1Variable::Magic(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation Variable::Magic(3)
2
6 Variable::Magic - Associate user-defined magic to variables from Perl.
7
9 Version 0.62
10
12 use Variable::Magic qw<wizard cast VMG_OP_INFO_NAME>;
13 { # A variable tracer
15 my $wiz = wizard(
16 set => sub { print "now set to ${$_[0]}!\n" },
17 free => sub { print "destroyed!\n" },
18 );
19 my $a = 1;
21 cast $a, $wiz;
22 $a = 2; # "now set to 2!"
23 } # "destroyed!"
24 { # A hash with a default value
26 my $wiz = wizard(
27 data => sub { $_[1] },
28 fetch => sub { $_[2] = $_[1] unless exists $_[0]->{$_[2]}; () },
29 store => sub { print "key $_[2] stored in $_[-1]\n" },
30 copy_key => 1,
31 op_info => VMG_OP_INFO_NAME,
32 );
33 my %h = (_default => 0, apple => 2);
35 cast %h, $wiz, '_default';
36 print $h{banana}, "\n"; # "0" (there is no 'banana' key in %h)
37 $h{pear} = 1; # "key pear stored in helem"
38 }
39
41 Magic is Perl's way of enhancing variables. This mechanism lets the
42 user add extra data to any variable and hook syntactical operations
43 (such as access, assignment or destruction) that can be applied to it.
44 With this module, you can add your own magic to any variable without
45 having to write a single line of XS.
46 You'll realize that these magic variables look a lot like tied
48 variables. It is not surprising, as tied variables are implemented as
49 a special kind of magic, just like any 'irregular' Perl variable :
50 scalars like $!, $( or $^W, the %ENV and %SIG hashes, the @ISA array,
51 "vec()" and "substr()" lvalues, threads::shared variables... They all
52 share the same underlying C API, and this module gives you direct
53 access to it.
54 Still, the magic made available by this module differs from tieing and
56 overloading in several ways :
57 · Magic is not copied on assignment.
59 You attach it to variables, not values (as for blessed references).
61 · Magic does not replace the original semantics.
63 Magic callbacks usually get triggered before the original action
65 takes place, and cannot prevent it from happening. This also makes
66 catching individual events easier than with "tie", where you have
67 to provide fallbacks methods for all actions by usually inheriting
68 from the correct "Tie::Std*" class and overriding individual
69 methods in your own class.
70 · Magic is multivalued.
72 You can safely apply different kinds of magics to the same
74 variable, and each of them will be invoked successively.
75 · Magic is type-agnostic.
77 The same magic can be applied on scalars, arrays, hashes, subs or
79 globs. But the same hook (see below for a list) may trigger
80 differently depending on the type of the variable.
81 · Magic is invisible at Perl level.
83 Magical and non-magical variables cannot be distinguished with
85 "ref", "tied" or another trick.
86 · Magic is notably faster.
88 Mainly because perl's way of handling magic is lighter by nature,
90 and because there is no need for any method resolution. Also,
91 since you don't have to reimplement all the variable semantics, you
92 only pay for what you actually use.
93 The operations that can be overloaded are :
95 · get
97 This magic is invoked when the variable is evaluated. It is never
99 called for arrays and hashes.
100 · set
102 This magic is called each time the value of the variable changes.
104 It is called for array subscripts and slices, but never for hashes.
105 · len
107 This magic only applies to arrays (though it used to also apply to
109 scalars), and is triggered when the 'size' or the 'length' of the
110 variable has to be known by Perl. This is typically the magic
111 involved when an array is evaluated in scalar context, but also on
112 array assignment and loops ("for", "map" or "grep"). The length is
113 returned from the callback as an integer.
114 Starting from perl 5.12, this magic is no longer called by the
116 "length" keyword, and starting from perl 5.17.4 it is also no
117 longer called for scalars in any situation, making this magic only
118 meaningful on arrays. You can use the constants
119 "VMG_COMPAT_SCALAR_LENGTH_NOLEN" and "VMG_COMPAT_SCALAR_NOLEN" to
120 see if this magic is available for scalars or not.
121 · clear
123 This magic is invoked when the variable is reset, such as when an
125 array is emptied. Please note that this is different from
126 undefining the variable, even though the magic is called when the
127 clearing is a result of the undefine (e.g. for an array, but
128 actually a bug prevent it to work before perl 5.9.5 - see the
129 history).
