PPI::Token::Prototype3pm

Usage

  sub ($@) prototype;

Inheritance

  PPI::Token::Prototype
  isa PPI::Token::Quote::Literal
      isa PPI::Token::Quote
          isa PPI::Token
              isa PPI::Element

Overview

Although it sort of looks like a list or condition, a subroutine prototype is a lot more like a string. Its job is to provide hints to the perl compiler on what type of arguments a particular subroutine expects, which the compiler uses to validate parameters at compile-time, and allows programmers to use the functions without explicit parameter parens.

Due to the rise of OO Perl coding, which ignores these prototypes, they are most often used to allow for constant-like things, and to "extend" the language and create things that act like keywords and core functions.

  # Create something that acts like a constant
  sub MYCONSTANT () { 10 }
  
  # Create the "any" core-looking function
  sub any (&@) { ... }
  
  if ( any { $_->cute } @babies ) {
        ...
  }

Methods

This class provides one additional method beyond those defined by the PPI::Token and PPI::Element parent classes.

Support

See the support section in the main module.