Provided by: libautobox-core-perl_1.27-1_all bug

NAME

       autobox::Core - Provide core functions to autoboxed scalars, arrays and hashes.

SYNOPSIS

         use autobox::Core;

         "Hello, World\n"->uc->print;

         my @list = (1, 5, 9, 2, 0, 4, 2, 1);
         @list->sort->reverse->print;

         # works with references too!
         my $list = [1, 5, 9, 2, 0, 4, 2, 1];
         $list->sort->reverse->print;

         my %hash = (
             grass => 'green',
             apple => 'red',
             sky   => 'blue',
         );

         [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]->pop->say;
         [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]->shift->say;

         my $lala = "Lalalalala\n";
         "chomp: "->concat($lala->chomp, " ", $lala)->say;

         my $hashref = { foo => 10, bar => 20, baz => 30, qux => 40 };

         print "hash keys: ", $hashref->keys->join(' '), "\n"; # or if you prefer...
         print "hash keys: ", join ' ', $hashref->keys(), "\n"; # or
         print "hash keys: "; $hashref->keys->say;

DESCRIPTION

       The autobox module promotes Perl's primitive types (literals (strings and numbers), scalars, arrays and
       hashes) into first-class objects.  However, autobox does not provide any methods for these new classes.

       autobox::CORE provides a set of methods for these new classes.  It includes almost everything in
       perlfunc, some things from Scalar::Util and List::Util, and some Perl 5 versions of methods taken from
       Perl 6.

       With autobox::Core one is able to change this:

               print join(" ", reverse(split(" ", $string)));

       to this:

               use autobox::Core;

               $string->split(" ")->reverse->print;

       Likewise you can change this:

               my $array_ref = [qw(fish dog cat elephant bird)];

               push @$array_ref, qw(snake lizard giraffe mouse);

       to this:

               use autobox::Core;
               my $array_ref = [qw(fish dog cat elephant bird)];

               $array_ref->push( qw(snake lizard giraffe mouse));

       autobox::Core makes it easier to avoid parentheses pile ups and messy dereferencing syntaxes.

       autobox::Core is mostly glue.  It presents existing functions with a new interface, while adding few
       extra. Most of the methods read like "sub hex { CORE::hex($_[0]) }".  In addition to built-ins from
       perlfunc that operate on hashes, arrays, scalars, and code references, some Perl 6-ish things have been
       included, and some keywords like "foreach" are represented too.

   What's Implemented?
       •   Many of the functions listed in perlfunc under the headings:

           •   "Functions for real @ARRAYs",

           •   "Functions for real %HASHes",

           •   "Functions for list data",

           •   "Functions for SCALARs or strings"

           plus a few taken from other sections and documented below.

       •   Some methods from Scalar::Util and List::Util.

       •   Some things expected in Perl 6, such as "last" ("last_idx"), "elems", and "curry".

       •   "flatten" explicitly flattens an array.

       String Methods

       String  methods  are of the form "my $return = $string->method(@args)".  Some will act on the $string and
       some will return a new string.

       Many string methods are simply wrappers around core functions, but there are  additional  operations  and
       modifications to core behavior.

       Anything which takes a regular expression, such as split and m, usually take it in the form of a compiled
       regex ("qr//").  Any modifiers can be attached to the "qr" normally.

       These  built in functions are implemented for scalars, they work just like normal: chomp, chop,chr crypt,
       index, lc lcfirst, length, ord, pack, reverse (always in scalar context),  rindex,  sprintf,  substr,  uc
       ucfirst, unpack, quotemeta, vec, undef, split, system, eval.

       In addition, so are each of the following:

       concat

          $string1->concat($string2);

       Concatenates  $string2  to  $string1.  This  corresponds  to  the  "." operator used to join two strings.
       Returns the joined strings.

       strip

       Removes whitespace from the beginning and end of a string.

          " \t  \n  \t  foo  \t  \n  \t  "->strip;    # foo

       This is redundant and subtly different from "trim" which allows for the removal  of  specific  characters
       from the beginning and end of a string.

       trim

       Removes  whitespace  from  the beginning and end of a string.  "trim" can also remove specific characters
       from the beginning and the end of string.