130 · free
132 This magic is called when a variable is destroyed as the result of
134 going out of scope (but not when it is undefined). It behaves
135 roughly like Perl object destructors (i.e. "DESTROY" methods),
136 except that exceptions thrown from inside a free callback will
137 always be propagated to the surrounding code.
138 · copy
140 When applied to tied arrays and hashes, this magic fires when you
142 try to access or change their elements.
143 Starting from perl 5.17.0, it can also be applied to closure
145 prototypes, in which case the magic will be called when the
146 prototype is cloned. The "VMG_COMPAT_CODE_COPY_CLONE" constant is
147 true when your perl support this feature.
148 · dup
150 This magic is invoked when the variable is cloned across threads.
152 It is currently not available.
153 · local
155 When this magic is set on a variable, all subsequent localizations
157 of the variable will trigger the callback. It is available on your
158 perl if and only if "MGf_LOCAL" is true.
159 The following actions only apply to hashes and are available if and
161 only if "VMG_UVAR" is true. They are referred to as uvar magics.
162 · fetch
164 This magic is invoked each time an element is fetched from the
166 hash.
167 · store
169 This one is called when an element is stored into the hash.
171 · exists
173 This magic fires when a key is tested for existence in the hash.
175 · delete
177 This magic is triggered when a key is deleted in the hash,
179 regardless of whether the key actually exists in it.
180 You can refer to the tests to have more insight of where the different
182 magics are invoked.
183
185 "wizard"
186 wizard(
187 data => sub { ... },
188 get => sub { my ($ref, $data [, $op]) = @_; ... },
189 set => sub { my ($ref, $data [, $op]) = @_; ... },
190 len => sub {
191 my ($ref, $data, $len [, $op]) = @_; ... ; return $newlen
192 },
193 clear => sub { my ($ref, $data [, $op]) = @_; ... },
194 free => sub { my ($ref, $data [, $op]) = @_, ... },
195 copy => sub { my ($ref, $data, $key, $elt [, $op]) = @_; ... },
196 local => sub { my ($ref, $data [, $op]) = @_; ... },
197 fetch => sub { my ($ref, $data, $key [, $op]) = @_; ... },
198 store => sub { my ($ref, $data, $key [, $op]) = @_; ... },
199 exists => sub { my ($ref, $data, $key [, $op]) = @_; ... },
200 delete => sub { my ($ref, $data, $key [, $op]) = @_; ... },
201 copy_key => $bool,
202 op_info => [ 0 | VMG_OP_INFO_NAME | VMG_OP_INFO_OBJECT ],
203 )
204 This function creates a 'wizard', an opaque object that holds the magic
206 information. It takes a list of keys / values as argument, whose keys
207 can be :
208 · "data"
210 A code (or string) reference to a private data constructor. It is
212 called in scalar context each time the magic is cast onto a
213 variable, with $_[0] being a reference to this variable and @_[1 ..
214 @_-1] being all extra arguments that were passed to "cast". The
215 scalar returned from this call is then attached to the variable and
216 can be retrieved later with "getdata".
217 · "get", "set", "len", "clear", "free", "copy", "local", "fetch",
219 "store", "exists" and "delete"
220 Code (or string) references to the respective magic callbacks. You
222 don't have to specify all of them : the magic corresponding to
223 undefined entries will simply not be hooked.
224 When those callbacks are executed, $_[0] is a reference to the
226 magic variable and $_[1] is the associated private data (or "undef"
227 when no private data constructor is supplied with the wizard).
228 Other arguments depend on which kind of magic is involved :
229 · len
231 $_[2] contains the natural, non-magical length of the
233 variable (which can only be a scalar or an array as len
234 magic is only relevant for these types). The callback is
235 expected to return the new scalar or array length to use,
236 or "undef" to default to the normal length.
237 · copy
239 When the variable for which the magic is invoked is an
241 array or an hash, $_[2] is a either an alias or a copy of
242 the current key, and $_[3] is an alias to the current
243 element (i.e. the value). Since $_[2] might be a copy, it
244 is useless to try to change it or cast magic on it.
245 Starting from perl 5.17.0, this magic can also be called
247 for code references. In this case, $_[2] is always "undef"
248 and $_[3] is a reference to the cloned anonymous
249 subroutine.
