functions.pod6

=begin pod :tag<tutorial>

=TITLE Functions

=SUBTITLE Functions and Functional Programming in Perl 6

Routines are the smallest means of code reuse in Perl 6. They come in several
forms, most notably L<methods|/type/Method>, which belong in classes and roles and are
associated with an object; and functions (also called I<subroutines> or
L<sub|/type/Sub>s, for short), which can be called independently of objects.

Subroutines default to lexical (C<my>) scoping, and calls to them are
generally resolved at compile time.

Subroutines can have a L<signature|/type/Signature>, also called I<parameter
list>, which specifies which, if any, arguments the signature expects. It can
specify (or leave open) both the number and types of arguments, and the
return value.

Introspection on subroutines is provided via L<C<Routine>|/type/Routine>.

=head1 Defining/Creating/Using Functions

=head2 X<Subroutines|declarator,sub>

To basic way to create a subroutine is to use the C<sub> declarator:

    sub my-func { say "Look ma, no args!" }
    my-func;

To have the subroutine take arguments, a L<signature|Signature> goes
between the subroutine's name and its body, in parentheses:

=for code :allow<B L>
sub exclaim B<($phrase)> {
    say $phrase L<~> "!!!!"
}
exclaim "Howdy, World";

By default, subroutines are L<lexically scoped|/syntax/my>. That is,
C<sub foo {...}> is the same as C<my sub foo {...}> and is only
defined within the current scope.

=begin code :allow<L>
sub escape($str) {
    # Puts a slash before non-alphanumeric characters
    S:g[<-alpha -digit>] = "\\$/" given $str
}

say escape 'foo#bar?'; # OUTPUT: «foo\#bar\?␤»

{
    sub escape($str) {
        # Writes each non-alphanumeric character in its hexadecimal escape
        S:g[<-alpha -digit>] = "\\x[{ $/.ord.base(16) }]" given $str
    }

    say escape 'foo#bar?' # OUTPUT: «foo\x[23]bar\x[3F]␤»
}

# Back to original escape function
say escape 'foo#bar?'; # OUTPUT: «foo\#bar\?␤»
=end code

Subroutines don't have to be named. If unnamed, they're called anonymous subroutines.

    say sub ($a, $b) { $a ** 2 + $b ** 2 }(3, 4) # OUTPUT: «25␤»

But in this case, it's often desirable to use the more succinct L<block|Block>
syntax. Subroutines and blocks can be called in place, as in the example above.

=head2 X«Blocks and Lambdas|syntax,->»

Whenever you see something like C«{ $_ + 42 }»,
C«-> $a, $b { $a ** $b }», or C«{ $^text.indent($:spaces) }», that's
L<Block> syntax. It's used after every C<if>, C<for>, C<while>, etc.

    for 1, 2, 3, 4 -> $a, $b {
        say $a ~ $b;
    }
    # OUTPUT: «12␤34␤»

They can also be used on their own as anonymous blocks of code.

    say { $^a ** 2 + $^b ** 2}(3, 4) # OUTPUT: «25␤»

For block syntax details, see the documentation for the
L<Block> type.

=head2 Signatures

The parameters that a function accepts are described in its I<signature>.

=for code :allow<B>
sub formatB<(Str $s)> { ... }
-> B<$a, $b> { ... }

Details about the syntax and use of signatures can be found in the
L<documentation on the C<Signature> class|Signature>.

=head3 Automatic Signatures

X<|@_>X<|%_>
If no signature is provided but either of the two automatic variables C<@_> or
C<%_> are used in the function body, a signature with C<*@_> or C<*%_> will be
generated. Both automatic variables can be used at the same time.

    sub s { dd @_, %_ };
    dd &s.signature # OUTPUT: «:(*@_, *%_)␤»

=head2 Arguments
X<|Argument>

Arguments are supplied as a comma separated list. To disambiguate nested calls,
use parentheses:

    sub f(&c){ c() * 2 }; # call the function reference c with empty parameter list
    sub g($p){ $p - 2 };
    say(g(42), 45);       # pass only 42 to g()

When calling a function, positional arguments should be supplied
in the same order as the function's signature.  Named arguments
may be supplied in any order, but it's considered good form to
place named arguments after positional arguments.  Inside the
argument list of a function call, some special syntax is supported:

    sub f(|c){};
    f :named(35);     # A named argument (in "adverb" form)
    f named => 35;    # Also a named argument
    f :35named;       # A named argument using abbreviated adverb form
    f 'named' => 35;  # Not a named argument, a Pair in a positional argument
    my \c = <a b c>.Capture;
    f |c;             # Merge the contents of Capture $c as if they were supplied

Arguments passed to a function are conceptually first collected in a
C<Capture> container.  Details about the syntax and use of these
containers can be found in the L<documentation on the C<Capture> class|Capture>.

When using named arguments, note that normal List "pair-chaining" allows
one to skip commas between named arguments.

    sub f(|c){};
    f :dest</tmp/foo> :src</tmp/bar> :lines(512);
    f :32x :50y :110z;   # This flavor of "adverb" works, too
    f :a:b:c;            # The spaces are also optional.