          '    hello'->trim;                   # 'hello'
          '*+* hello *+*'->trim("*+");         # ' hello '
          ' *+* hello *+*'->trim("*+");        # ' *+* hello'

       ltrim

       Just like trim but it only trims the left side (start) of the string.

          '    hello'->ltrim;                  # 'hello'
          '*+* hello *+*'->trim("*+");         # ' hello *+*'

       rtrim

       Just like trim but it only trims the right side (end) of the string.

          'hello   '->rtrim;                   # 'hello'
          '*+* hello *+*'->rtrim("*+");        # '*+* hello '

       split

           my @split_string = $string->split(qr/.../);

       A wrapper around split.  It takes the regular expression as a compiled regex.

          print "10, 20, 30, 40"->split(qr{, ?})->elements, "\n";
          "hi there"->split(qr/ */);           # h i t h e r e

       The limit argument is not implemented.

       title_case

       "title_case" converts the first character of each word in the string to upper case.

          "this is a test"->title_case;        # This Is A Test

       center

           my $centered_string = $string->center($length);
           my $centered_string = $string->center($length, $character);

       Centers $string between $character.  $centered_string will  be  of  length  $length,  or  the  length  of
       $string, whichever is greater.

       $character defaults to " ".

           say "Hello"->center(10);        # "   Hello  ";
           say "Hello"->center(10, '-');   # "---Hello--";

       "center()"  will  never  truncate $string.  If $length is less than "$string->length" it will just return
       $string.

           say "Hello"->center(4);        # "Hello";

       backtick

           my $output = $string->backtick;

       Runs $string as a command just like "`$string`".

       nm

           if( $foo->nm(qr/bar/) ) {
               say "$foo did not match 'bar'";
           }

       "Negative match".  Corresponds to "!~".  Otherwise works in the same way as "m()".

       m

           if( $foo->m(qr/bar/) ) {
               say "$foo matched 'bar'";
           }

           my $matches = $foo->m( qr/(\d*) (\w+)/ );
           say $matches->[0];
           say $matches->[1];

       Works the same as "m//", but the regex must be passed in as a "qr//".

       "m" returns an array reference so that list functions such as "map" and  "grep"  may  be  called  on  the
       result.  Use "elements" to turn this into a list of values.

         my ($street_number, $street_name, $apartment_number) =
             "1234 Robin Drive #101"->m( qr{(\d+) (.*)(?: #(\d+))?} )->elements;

         print "$street_number $street_name $apartment_number\n";

       s

         my $string = "the cat sat on the mat";
         $string->s( qr/cat/, "dog" );
         $string->say;                 # the dog sat on the mat

       Works the same as "s///".  Returns the number of substitutions performed, not the target string.

       undef

           $string->undef;

       Assigns "undef" to the $string.

       defined

           my $is_defined = $string->defined;

           if( not $string->defined ) {
               # give $string a value...
           }

       "defined" tests whether a value is defined (not "undef").

       repeat

           my $repeated_string = $string->repeat($n);

       Like the "x" operator, repeats a string $n times.

           print 1->repeat(5);     # 11111
           print "\n"->repeat(10); # ten newlines

       I/O Methods

       These are methods having to do with input and ouptut, not filehandles.

       print

           $string->print;

       Prints a string or a list of strings.  Returns true if successful.

       say

       Like print, but implicitly appends a newline to the end.

            $string->say;

       Boolean Methods

       Methods related to boolean operations.

       and

       "and" corresponds to "&&".  Returns true if both operands are true.

               if( $a->and($b) ) {
                   ...
               }

       not

       "not" corresponds to "!".  Returns true if the subject is false.

               if( $a->not ) {
                   ...
               }

       or

       "or" corresponds to "||".  Returns true if at least one of the operands is true.

               if( $a->or($b) ) {
                   ...
               }

       xor

       "xor" corresponds to "xor".  Returns true if only one of the operands is true.

               if( $a->xor($b) ) {
                   ...
               }

       Number Related Methods

       Methods related to numbers.

       The basic built in functions which operate as normal : abs, atan2, cos, exp, int, log, oct, hex, sin, and
       sqrt.

       The following operators were also included:

       dec

           $number->dec();
           # $number is smaller by 1.