250 · fetch, store, exists and delete
252 $_[2] is an alias to the current key. Note that $_[2] may
254 rightfully be readonly if the key comes from a bareword,
255 and as such it is unsafe to assign to it. You can ask for
256 a copy instead by passing "copy_key => 1" to "wizard"
257 which, at the price of a small performance hit, allows you
258 to safely assign to $_[2] in order to e.g. redirect the
259 action to another key.
260 Finally, if "op_info => $num" is also passed to "wizard", then one
262 extra element is appended to @_. Its nature depends on the value
263 of $num :
264 · "VMG_OP_INFO_NAME"
266 $_[-1] is the current op name.
268 · "VMG_OP_INFO_OBJECT"
270 $_[-1] is the "B::OP" object for the current op.
272 Both result in a small performance hit, but just getting the name
274 is lighter than getting the op object.
275 These callbacks are always executed in scalar context. The
277 returned value is coerced into a signed integer, which is then
278 passed straight to the perl magic API. However, note that perl
279 currently only cares about the return value of the len magic
280 callback and ignores all the others. Starting with Variable::Magic
281 0.58, a reference returned from a non-len magic callback will not
282 be destroyed immediately but will be allowed to survive until the
283 end of the statement that triggered the magic. This lets you use
284 this return value as a token for triggering a destructor after the
285 original magic action takes place. You can see an example of this
286 technique in the cookbook.
287 Each callback can be specified as :
289 · a code reference, which will be called as a subroutine.
291 · a string reference, where the string denotes which subroutine is to
293 be called when magic is triggered. If the subroutine name is not
294 fully qualified, then the current package at the time the magic is
295 invoked will be used instead.
296 · a reference to "undef", in which case a no-op magic callback is
298 installed instead of the default one. This may especially be
299 helpful for local magic, where an empty callback prevents magic
300 from being copied during localization.
301 Note that free magic is never called during global destruction, as
303 there is no way to ensure that the wizard object and the callback were
304 not destroyed before the variable.
305 Here is a simple usage example :
307 # A simple scalar tracer
309 my $wiz = wizard(
310 get => sub { print STDERR "got ${$_[0]}\n" },
311 set => sub { print STDERR "set to ${$_[0]}\n" },
312 free => sub { print STDERR "${$_[0]} was deleted\n" },
313 );
314 "cast"
316 cast [$@%&*]var, $wiz, @args
317 This function associates $wiz magic to the supplied variable, without
319 overwriting any other kind of magic. It returns true on success or
320 when $wiz magic is already attached, and croaks on error. When $wiz
321 provides a data constructor, it is called just before magic is cast
322 onto the variable, and it receives a reference to the target variable
323 in $_[0] and the content of @args in @_[1 .. @args]. Otherwise, @args
324 is ignored.
325 # Casts $wiz onto $x, passing (\$x, '1') to the data constructor.
327 my $x;
328 cast $x, $wiz, 1;
329 The "var" argument can be an array or hash value. Magic for these
331 scalars behaves like for any other, except that it is dispelled when
332 the entry is deleted from the container. For example, if you want to
333 call "POSIX::tzset" each time the 'TZ' environment variable is changed
334 in %ENV, you can use :
335 use POSIX;
337 cast $ENV{TZ}, wizard set => sub { POSIX::tzset(); () };
338 If you want to handle the possible deletion of the 'TZ' entry, you must
340 also specify store magic.
341 "getdata"
343 getdata [$@%&*]var, $wiz
344 This accessor fetches the private data associated with the magic $wiz
346 in the variable. It croaks when $wiz does not represent a valid magic
347 object, and returns an empty list if no such magic is attached to the
348 variable or when the wizard has no data constructor.
349 # Get the data attached to $wiz in $x, or undef if $wiz
351 # did not attach any.
352 my $data = getdata $x, $wiz;
353 "dispell"
355 dispell [$@%&*]variable, $wiz
356 The exact opposite of "cast" : it dissociates $wiz magic from the
358 variable. This function returns true on success, 0 when no magic
359 represented by $wiz could be found in the variable, and croaks if the
360 supplied wizard is invalid.
361 # Dispell now.
363 die 'no such magic in $x' unless dispell $x, $wiz;
364
366 "MGf_COPY"
367 Evaluates to true if and only if the copy magic is available. This is
368 the case for perl 5.7.3 and greater, which is ensured by the
369 requirements of this module.
370 "MGf_DUP"
372 Evaluates to true if and only if the dup magic is available. This is
373 the case for perl 5.7.3 and greater, which is ensured by the
374 requirements of this module.
