can keep separate state variables:
our $i = 0;
...
$func = { state $x will first{$i++}; dostuff($i) };
But state automatically applies ``first'' semantics to any initializer,
so this also works:
$func = { state $x = $i++; dostuff($i) }
Each subsequent clone gets an initial state that is one higher than the
previous, and each clone maintains its own state of $x, because that's
what state variables do.
All of these trait blocks can see any previously declared lexical variables, even if those variables have not been elaborated yet when the closure is invoked. (In which case the variables evaluate to an undefined value.)
Note: Apocalypse 4 confused the notions of PRE/POST with ENTER/LEAVE.
These are now separate notions. ENTER and LEAVE are used only for
their side effects. PRE and POST must return boolean values that are
evaluated according to the usual Design by Contract rules. (Plus,
if you use ENTER/LEAVE in a class block, they only execute when the
class block is executed, but PRE/POST in a class block are evaluated
around every method in the class.)
LEAVE blocks are evaluated after CATCH and CONTROL blocks, including
the LEAVE variants, KEEP and UNDO. POST blocks are evaluated after
everything else, to guarantee that even LEAVE blocks can't violate DBC.
Likewise PRE blocks fire off before any ENTER or FIRST (though not
before BEGIN, CHECK, or INIT, since those are done at compile or
process initialization time).
In this statement:
given EXPR {
when EXPR { ... }
when EXPR { ... }
...
}
parentheses aren't necessary around EXPR because the whitespace
between EXPR and the block forces the block to be considered a
block rather than a subscript. This works for all control structures,
not just the new ones in Perl 6. A bare block where an operator
is expected is always considered a statement block if there's space
before it:
if $foo { ... }
elsif $bar { ... }
else { ... }
while $more { ... }
for 1..10 { ... }
(You can still parenthesize the expression argument for old times' sake, as long as there's a space between the closing paren and the opening brace.)
On the other hand, anywhere a term is expected, a block is taken to be a closure definition (an anonymous subroutine). If the closure appears to delimit nothing but a comma-separated list starting with a pair (counting a single pair as a list of one element), the closure will be immediately executed as a hash composer.
$hashref = { "a" => 1 };
$hashref = { "a" => 1, $b, $c, %stuff, @nonsense };
$coderef = { "a", 1 };
$coderef = { "a" => 1, $b, $c ==> print };
If you wish to be less ambiguous, the hash list operator will
explicitly evaluate a list and compose a hash of the returned value,
while sub introduces an anonymous subroutine:
$coderef = sub { "a" => 1 };
$hashref = hash("a" => 1);
$hashref = hash("a", 1);
If a closure is the right argument of the dot operator, the closure is interpreted as a hash subscript, even if there is space before the dot.
$ref = {$x}; # closure because term expected
if $term{$x} # subscript because operator expected
if $term {$x} # expression followed by statement block
if $term .{$x} # valid subscript (term expected after dot)
Similar rules apply to array subscripts:
$ref = [$x]; # array composer because term expected
if $term[$x] # subscript because operator expected
if $term [$x] # syntax error (two terms in a row)
if $term .[$x] # valid subscript (term expected after dot)
And to the parentheses delimiting function arguments:
$ref = ($x); # grouping parens because term expected
if $term($x) # function call because operator expected
if $term ($x) # syntax error (two terms in a row)
if $term .($x) # valid function call (term expected after dot)
Outside of any kind of expression brackets, a trailing curly on a
line by itself (not counting whitespace or comments) always reverts
to the precedence of semicolon whether or not you put a semicolon
after it. (In the absence of an explicit semicolon, the current
statement may continue on a subsequent line, but only with valid
statement continuators such as else. A modifier on a loop
statement must continue on the same line, however.)
Final blocks on statement-level constructs always imply semicolon precedence afterwards regardless of the position of the closing curly. Statement-level constructs are distinguished in the grammar by being declared in the statement syntactic group:
macro statement_control:<if> ($expr, &ifblock) {...}
macro statement_control:<while> ($expr, &whileblock) {...}
macro statement_control:<BEGIN> (&beginblock) {...}
Statement-level constructs may start only where the parser is expecting
the start of a statement. To embed a statement in an expression you
must use something like do {...} or try {...}.
$x = do { given $foo { when 1 {2} when 3 {4} } + $bar;
$x = try { given $foo { when 1 {2} when 3 {4} } + $bar;
Just because there's a statement_control:<BEGIN> does not preclude us from
also defining a prefix:<BEGIN> that can be used within an expression:
macro prefix:<BEGIN> (&beginblock) { beginblock().repr }
Then you can say things like:
$recompile_by = BEGIN { time } + $expiration_time;
But statement_control:<BEGIN> hides prefix:<BEGIN> at the start of a statement.
You could also conceivably define a prefix:<if>, but then you would
get a syntax error when you say:
print if $foo
since prefix:<if> would hide statement_modifier:<if>.
Here is the current table of smart matches (which probably belongs in
S03). The list is intended to reflect forms that can be recognized at
compile time. If none of these forms is recognized at compile time, it
falls through to do MMD to infix:<~~>(), which presumably
reflects similar semantics, but can finesse things that aren't exact
type matches. Note that all types are scalarized here. Both ~~
and given/when provide scalar contexts to their arguments.
(You can always hyperize ~~ explicitly, though.) So both $_
and $x here are potentially references to container objects.
And since lists promote to arrays in scalar context, there need be no
separate entries for lists.
