/ 
Config-INI-RefVars-1.00
/ Config::INI::RefVars::Builtins

NAME

Config::INI::RefVars::Builtins - Built-in functions for Config::INI::RefVars

VERSION

Version 1.00

SYNOPSIS

use Config::INI::RefVars::Builtins ();

my $dispatch =
  Config::INI::RefVars::Builtins::default_dispatch_table();

DESCRIPTION

This module contains the built-in functions used by Config::INI::RefVars.

It is primarily an internal module. Applications normally access built-in functions indirectly via the $(=& ...) syntax.

Example:

[section]
path = $(=& catdir,foo,bar)

FUNCTIONS

default_dispatch_table

my $dispatch =
  Config::INI::RefVars::Builtins::default_dispatch_table();

Returns a hash reference containing all built-in functions.

The returned hash reference may be modified without affecting other parser objects.

BUILT-IN FUNCTIONS

Built-in functions are called using the $(=& ...) syntax.

Example:

path = $(=& catdir,foo,bar)

catdir

$(=& catdir,arg1,arg2,...)

Equivalent to:

File::Spec::Functions::catdir(...)

catfile

$(=& catfile,arg1,arg2,...)

Equivalent to:

File::Spec::Functions::catfile(...)

ignore

$(=& ignore,...)

Ignores all arguments and returns the empty string.

concat

$(=& concat,arg1,arg2,...)

Concatenates all arguments.

Example:

$(=& concat,foo,bar,baz)

Result: foobarbaz

join

$(=& join,separator,arg1,arg2,...)

Equivalent to Perl's join() function.

Example:

$(=& join,:,foo,bar,baz)

Result: foo:bar:baz

substr

$(=& substr,string,offset)
$(=& substr,string,offset,length)

Equivalent to Perl's substr() function.

Examples:

  • $(=& substr,abcdef,2)

    Result: cdef

  • $(=& substr,abcdef,2,3)

    Result: cde

x

$(=& x,string,count)

Equivalent to Perl's string repetition operator.

Example:

$(=& x,ab,3)

Result: ababab

and

$(=& and,arg1,arg2,...)

Returns the last argument if all arguments are non-empty. Otherwise returns the empty string.

Examples:

  • $(=& and,a,b,c)

    Result: c

  • $(=& and,a,,c)

    Result: ""

or

$(=& or,arg1,arg2,...)

Returns the first non-empty argument.

Examples:

  • $(=& or,,b,c)

    Result: b

  • $(=& or,,,)

    Result: ""

if

$(=& if,condition,true-value)
$(=& if,condition,true-value,false-value)

Returns true-value if condition is non-empty. Otherwise returns false-value, or the empty string if no false-value was specified.

Examples:

  • $(=& if,yes,foo,bar)

    Result: foo

  • $(=& if,,foo,bar)

    Result: bar

s

$(=& s,string,pattern,replacement)
$(=& s,string,pattern,replacement,modifiers)

Performs a regular-expression substitution and returns the resulting string.

Supported modifiers:

g i m s x

The e modifier is not supported.

Regex code blocks are rejected:

(?{ ... })
(??{ ... })

tr

$(=& tr,string,search,replacement)
$(=& tr,string,search,replacement,modifiers)

Performs a character transliteration and returns the resulting string.

Supported modifiers:

c d s

Examples:

  • $(=& tr,abcabc,a,x)

    Result: xbcxbc

  • $(=& tr,abcabc,abc,ABC)

    Result: ABCABC

m

$(=& m, STRING, PATTERN)
$(=& m, STRING, PATTERN, MODIFIERS)

Performs a regular-expression match.

Returns 1 if the pattern matches and the empty string otherwise.

Supported modifiers:

i m s x

Regex code blocks are rejected.

Examples:

  • $(=& m, abc123, \d+)

    Result: 1

  • $(=& m, abc, \d+)

    Result: ""

not

$(=& not, VALUE)

Returns 1 if VALUE is the empty string and the empty string otherwise.

eq

$(=& eq, STRING1, STRING2)

Returns 1 if both strings are equal and the empty string otherwise.

dirname

$(=& dirname, PATH)

Equivalent to File::Basename::dirname().

basename

$(=& basename, PATH)

Equivalent to File::Basename::basename().

FUTURE EXTENSIONS

Additional built-in functions may be added in future releases.

Applications should therefore avoid relying on the absence of specific function names.

SEE ALSO

Config::INI::RefVars, File::Basename, File::Spec::Functions

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc Config::INI::RefVars

You can also look for information here: Config::INI::RefVars

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

This software is copyright (c) 2026 by Abdul al Hazred.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.