375 "MGf_LOCAL"
377 Evaluates to true if and only if the local magic is available. This is
378 the case for perl 5.9.3 and greater.
379 "VMG_UVAR"
381 When this constant is true, you can use the fetch, store, exists and
382 delete magics on hashes. Initial "VMG_UVAR" capability was introduced
383 in perl 5.9.5, with a fully functional implementation shipped with perl
384 5.10.0.
385 "VMG_COMPAT_SCALAR_LENGTH_NOLEN"
387 True for perls that don't call len magic when taking the "length" of a
388 magical scalar.
389 "VMG_COMPAT_SCALAR_NOLEN"
391 True for perls that don't call len magic on scalars. Implies
392 "VMG_COMPAT_SCALAR_LENGTH_NOLEN".
393 "VMG_COMPAT_ARRAY_PUSH_NOLEN"
395 True for perls that don't call len magic when you push an element in a
396 magical array. Starting from perl 5.11.0, this only refers to pushes
397 in non-void context and hence is false.
398 "VMG_COMPAT_ARRAY_PUSH_NOLEN_VOID"
400 True for perls that don't call len magic when you push in void context
401 an element in a magical array.
402 "VMG_COMPAT_ARRAY_UNSHIFT_NOLEN_VOID"
404 True for perls that don't call len magic when you unshift in void
405 context an element in a magical array.
406 "VMG_COMPAT_ARRAY_UNDEF_CLEAR"
408 True for perls that call clear magic when undefining magical arrays.
409 "VMG_COMPAT_HASH_DELETE_NOUVAR_VOID"
411 True for perls that don't call delete magic when you delete an element
412 from a hash in void context.
413 "VMG_COMPAT_CODE_COPY_CLONE"
415 True for perls that call copy magic when a magical closure prototype is
416 cloned.
417 "VMG_COMPAT_GLOB_GET"
419 True for perls that call get magic for operations on globs.
420 "VMG_PERL_PATCHLEVEL"
422 The perl patchlevel this module was built with, or 0 for non-debugging
423 perls.
424 "VMG_THREADSAFE"
426 True if and only if this module could have been built with thread-
427 safety features enabled.
428 "VMG_FORKSAFE"
430 True if and only if this module could have been built with fork-safety
431 features enabled. This is always true except on Windows where it is
432 false for perl 5.10.0 and below.
433 "VMG_OP_INFO_NAME"
435 Value to pass with "op_info" to get the current op name in the magic
436 callbacks.
437 "VMG_OP_INFO_OBJECT"
439 Value to pass with "op_info" to get a "B::OP" object representing the
440 current op in the magic callbacks.
441
443 Associate an object to any perl variable
444 This technique can be useful for passing user data through limited
445 APIs. It is similar to using inside-out objects, but without the
446 drawback of having to implement a complex destructor.
447 {
449 package Magical::UserData;
450 use Variable::Magic qw<wizard cast getdata>;
452 my $wiz = wizard data => sub { \$_[1] };
454 sub ud (\[$@%*&]) : lvalue {
456 my ($var) = @_;
457 my $data = &getdata($var, $wiz);
458 unless (defined $data) {
459 $data = \(my $slot);
460 &cast($var, $wiz, $slot)
461 or die "Couldn't cast UserData magic onto the variable";
462 }
463 $$data;
464 }
465 }
466 {
468 BEGIN { *ud = \&Magical::UserData::ud }
469 my $cb;
471 $cb = sub { print 'Hello, ', ud(&$cb), "!\n" };
472 ud(&$cb) = 'world';
474 $cb->(); # Hello, world!
475 }
476 Recursively cast magic on datastructures
478 "cast" can be called from any magical callback, and in particular from
479 "data". This allows you to recursively cast magic on datastructures :
480 my $wiz;
482 $wiz = wizard data => sub {
483 my ($var, $depth) = @_;
484 $depth ||= 0;
485 my $r = ref $var;
486 if ($r eq 'ARRAY') {
487 &cast((ref() ? $_ : \$_), $wiz, $depth + 1) for @$var;
488 } elsif ($r eq 'HASH') {
489 &cast((ref() ? $_ : \$_), $wiz, $depth + 1) for values %$var;
490 }
491 return $depth;
492 },
493 free => sub {
494 my ($var, $depth) = @_;
495 my $r = ref $var;
496 print "free $r at depth $depth\n";
497 ();
498 };
499 {
501 my %h = (
502 a => [ 1, 2 ],
503 b => { c => 3 }
504 );
505 cast %h, $wiz;
506 }
507 When %h goes out of scope, this prints something among the lines of :
509 free HASH at depth 0
511 free HASH at depth 1
512 free SCALAR at depth 2
513 free ARRAY at depth 1
514 free SCALAR at depth 3
515 free SCALAR at depth 3
516 Of course, this example does nothing with the values that are added
518 after the "cast".