       "dec"  corresponds  to "++".  Decrements subject, will decrement character strings too: 'b' decrements to
       'a'.

       inc

       "inc" corresponds to "++".  Increments subject, will increment character strings too. 'a'  increments  to
       'b'.

       mod

       "mod" corresponds to "%".

               $number->mod(5);

       pow

       "pow" returns $number raised to the power of the $exponent.

           my $result = $number->pow($expontent);
           print 2->pow(8);  # 256

       is_number

           $is_a_number = $thing->is_number;

       Returns true if $thing is a number as understood by Perl.

           12.34->is_number;           # true
           "12.34"->is_number;         # also true

       is_positive

           $is_positive = $thing->is_positive;

       Returns true if $thing is a positive number.

       0 is not positive.

       is_negative

           $is_negative = $thing->is_negative;

       Returns true if $thing is a negative number.

       0 is not negative.

       is_integer

           $is_an_integer = $thing->is_integer;

       Returns true if $thing is an integer.

           12->is_integer;             # true
           12.34->is_integer;          # false

       is_int

       A synonym for is_integer.

       is_decimal

           $is_a_decimal_number = $thing->is_decimal;

       Returns true if $thing is a decimal number.

           12->is_decimal;             # false
           12.34->is_decimal;          # true
           ".34"->is_decimal;          # true

       Reference Related Methods

       The following core functions are implemented.

       tie, tied, ref, vec.

       "tie", "tied", and "undef" don't work on code references.

       Array Methods

       Array methods work on both arrays and array references:

         my $arr = [ 1 .. 10 ];
         $arr->undef;

       Or:

         my @arr = ( 1 .. 10 );
         @arr->undef;

       List context forces methods to return a list:

         my @arr = ( 1 .. 10 );
         print join ' -- ', @arr->grep(sub { $_ > 3 }), "\n";

       Likewise, scalar context forces methods to return an array reference.

       As scalar context forces methods to return a reference, methods may be chained

         my @arr = ( 1 .. 10 );
         @arr->grep(sub { $_ > 3 })->min->say;  # "4\n";

       These built-in functions are defined as methods:

       pop,  push,  shift,  unshift, delete, undef, exists, bless, tie, tied, ref, grep, map, join, reverse, and
       sort, each.

       As well as:

       vdelete

       Deletes a specified value from the array.

         $a = 1->to(10);
         $a->vdelete(3);         # deletes 3
         $a->vdelete(2)->say;    # "1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10\n"

       uniq

       Removes all duplicate elements from an array and returns the new array with no duplicates.

          my @array = qw( 1 1 2 3 3 6 6 );
          @return = @array->uniq;    # @return : 1 2 3 6

       first

       Returns the first element of an array for which a callback returns true:

         $arr->first(sub { qr/5/ });

       max

       Returns the largest numerical value in the array.

          $a = 1->to(10);
          $a->max;           # 10

       min

       Returns the smallest numerical value in the array.

          $a = 1->to(10);
          $a->min;           # 1

       mean

       Returns the mean of elements of an array.

          $a = 1->to(10);
          $a->mean;          # 55/10

       var

       Returns the variance of the elements of an array.

          $a = 1->to(10);
          $a->var;           # 33/4

       svar

       Returns the standard variance.

         $a = 1->to(10);
         $a->svar;                     # 55/6

       at

       Returns the element at a specified index. This function does not modify the original array.

          $a = 1->to(10);
          $a->at(2);                   # 3

       size, elems, length

       "size", "elems" and "length" all return the number of elements in an array.

          my @array = qw(foo bar baz);
          @array->size;   # 3

       elements, flatten

           my @copy_of_array = $array->flatten;

       Returns the elements of an array ref as an array.  This is the same as "@{$array}".

       Arrays can be iterated on using "for" and "foreach". Both take a code reference as the body  of  the  for
       statement.

       foreach

           @array->foreach(\&code);

       Calls &code on each element of the @array in order.  &code gets the element as its argument.