$_ $x Type of Match Implied Matching Code
====== ===== ===================== =============
Any Code<$> scalar sub truth match if $x($_)
Hash Hash hash keys identical match if $_.keys.sort »eq« $x.keys.sort
Hash any(Hash) hash key intersection match if $_{any(Hash.keys)}
Hash Array hash value slice truth match if $_{any(@$x)}
Hash any(list) hash key slice existence match if exists $_{any(list)}
Hash all(list) hash key slice existence match if exists $_{all(list)}
Hash Rule hash key grep match if any($_.keys) ~~ /$x/
Hash Any hash entry existence match if exists $_{$x}
Hash .{Any} hash element truth* match if $_{Any}
Hash .<string> hash element truth* match if $_<string>
Array Array arrays are identical match if $_ »~~« $x
Array any(list) list intersection match if any(@$_) ~~ any(list)
Array Rule array grep match if any(@$_) ~~ /$x/
Array Num array contains number match if any($_) == $x
Array Str array contains string match if any($_) eq $x
Array .[number] array element truth* match if $_[number]
Num NumRange in numeric range match if $min <= $_ <= $max
Str StrRange in string range match if $min le $_ le $max
Any Code<> simple closure truth* match if $x() (ignoring $_)
Any Class class membership match if $_.does($x)
Any Role role playing match if $_.does($x)
Any Num numeric equality match if $_ == $x
Any Str string equality match if $_ eq $x
Any .method method truth* match if $_.method
Any Rule pattern match match if $_ ~~ /$x/
Any subst substitution match* match if $_ ~~ subst
Any boolean simple expression truth* match if true given $_
Any undef undefined match unless defined $_
Any Any run-time dispatch match if infix:<~~>($_, $x)
Matches marked with * are non-reversible, typically because ~~ takes
its left side as the topic for the right side, and sets the topic to a
private instance of $_ for its right side, so $_ means something
different on either side. Such non-reversible constructs can be made
reversible by putting the leading term into a closure to defer the
binding of $_. For example:
$x ~~ .does(Storeable) # okay
.does(Storeable) ~~ $x # not okay--gets wrong $_ on left
{ .does(Storeable) } ~~ $x # okay--closure binds its $_ to $x
Exactly the same consideration applies to given and when:
given $x { when .does(Storeable) {...} } # okay
given .does(Storeable) { when $x {...} } # not okay
given { .does(Storeable) } { when $x {...} } # okay
Boolean expressions are those known to return a boolean value, such
as comparisons, or the unary ? operator. They may reference $_
explicitly or implicitly. If they don't reference $_ at all, that's
okay too--in that case you're just using the switch structure as a more
readable alternative to a string of elsifs.
The primary use of the ~~ operator is to return a boolean value in
a boolean context. However, for certain operands such as regular
expressions, use of the operator within scalar or list context transfers
the context to that operand, so that, for instance, a regular expression
can return a list of matched substrings, as in Perl 5. The complete
list of such operands is TBD.
It has not yet been determined if run-time dispatch of ~~ will
attempt to emulate the compile-time precedence table before reverting
to MMD, or just go directly to MMD. There are good arguments for
both sides, and we can decide when we see more examples of how
it'll work out.
Hypothetical variables are somewhat transactional--they keep their new values only on successful exit of the current block, and otherwise are rolled back to their original value.
It is, of course, a failure to leave the block by propagating an error exception, though returning a defined value after catching an exception is okay.
In the absence of exception propagation, a successful exit is one that
returns a defined value in scalar context, or any number of values
in list context as long as the length is defined. (A length of +Inf
is considered a defined length. A length of 0 is also a defined length,
which means it's a ``successful'' return even though the list would evaluate
to false in a boolean context.) A list can have a defined length
even if it contains undefined scalar values. A list is of undefined
length only if it contains an undefined generator, which, happily, is
what is returned by the undef function when used in list context.
So any Perl 6 function can say
return undef;
and not care about whether the function is being called in scalar or list context. To return an explicit scalar undef, you can always say
return scalar(undef);
Then in list context, you're returning a list of length 1, which is
defined (much like in Perl 5). But generally you should be using
fail in such a case to return an exception object. Exception
objects also behave like undefined generators in list context.
In any case, returning an unthrown exception is considered failure
from the standpoint of let. Backtracking over a closure in a rule
is also considered failure of the closure, which is how hypothetical
variables are managed by rules. (And on the flip side, use of fail
within a rule closure initiates backtracking of the rule.)
Everything is conceptually a closure in Perl 6, but the optimizer is free to turn unreferenced closures into mere blocks of code. It is also free to turn referenced closures into mere anonymous subroutines if the block does not refer to any external lexicals that could themselves be cloned. In particular, named subroutines in any scope do not consider themselves closures unless you take a reference to them. So
sub foo {
my $x = 1;
my sub bar { print $x } # not cloned yet
my &baz = { bar(); print $x }; # cloned immediately
my $barref = &bar; # now bar is cloned
return &baz;
}
When we say ``clone'', we mean the way the system takes a snapshot of the routine's lexical scope and binds it to the current instance of the routine so that if you ever use the current reference to the routine, it gets the current snapshot of its world, lexically speaking.
Some closures produce references at compile time that cannot be
cloned, because they're not attached to any runtime code that can
actively clone them. BEGIN, CHECK, INIT, and END blocks probably
fall into this category. Therefore you can't reliably refer to
run-time variables from them even if they appear to be in scope.
(The compile-time closure may, in fact, see a some kind of permanent
copy of the variable for some storage classes, but the variable is
likely to be undefined when the closure is run in any case.) It's
only safe to refer to package variables and file-scoped lexicals from
such a routine.
On the other hand, it is required that CATCH and LEAVE blocks be able
to see transient variables in their current lexical scope, so their
cloning status depends at least on the cloning status of the block
they're in.
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Synopsis_04 - Blocks and Statements |