/ 
Syntax-Keyword-Match-0.13
River stage two • 12 direct dependents • 21 total dependents
/ Syntax::Keyword::Match

NAME

Syntax::Keyword::Match - a match/case syntax for perl

SYNOPSIS

use v5.14;
use Syntax::Keyword::Match;

my $n = ...;

match($n : ==) {
   case(1) { say "It's one" }
   case(2) { say "It's two" }
   case(3) { say "It's three" }
   case(4), case(5)
           { say "It's four or five" }
   case if($n < 10)
           { say "It's less than ten" }
   default { say "It's something else" }
}

DESCRIPTION

This module provides a syntax plugin that implements a control-flow block called match/case, which executes at most one of a choice of different blocks depending on the value of its controlling expression.

This is similar to C's switch/case syntax (copied into many other languages), or syntax provided by Switch::Plain.

This is an initial, experimental implementation. Furthermore, it is built as a non-trivial example use-case on top of XS::Parse::Keyword, which is also experimental. No API or compatibility guarantees are made at this time.

Experimental Features

Some of the features of this module are currently marked as experimental (even within the context that the module itself is experimental). They will provoke warnings in the experimental category, unless silenced.

use Syntax::Keyword::Match qw( match :experimental(dispatch) );

use Syntax::Keyword::Match qw( match :experimental );  # all of the above

KEYWORDS

match

match( EXPR : OP ) {
   ...
}

A match statement provides the controlling expression, comparison operator, and sequence of case statements for a match operation. The expression is evaluated to yield a scalar value, which is then compared, using the comparison operator, against each of the case labels in the order they are written, topmost first. If a match is found then the body of the labelled block is executed. If no label matches but a default block is present, that will be executed instead. After a single inner block has been executed, no further tests are performed and execution continues from the statement following the match statement.

The braces following the match block must only contain case or default statements. Arbitrary code is not supported here.

Even though a match statement is a full statement and not an expression, it can still yield a value if it appears as the final statment in its containing sub or do block. For example:

my $result = do {
   match( $topic : == ) {
      case(1) { ... }
   }
};

If the controlling expression introduces a new variable, that variable will be visible within any of the case blocks, and will go out of scope after the match statement finishes. This may be useful for temporarily storing the result of a more complex expression.

match( my $x = some_function_call() : == ) {
   case ...
}

Comparison Operators

The comparison operator must be either eq (to compare cases as strings) or == (to compare them as numbers), or =~ (to compare cases using regexps).

Since version 0.11 on any Perl release, or previous versions on Perl releases 5.32 onwards, the isa operator is also supported, allowing dispatch based on what type of object the controlling expression gives.

match( $obj : isa ) {
   case(A::Package)       { ... }
   case(Another::Package) { ... }
}

Remember that comparisons are made in the order they are written, from the top downwards. Therefore, if you list a derived class as well as a base class, make sure to put the derived class before the base class, or instances of that type will also match the base class case block and the derived one will never match.

class TheBase {}
class Derived :isa(TheBase) {}

match( $obj : isa ) {
   case(TheBase) { ... }
   case(Derived) {
      # This case will never match as the one above will always happen first
   }
}

Since version 0.08 the operator syntax is parsed using XS::Parse::Infix, meaning that custom infix operators can be recognised, even on versions of perl that do not support the full PL_infix_plugin mechanism.

case

case(VAL) { STATEMENTS... }

case(VAL), case(VAL), ... { STATEMENTS... }

A case statement must only appear inside the braces of a match. It provides a block of code to run if the controlling expression's value matches the value given in the case statement, according to the comparison operator.

Multiple case statements are permitted for a single block. A value matching any of them will run the code inside the block.

If the value is a non-constant expression, such as a variable or function call, it will be evaluated as part of performing the comparison every time the match statement is executed. For best performance it is advised to extract values that won't need computing again into a variable or use constant that can be calculated just once at program startup; for example:

use constant CONDITION => a_function("with", "arguments");

match( $var : eq ) {
   case(CONDITION) { ... }
   ...
}

The :experimental(dispatch) feature selects a more efficient handling of sequences of multiple case blocks with constant expressions. This handling is implemented with a custom operator that will entirely confuse modules like B::Deparse or optree inspectors like coverage tools so is not selected by default, but can be enabled for extra performance in critical sections.

case if

case if(EXPR) { STATEMENTS... }

case(VAL), case if(EXPR) { STATEMENTS... }

A case statement may also be written case if with a boolean predicate expression in parentheses. This inserts a direct boolean test into the comparison logic, allowing for other logical tests that aren't easily expressed as uses of the comparison operator. As case if is an alternative to a regular case, they can be combined on a single code block if required.

For example, when testing an inequality in a selection of numerical == tests, or a single regexp test among some string eq tests.

match( $num : == ) {
   case(0)           { ... }
   case(1), case(2)  { ... }
   case if($num < 5) { ... }
}

match( $str : eq ) {
   case("abc")           { ... }
   case("def")           { ... }
   case if($str =~ m/g/) { ... }
}

By default the match value is not assigned into a variable that is visible to case if expressions, but if needed a new lexical can be constructed by using a regular my assignment.

match( my $v = some_expression() : eq ) {
   case if($v =~ m/pattern/) { ... }
}

default

A default statement must only appear inside the braces of a match. If present, it must be the final choice, and there must only be one of them. It provides a block of code to run if the controlling expression's value did not match any of the given case labels.

COMPARISONS

As this syntax is fairly similar to a few other ideas, the following comparisons may be useful.

Core perl's given/when syntax

Compared to core perl's given/when syntax (available with use feature 'switch'), this syntax is initially visually very similar but actually behaves very differently. Core's given/when uses the smartmatch (~~) operator for its comparisons, which is complex, subtle, and hard to use correctly - doubly-so when comparisons against values stored in variables rather than literal constants are involved. It can be unpredictable whether string or numerical comparison are being used, for example. By comparison, this module requires the programmer to specify the comparison operator. The choice of string or numerical comparison is given in the source code - there can be no ambiguity.

Additionally, the isa operator is also permitted, which has no equivalent ability in smartmatch.

Also, the given/when syntax permits mixed code within a given block which is run unconditionally, or at least, until the first successful when statement is encountered. The syntax provided by this module requires that the only code inside a match block be a sequence of case statements. No other code is permitted.

Switch::Plain

Like this module, Switch::Plain also provides a syntax where the programmer specifies whether the comparison is made using stringy or numerical semantics. Switch::Plain also permits additional conditions to be placed on case blocks, whereas this module does not.

Additionally, the isa operator is also permitted, which has no equivalent ability in Switch::Plain.

C's switch/case

The C programming language provides a similar sort of syntax, using keywords named switch and case. One key difference between that and the syntax provided for Perl by this module is that in C the case labels really are just labels. The switch part of the statement effectively acts as a sort of computed goto. This often leads to bugs caused by forgetting to put a break at the end of a sequence of statements before the next case label; a situation called "fallthrough". Such a mistake is impossible with this module, because every case is provided by a block. Once execution has finished with the block, the entire match statement is finished. There is no possibility of accidental fallthrough.

C's syntax only permits compiletime constants for case labels, whereas this module will also allow the result of any runtime expression.

Code written in C will perform identically even if any of the case labels and associated code are moved around into a different order. The syntax provided by this module notionally performs all of its tests in the order they are written in, and any changes of that order might cause a different result.

TODO

This is clearly an early experimental work. There are many features to add, and design decisions to make. Rather than attempt to list them all here it would be best to check the RT bug queue at

https://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Name=Syntax-Keyword-Match

AUTHOR

Paul Evans <leonerd@leonerd.org.uk>