           @array->foreach(sub { print $_[0] });  # print each element of the array

       for

           @array->for(\&code);

       Like foreach, but &code is called with the index, the value and the array itself.

           my $arr = [ 1 .. 10 ];
           $arr->for(sub {
               my($idx, $value) = @_;
               print "Value #$idx is $value\n";
           });

       sum

           my $sum = @array->sum;

       Adds together all the elements of the array.

       count

       Returns the number of elements in array that are "eq" to a specified value:

         my @array = qw/one two two three three three/;
         my $num = @array->count('three');  # returns 3

       to, upto, downto

       "to", "upto", and "downto" create array references:

          1->to(5);      # creates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
          1->upto(5);    # creates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
          5->downto(5);  # creates [5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

       Those wrap the ".." operator.

       Note while working with negative numbers you need to use () so as to avoid the wrong evaluation.

         my $range = 10->to(1);        # this works
         my $range = -10->to(10);      # wrong, interpreted as -( 10->to(10) )
         my $range = (-10)->to(10);    # this works

       head

       Returns the first element from @list.   This differs from shift in that it does not change the array.

           my $first = @list->head;

       tail

       Returns all but the first element from @list.

           my @list = qw(foo bar baz quux);
           my @rest = @list->tail;  # [ 'bar', 'baz', 'quux' ]

       Optionally, you can pass a number as argument to ask for the last $n elements:

           @rest = @list->tail(2); # [ 'baz', 'quux' ]

       slice

       Returns  a list containing the elements from @list at the indices @indices. In scalar context, returns an
       array reference.

           # Return $list[1], $list[2], $list[4] and $list[8].
           my @sublist = @list->slice(1,2,4,8);

       range

       "range" returns a list containing the elements  from  @list  with  indices  ranging  from  $lower_idx  to
       $upper_idx. It returns an array reference in scalar context.

           my @sublist = @list->range( $lower_idx, $upper_idx );

       last_index

           my $index = @array->last_index(qr/.../);

       Returns the highest index whose element matches the given regular expression.

           my $index = @array->last_index(\&filter);

       Returns the highest index for an element on which the filter returns true.  The &filter is passed in each
       value of the @array.

           my @things = qw(pear poll potato tomato);
           my $last_p = @things->last_index(qr/^p/); # 2

       Called with no arguments, it corresponds to $#array giving the highest index of the array.

           my $index = @array->last_index;

       first_index

       Works just like last_index but it will return the index of the first matching element.

           my $first_index = @array->first_index;    # 0

           my @things = qw(pear poll potato tomato);
           my $last_p = @things->first_index(qr/^t/); # 3

       at

           my $value = $array->at($index);

       Equivalent to "$array->[$index]".

       Hash Methods

       Hash methods work on both hashes and hash references.

       The built in functions work as normal:

       delete, exists, keys, values, bless, tie, tied, ref, undef,

       at, get

           my @values = %hash->get(@keys);

       Returns the @values of @keys.

       put

           %hash->put(%other_hash);

       Overlays %other_hash on top of %hash.

          my $h = {a => 1, b => 2};
          $h->put(b => 99, c => 3);    # (a => 1, b => 99, c => 3)

       set

       Synonym for put.

       each

       Like  "foreach" but for hash references. For each key in the hash, the code reference is invoked with the
       key and the corresponding value as arguments:

         my $hashref = { foo => 10, bar => 20, baz => 30, quux => 40 };
         $hashref->each(sub { print $_[0], ' is ', $_[1], "\n" });

       Or:

         my %hash = ( foo => 10, bar => 20, baz => 30, quux => 40 );
         %hash->each(sub { print $_[0], ' is ', $_[1], "\n" });

       Unlike regular "each", this each will always iterate through the entire hash.

       Hash keys appear in random order that varies from run to run (this is intentional,  to  avoid  calculated
       attacks designed to trigger algorithmic worst case scenario in "perl"'s hash tables).

       You can get a sorted "foreach" by combining "keys", "sort", and "foreach":

          %hash->keys->sort->foreach(sub {
             print $_[0], ' is ', $hash{$_[0]}, "\n";
          });

       lock_keys

           %hash->lock_keys;

       Works as "lock_keys" in Hash::Util.  No more keys may be added to the hash.

       slice

       Takes a list of hash keys and returns the corresponding values e.g.

         my %hash = (
             one   => 'two',
             three => 'four',
             five  => 'six'
         );

         print %hash->slice(qw(one five))->join(' and '); # prints "two and six"

       flip

       Exchanges values for keys in a hash:

           my %things = ( foo => 1, bar => 2, baz => 5 );
           my %flipped = %things->flip; # { 1 => foo, 2 => bar, 5 => baz }

       If  there  is  more  than  one occurence of a certain value, any one of the keys may end up as the value.
       This is because of the random ordering of hash keys.

