Perl - m02 - Basics

Practical Extraction & Report
Language
By: B.T.R Naidu

Email: tiru.naidu@gmail.com
Copyright Amstar Technologies
PERL
Basics
Perl Data Types

Three Main Datatypes
Arrays and Hashes )
Scalars,
Scalar
A single number, string or reference.
$society = Redbrick;
Scalars can be subdivided into three

groups
Integers or Floating-point numbers
Strings
References
Data Types - Scalars

Preface a scalar variables name with a $.
The name we use for a scalar variable
may
contain
letters,
number
and
underscores. However, it must start with
the $ symbol, which stops it from
confliction with reserved words in Perl.
A scalar variables name can be long.
Although
the
length
is
platform
dependent, a variables name can be at
most 255 characters long.

To place an integer value we use
$var1=5;
String assignment work much the same way

$str1=Hello World\n;
Number fall into one of two categories, integer, or floatingpoint.

In addition, both types of number can be
represented as a numerical string, which is converted to the
appropriate format when used.
Integers can be specified in several different formats
123
regular decimal integer
0b1101
binary integer
0127
octal integer
0Xabcd
hexadecimal integer
12_345
underscore annotated integer
0Xca_fe_ba_be underscore annotated hexadecimal integer

When Perl stores a value as an integer ( as
opposed to a numerical string ), the
maximum size of the integer value is limited
by the maximum size of integers on the
underlying platform. On a 32-bit architecture
this means integers can rage from
0 to 4294967295
(unsigned)
-2147483648 to 2147483647 (signed)
Note: If an integer calculation falls outside

the range that integers can support then
Perl automatically converts the result to a
floating-point format.

Perl allows floating-point numbers to be written in one of
two forms, either fixed point or scientific, consisting of a
mantissa with the actual number value and an exponent
representing the power of 10 that the mantissa is multiplied
by
123.456
# fixed point
-1.2345e2
# scientific, lowercase, negative
+1.2345E2
# scientific, uppercase, explicitly positive
Likewise, fractions can be expressed either in fixed-point
notation or as a negative exponent
0.000034
# fixed point
-3.4e-4
# scientific, lowercase, negative
+3.4E-4
# scientific, uppercase, explicitly positive

Converting Between Octal, Decimal, And Hexadecimal
To convert a number from hexadecimal to decimal, use the
hex function
print hex 1AB;
# Output: 427
To convert decimal number to a hexadecimal number

represented by a string, we use the Perls sprintf function with
the %x conversions
print sprintf %x, 16;
# Output: 10
To convert form octal to decimal, we use the oct function

print oct 10;
# Output: 8
To convert a decimal number to an octal number represented

by a string, we use the Perls sprintf function, but this time
with %o conversion
print sprintf %o, 16;
# Output: 20

Rounding Numbers
To round a number to a specific number of decimal places, we use the

again the sprintf function.
print sprintf %.2f, 3.1415926;
# Output: 3.14
To round a number for four decimal places
$variable1 = sprintf %.4f, 3.1415926;

print $variable1;
# Output: 3.1416
Using Strings in Scalar Variables
Besides numbers, scalar variables can hold strings like this

$variable1=Hello;
We can use the Perls concatenation operator, which is a dot (.) to add
two strings
$var1=Hello ;
$var2=there\n;
print $var1 . $var2;
# Output: Hello there
We can create string values using single or double quotes

$var1=Hello ;
$var2=Hello again.;

There is a difference between these two methods.
Perl
will
evaluate
variables
and
certain
expressions when enclosed by double quotes.
Enclosing a string in single quotes makes Perl
treat it as a literal rather than interpreting it.
We can use the escape characters in strings. For
example, to place a double quote in our text, we
can use the \ escape character this way:
print I said, \Hello\.;
# Output: I said, Hello
10

The escape characters and there meaning
are
Escape Means
\
\
\t
\n
\u
\l
\U
\L
\Q
\E
\r
\f
\b
\a
Single quote
Double quote
Tab
Newline
Make next character Uppercase
Make next character Lowercase
Make all the following characters Uppercase
Make all the following characters Lowercase
Add a backslash to all following no alphanumeric characters
End of \L, \U, or \Q
Return
Form feed
Backspace
Alarm(Bell)
11

Using String Interpolation
When we enclose a string that includes variable name in
double quotes, Perl substitutes the value stored in that
variable into the string.
$text=Hello;
print Perl says: $text!\n;
Hello!
# Output: Perl says:
This process is called interpolation.

However, if we use single quotes, Perl will not perform
interpolation
$text = Hello;
print Perl says: $text!\n;
$text!\n
#Output: Perl says:
This means that we use single quotes when we dont want

Perl to try to evaluate an expression.
12

If we want to interpolate a variable as part of another word
and not a word by itself then we use { and } to set off the
name of the variable we want to interpolate as part of a
word
$text=un;
print Dont be ${text}happy.;
# Output: Dont be unhappy
Quotes and Quoting

Single word text strings without quotes are called
barewords. But if we need to use more than one word, its
not a bareword anymore, and just a simple assignment
wont work
$text=Hello;
print $text;
$text=Hello there!;
print $text;
# Output: Hello
# Error: No Good
# Error: Doesnt work
13

Besides skipping the quotes, we can also use Perl to add
quotes automatically using the constructs shown bellow
Construct
q//
qq//
qx//
qw//
//
s///
y///
Resorts In
``
()
m//
s///
y///
Interpolated? Stands For

No
Literal
Yes
Literal
Yes
Command
No
Word List
Yes
Pattern Match
Yes
Substitution
No
Translation
print I said, \Hello.\; # Output: I said, Hello.
To avoid too many escaped characters, we can use the qq//

construct to take care of the double quotes in a string
print qq/I said, Hello./;
# Output: I said, Hello.
14
Data Types
In fact, we dont need to use / and / to enclose
the string in such cases.
We can use nearly any character ( as long as we

use the same character at the beginning and end
of the string )
print qq|I said, Hello.|;
# Output: I said, Hello.
We can even use parentheses, which are usually

used to enclose arguments passed to subroutines
print qq(I said, Hello.);
#Output: I said, Hello.
15
16

Perl - m02 - Basics

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Perl - m02 - Basics

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Practical Extraction & Report

By: B.T.R Naidu

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Perl Data Types

Scalars can be subdivided into three

Data Types - Scalars

Data Types - Scalars

String assignment work much the same way

Number fall into one of two categories, integer, or floatingpoint.

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

Note: If an integer calculation falls outside

Data Types - Scalars

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

To convert decimal number to a hexadecimal number

To convert form octal to decimal, we use the oct function

To convert a decimal number to an octal number represented

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

To round a number to a specific number of decimal places, we use the

To round a number for four decimal places

$variable1 = sprintf %.4f, 3.1415926;

Using Strings in Scalar Variables

Besides numbers, scalar variables can hold strings like this

# Output: Hello there

We can create string values using single or double quotes

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

# Output: Perl says:

This process is called interpolation.

#Output: Perl says:

This means that we use single quotes when we dont want

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

# Output: Dont be unhappy

Quotes and Quoting

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Data Types - Scalars

Interpolated? Stands For

print I said, \Hello.\; # Output: I said, Hello.

To avoid too many escaped characters, we can use the qq//

# Output: I said, Hello.

Copyright Amstar Technologies

We can use nearly any character ( as long as we

# Output: I said, Hello.

We can even use parentheses, which are usually

#Output: I said, Hello.

Copyright Amstar Technologies

Copyright Amstar Technologies

You might also like