519 Delayed magic actions
521 Starting with Variable::Magic 0.58, the return value of the magic
522 callbacks can be used to delay the action until after the original
523 action takes place :
524 my $delayed;
526 my $delayed_aux = wizard(
527 data => sub { $_[1] },
528 free => sub {
529 my ($target) = $_[1];
530 my $target_data = &getdata($target, $delayed);
531 local $target_data->{guard} = 1;
532 if (ref $target eq 'SCALAR') {
533 my $orig = $$target;
534 $$target = $target_data->{mangler}->($orig);
535 }
536 return;
537 },
538 );
539 $delayed = wizard(
540 data => sub {
541 return +{ guard => 0, mangler => $_[1] };
542 },
543 set => sub {
544 return if $_[1]->{guard};
545 my $token;
546 cast $token, $delayed_aux, $_[0];
547 return \$token;
548 },
549 );
550 my $x = 1;
551 cast $x, $delayed => sub { $_[0] * 2 };
552 $x = 2;
553 # $x is now 4
554 # But note that the delayed action only takes place at the end of the
555 # current statement :
556 my @y = ($x = 5, $x);
557 # $x is now 10, but @y is (5, 5)
558
560 The places where magic is invoked have changed a bit through perl
561 history. Here is a little list of the most recent ones.
562 · 5.6.x
564 p14416 : copy and dup magic.
566 · 5.8.9
568 p28160 : Integration of p25854 (see below).
570 p32542 : Integration of p31473 (see below).
572 · 5.9.3
574 p25854 : len magic is no longer called when pushing an element into
576 a magic array.
577 p26569 : local magic.
579 · 5.9.5
581 p31064 : Meaningful uvar magic.
583 p31473 : clear magic was not invoked when undefining an array. The
585 bug is fixed as of this version.
586 · 5.10.0
588 Since "PERL_MAGIC_uvar" is uppercased, "hv_magic_check()" triggers
590 copy magic on hash stores for (non-tied) hashes that also have uvar
591 magic.
592 · 5.11.x
594 p32969 : len magic is no longer invoked when calling "length" with
596 a magical scalar.
597 p34908 : len magic is no longer called when pushing / unshifting an
599 element into a magical array in void context. The "push" part was
600 already covered by p25854.
601 g9cdcb38b : len magic is called again when pushing into a magical
603 array in non-void context.
604
606 The functions "wizard", "cast", "getdata" and "dispell" are only
607 exported on request. All of them are exported by the tags ':funcs' and
608 ':all'.
609 All the constants are also only exported on request, either
611 individually or by the tags ':consts' and ':all'.
612
614 In order to hook hash operations with magic, you need at least perl
615 5.10.0 (see "VMG_UVAR").
616 If you want to store a magic object in the private data slot, you will
618 not be able to recover the magic with "getdata", since magic is not
619 copied by assignment. You can work around this gotcha by storing a
620 reference to the magic object instead.
621 If you define a wizard with free magic and cast it on itself, it
623 results in a memory cycle, so this destructor will not be called when
624 the wizard is freed.
625
627 perl 5.8.
628 A C compiler. This module may happen to build with a C++ compiler as
630 well, but don't rely on it, as no guarantee is made in this regard.
631 Carp (core since perl 5), XSLoader (since 5.6.0).
633
635 perlguts and perlapi for internal information about magic.
636 perltie and overload for other ways of enhancing objects.
638
640 Vincent Pit, "<perl at profvince.com>", <http://www.profvince.com>.
641 You can contact me by mail or on "irc.perl.org" (vincent).
643
645 Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-variable-magic at
646 rt.cpan.org", or through the web interface at
647 <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Variable-Magic>. I
648 will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress
649 on your bug as I make changes.
650
652 You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.
653 perldoc Variable::Magic
655
657 Copyright 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017
658 Vincent Pit, all rights reserved.
659 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
661 under the same terms as Perl itself.
662perl v5.32.0 2020-07-28 Variable::Magic(3)