           # Could be { 1 => foo }, { 1 => bar }, or { 1 => baz }
           { foo => 1, bar => 1, baz => 1 }->flip;

       Because references cannot usefully be keys, it will not work where the values are references.

           { foo => [ 'bar', 'baz' ] }->flip; # dies

       flatten

           my %hash = $hash_ref->flatten;

       Dereferences a hash reference.

       Code Methods

       Methods which work on code references.

       These are simple wrappers around the Perl core functions.  bless, ref,

       Due to Perl's precedence rules, some autoboxed literals may need to be parenthesized.  For instance, this
       works:

         my $curried = sub { ... }->curry();

       This does not:

         my $curried = \&foo->curry();

       The solution is to wrap the reference in parentheses:

         my $curried = (\&foo)->curry();

       curry

           my $curried_code = $code->curry(5);

       Currying takes a code reference and provides the same code, but with the first argument filled in.

           my $greet_world = sub {
               my($greeting, $place) = @_;
               return "$greeting, $place!";
           };
           print $greet_world->("Hello", "world");  # "Hello, world!"

           my $howdy_world = $greet_world->curry("Howdy");
           print $howdy_world->("Texas");           # "Howdy, Texas!"

   What's Missing?
       •   File and socket operations are already implemented in an object-oriented fashion care of  IO::Handle,
           IO::Socket::INET, and IO::Any.

       •   Functions listed in the perlfunc headings

           •   "System V interprocess communication functions",

           •   "Fetching user and group info",

           •   "Fetching network info",

           •   "Keywords related to perl modules",

           •   "Functions for processes and process groups",

           •   "Keywords related to scoping",

           •   "Time-related functions",

           •   "Keywords related to the control flow of your perl program",

           •   "Functions for filehandles, files, or directories",

           •   "Input and output functions".

       •   (Most) binary operators

       These things are likely implemented in an object oriented fashion by other CPAN modules, are keywords and
       not functions, take no arguments, or don't make sense as part of the string, number, array, hash, or code
       API.

   Autoboxing
       This  section quotes four pages from the manuscript of Perl 6 Now: The Core Ideas Illustrated with Perl 5
       by Scott Walters. The text appears in the book starting at page 248.  This  copy  lacks  the  benefit  of
       copyedit - the finished product is of higher quality.

       A  box is an object that contains a primitive variable.  Boxes are used to endow primitive types with the
       capabilities of objects which essential in strongly typed languages but never strictly required in  Perl.
       Programmers might write something like "my $number = Int->new(5)".  This is manual boxing.  To autobox is
       to  convert  a  simple type into an object type automatically, or only conceptually.  This is done by the
       language.

       autoboxing makes a language look to programmers as if everything is an object while  the  interpreter  is
       free  to  implement  data  storage  however it pleases.  Autoboxing is really making simple types such as
       numbers, strings, and arrays appear to be objects.

       "int", "num", "bit", "str", and other types with lower case  names,  are  primitives.   They're  fast  to
       operate  on,  and  require  no  more memory to store than the data held strictly requires.  "Int", "Num",
       "Bit", "Str", and other types with an initial capital letter,  are  objects.   These  may  be  subclassed
       (inherited from) and accept traits, among other things.  These objects are provided by the system for the
       sole  purpose of representing primitive types as objects, though this has many ancillary benefits such as
       making "is" and "has" work.  Perl provides "Int" to encapsulate an "int", "Num" to encapsulate  a  "num",
       "Bit"  to encapsulate a "bit", and so on.  As Perl's implementations of hashes and dynamically expandable
       arrays store any type, not just objects, Perl programmers almost never  are  required  to  box  primitive
       types in objects.  Perl's power makes this feature less essential than it is in other languages.

       autoboxing  makes  primitive  objects  and they're boxed versions equivalent.  An "int" may be used as an
       "Int" with no constructor call, no passing, nothing.  This applies to constants too, not just  variables.
       This is a more Perl 6 way of doing things.

