B::Deparse is a backend module for the Perl compiler that
generates perl source code, based on the internal compiled
structure that perl itself creates after parsing a program.
The output of B::Deparse won't be exactly the same as the
original source, since perl doesn't keep track of comments
or whitespace, and there isn't a one-to-one correspondence
between perl's syntactical constructions and their compiled
form, but it will often be close. When you use the -p
option, the output also includes parentheses even when they
are not required by precedence, which can make it easy to
see if perl is parsing your expressions the way you
intended.
Please note that this module is mainly new and untested code
and is still under development, so it may change in the
future.
OPTIONS
As with all compiler backend options, these must follow
directly after the '-MO=Deparse', separated by a comma but
not any white space.
-p Print extra parentheses. Without this option, B::Deparse
includes parentheses in its output only when they are
needed, based on the structure of your program. With -p,
it uses parentheses (almost) whenever they would be
legal. This can be useful if you are used to LISP, or if
you want to see how perl parses your input. If you say
if ($var & 0x7f == 65) {print "Gimme an A!"}
print ($which ? $a : $b), "\n";
$name = $ENV{USER} or "Bob";
B::Deparse,-p will print
if (($var & 0)) {
print('Gimme an A!')
};
(print(($which ? $a : $b)), '???');
(($name = $ENV{'USER'}) or '???')
which probably isn't what you intended (the '???' is a
sign that perl optimized away a constant value).
-uPACKAGE
Normally, B::Deparse deparses the main code of a
program, all the subs called by the main program (and
all the subs called by them, recursively), and any other
subs in the main:: package. To include subs in other
packages that aren't called directly, such as AUTOLOAD,
DESTROY, other subs called automatically by perl, and
methods, which aren't resolved to subs until runtime,
use the -u option. The argument to -u is the name of a
package, and should follow directly after the 'u'.
Multiple -u options may be given, separated by commas.
Note that unlike some other backends, B::Deparse doesn't
(yet) try to guess automatically when -u is needed --
you must invoke it yourself.
-l Add '#line' declarations to the output based on the line
and file locations of the original code.
-sLETTERS
Tweak the style of B::Deparse's output. At the moment,
only one style option is implemented:
C Cuddle elsif, else, and continue blocks. For
example, print
if (...) {
...
} else {
...
}
instead of
if (...) {
...
}
else {
...
}
The default is not to cuddle.
BUGS
See the 'to do' list at the beginning of the module file.