         # Perl 6 - autoboxing associates classes with primitives types:

         print 4.sqrt, "\n";

         print [ 1 .. 20 ].elems, "\n";

       The language is free to implement data storage however it wishes but the programmer sees the variables as
       objects.

       Expressions  using  autoboxing  read somewhat like Latin suffixes.  In the autoboxing mind-set, you might
       not say that something is "made more mnemonic", but has been "mnemonicified".

       Autoboxing may be mixed with normal function calls.  In the case  where  the  methods  are  available  as
       functions  and  the  functions  are  available  as methods, it is only a matter of personal taste how the
       expression should be written:

         # Calling methods on numbers and strings, these three lines are equivalent
         # Perl 6

         print sqrt 4;
         print 4.sqrt;
         4.sqrt.print;

       The first of these three equivalents assumes that a global "sqrt()" function exists.  This first  example
       would  fail  to  operate  if this global function were removed and only a method in the "Num" package was
       left.

       Perl 5 had the beginnings of autoboxing with filehandles:

         use IO::Handle;
         open my $file, '<', 'file.txt' or die $!;
         $file->read(my $data, -s $file);

       Here, "read" is a method on a filehandle we opened but never blessed.   This  lets  us  say  things  like
       "$file->print(...)" rather than the often ambagious "print $file ...".

       To many people, much of the time, it makes more conceptual sense as well.

       Reasons to Box Primitive Types

       What good is all of this?

       •   Makes conceptual sense to programmers used to object interfaces as the way to perform options.

       •   Alternative  idiom.  Doesn't  require  the  programmer  to  write  or  read  expressions with complex
           precedence rules or strange operators.

       •   Many times that parenthesis would otherwise have to span a large expression, the  expression  may  be
           rewritten such that the parenthesis span only a few primitive types.

       •   Code may often be written with fewer temporary variables.

       •   Autoboxing provides the benefits of boxed types without the memory bloat of actually using objects to
           represent primitives. Autoboxing "fakes it".

       •   Strings,  numbers, arrays, hashes, and so on, each have their own API.  Documentation for an "exists"
           method for arrays doesn't have to explain how hashes are handled and vice versa.

       •   Perl tries to accommodate the notion that the "subject" of a statement should be the first  thing  on
           the line, and autoboxing furthers this agenda.

       Perl is an idiomatic language and this is an important idiom.

       Subject First: An Aside

       Perl's  design  philosophy  promotes  the  idea  that  the  language  should  be flexible enough to allow
       programmers to place the subject of a statement first.  For example, "die $! unless read $file, 60" looks
       like the primary purpose of the statement is to "die".

       While that might be the programmers primary goal, when it isn't, the programmer can communicate his  real
       primary  intention  to  programmers by reversing the order of clauses while keeping the exact same logic:
       "read $file, 60 or die $!".

       Autoboxing is another way of putting the subject first.

       Nouns make good subjects, and in programming, variables, constants,  and  object  names  are  the  nouns.
       Function  and  method  names are verbs.  "$noun->verb()" focuses the readers attention on the thing being
       acted on rather than the action being performed.  Compare to "$verb($noun)".

       Autoboxing and Method Results

       Let's look at some examples of ways an expression could be written.

         # Various ways to do the same thing:

         print(reverse(sort(keys(%hash))));          # Perl 5 - pathological parenthetic
         print reverse sort keys %hash;              # Perl 5 - no unneeded parenthesis

         print(reverse(sort(%hash,keys))));          # Perl 6 - pathological
         print reverse sort %hash.keys;              # Perl 6 - no unneeded parenthesis

         %hash.keys ==> sort ==> reverse ==> print;  # Perl 6 - pipeline operator

         %hash.keys.sort.reverse.print;              # Perl 6 - autobox

         %hash->keys->sort->reverse->print;          # Perl 5 - autobox

       This section deals with the last two of these equivalents.  These are method calls

         use autobox::Core;
         use Perl6::Contexts;

         my %hash = (foo => 'bar', baz => 'quux');

         %hash->keys->sort->reverse->print;          # Perl 5 - autobox

         # prints "foo baz"

       Each method call returns an array reference,  in  this  example.   Another  method  call  is  immediately
       performed  on  this  value.  This feeding of the next method call with the result of the previous call is
       the common mode of use of autoboxing.  Providing no other arguments to the method calls, however, is  not
       common.

       "Perl6::Contexts"  recognizes  object  context  as  provided  by  "->"  and coerces %hash and @array into
       references, suitable for use with "autobox".  (Note that "autobox" also does  this  automatically  as  of
       version 2.40.)

       "autobox" associates primitive types, such as references of various sorts, with classes.  "autobox::Core"
       throws  into  those  classes  methods  wrapping  Perl's  built-in  functions.   In  the  interest of full
       disclosure, "Perl6::Contexts" and "autobox::Core" are my creations.

       Autobox to Simplify Expressions

       One of my pet peeves in programming is parenthesis that span large expression.  It seems like  about  the
       time  I'm  getting  ready to close the parenthesis I opened on the other side of the line, I realize that
       I've forgotten something, and I have to arrow back over or grab the mouse.

       When the expression is too long to fit on a single line, it gets broken up, then I  must  decide  how  to
       indent it if it grows to 3 or more lines.

         # Perl 5 - a somewhat complex expression

         print join("\n", map { CGI::param($_) } @cgi_vars), "\n";
         # Perl 5 - again, using autobox:

         @cgi_vars->map(sub { CGI::param($_[0]) })->join("\n")->concat("\n")->print;

       The  autoboxed  version  isn't  shorter,  but  it  reads from left to right, and the parenthesis from the
       "join()" don't span nearly as many characters.   The  complex  expression  serving  as  the  value  being
       "join()"ed  in  the non-autoboxed version becomes, in the autoboxed version, a value to call the "join()"
       method on.

       This "print" statement takes a list of CGI parameter names, reads the values for  each  parameter,  joins
       them together with newlines, and prints them with a newline after the last one.

       Pretending  that  this  expression  were  much  larger  and it had to be broken to span several lines, or
       pretending that comments are to be placed after each part of the expression, you  might  reformat  it  as
       such:

         @cgi_vars->map(sub { CGI::param($_[0]) })  # turn CGI arg names into values
                  ->join("\n")                      # join with newlines
                  ->concat("\n")                    # give it a trailing newline
                  ->print;                          # print them all out

       Here ends the text quoted from the Perl 6 Now manuscript.

BUGS

       Yes.   Report  them  to  the  author,  scott@slowass.net,  or  post  them  to  GitHub's  bug  tracker  at
       <https://github.com/scrottie/autobox-Core/issues>.

       The API is not yet stable -- Perl 6-ish things and local extensions are still being renamed.

HISTORY

       See the Changes file.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       Copyright (C) 2009, 2010, 2011 by Scott Walters and various contributors listed (and unlisted) below.

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under  the  same  terms  as  Perl
       itself, either Perl version 5.8.9 or, at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.

       This  library  is  distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even
       the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

SEE ALSO

       autobox
       Moose::Autobox
       Perl6::Contexts
       <http://github.com/gitpan/autobox-Core>
       IO::Any
       Perl 6: <http://dev.perl.org/perl6/apocalypse/>.

AUTHORS

       Scott Walters, scott@slowass.net.

       Michael Schwern and the perl5i contributors for tests, code, and feedback.

       JJ contributed a "strip" method for scalars - thanks JJ!

       Ricardo SIGNES contributed patches.

       Thanks to Matt Spear, who contributed tests and definitions for numeric operations.

       Mitchell N Charity reported a bug and sent a fix.

       Thanks to chocolateboy for autobox and for the encouragement.

       Thanks to Bruno Vecchi for bug fixes and many, many new tests going into version 0.8.

       Thanks to <http://github.com/daxim> daxim/Lars DIECKOW pushing in fixes and patches  from  the  RT  queue
       along with fixes to build and additional doc examples.

       Jacinta Richardson improved documentation.

perl v5.18.1                                       2013-07-18                                 autobox::Core(3pm)