=head2 Return values

Any C<Block> or C<Routine> will provide its last expression as a return value
to the caller. If L<return|/language/control#return> or
L<return-rw|/language/control#return-rw> are called their parameter, if any,
will become the return value. The default return value is L<Nil|/type/Nil>.

    sub a { 42 };
    sub b { say a };
    b;
    # OUTPUT: «42␤»

Multiple return values are returned as a list or by creating a
L<Capture|/type/Capture>. Destructuring can be used to untangle multiple return
values.

    sub a { 42, 'answer' };
    put a.perl;
    # OUTPUT: «(42, "answer")␤»

    my ($n, $s) = a;
    put [$s, $n];
    # OUTPUT: «answer 42␤»

    sub b { <a b c>.Capture };
    put b.perl;
    # OUTPUT: «\("a", "b", "c")␤»

=head2 Return Type Constraints

Perl 6 has many ways to specify a function's return type:

=for code :skip-test
sub foo(--> Int)      {}; say &foo.returns; # OUTPUT: «(Int)␤»
sub foo() returns Int {}; say &foo.returns; # OUTPUT: «(Int)␤»
sub foo() of Int      {}; say &foo.returns; # OUTPUT: «(Int)␤»
my Int sub foo()      {}; say &foo.returns; # OUTPUT: «(Int)␤»

Attempting to return values of another type will cause a compilation error.

=for code :catch-all
sub foo() returns Int { "a"; }; foo; # Type check fails

Note that C<Nil> and C<Failure> are exempt from return type constraints and
can be returned from any routine, regardless of its constraint:

=for code :catch-all
sub foo() returns Int { fail   }; foo; # Failure returned
sub bar() returns Int { return }; bar; # Nil returned

=head2 X<Multi-dispatch|declarator,multi>

Perl 6 allows you to write several routines with the same name but different
signatures. When the routine is called by name, the runtime environment
determines the proper I<candidate> and calls it.

You declare each candidate with the C<multi> declarator:

    multi congratulate($name) {
        say "Happy birthday, $name";
    }
    multi congratulate($name, $age) {
        say "Happy {$age}th birthday, $name";
    }

    congratulate 'Larry';       # OUTPUT: «Happy birthday, Larry␤»
    congratulate 'Bob', 45;     # OUTPUT: «Happy 45th birthday, Bob␤»

Dispatch can happen on the number of arguments (the L<arity|/type/Routine#(Code)_method_arity>), the
type of arguments but also on additional assertions which can be placed on them. For more information
about type constraints see the documentation for the L<Signature|/type/Signature#Type_Constraints>
class.

    multi as-json(Bool $d) { $d ?? 'true' !! 'false'; }
    multi as-json(Real $d) { ~$d }
    multi as-json(@d)      { sprintf '[%s]', @d.map(&as-json).join(', ') }

    say as-json([True, 42]);    # OUTPUT: «[true, 42]␤»

Named parameters participate in the dispatch even if they are not provided in
the call. Therefore a multi candidate with named parameters will be given
precedence.

C<multi> without any specific routine type always defaults to a C<sub>, but you
can use it on methods as well. The candidates are all the multi methods of the
object:

    class Congrats {
        multi method congratulate($reason, $name) {
            say "Hooray for your $reason, $name";
        }
    }

    role BirthdayCongrats {
        multi method congratulate('birthday', $name) {
            say "Happy birthday, $name";
        }
        multi method congratulate('birthday', $name, $age) {
            say "Happy {$age}th birthday, $name";
        }
    }

    my $congrats = Congrats.new does BirthdayCongrats;

    $congrats.congratulate('promotion','Cindy'); # OUTPUT: «Hooray for your promotion, Cindy␤»
    $congrats.congratulate('birthday','Bob');    # OUTPUT: «Happy birthday, Bob␤»

Unlike C<sub>, if you use named parameters with multi methods, the parameters must
be required parameters to behave as expected.

=head3 X<proto|declarator>

C<proto> is a way to formally declare commonalities between C<multi>
candidates. It acts as a wrapper that can validate but not modify
arguments. Consider this basic example:

    proto congratulate(Str $reason, Str $name, |) {*}
    multi congratulate($reason, $name) {
       say "Hooray for your $reason, $name";
    }
    multi congratulate($reason, $name, Int $rank) {
       say "Hooray for your $reason, $name -- got rank $rank!";
    }

=for code :skip-test
congratulate('being a cool number', 'Fred');     # OK
congratulate('being a cool number', 'Fred', 42); # OK
congratulate('being a cool number', 42);         # Proto match error

The proto insists that all C<multi congratulate> conform to the basic signature of two strings,
optionally followed by further parameters. The C<|> is an un-named C<Capture>
parameter, and allows a C<multi> to take additional arguments. The first two calls
succeed, but the third fails (at compile time) because C<42> doesn't match C<Str>.

=for code :skip-test
say &congratulate.signature # OUTPUT: «(Str $reason, Str $name, | is raw)␤»

You can give the C<proto> a function body, and place the C<{*}> where
you want the dispatch to be done.

    # attempts to notify someone -- False if unsuccessful
    proto notify(Str $user,Str $msg) {
       my \hour = DateTime.now.hour;
       if hour > 8 or hour < 22 {
          return {*};
       } else {
          # we can't notify someone when they might be sleeping
          return False;
       }
    }

C<{*}> always dispatches to candidates with the parameters it's called
with. Parameter defaults and type coercions will work but are not passed on.

=for code :skip-test
proto mistake-proto(Str() $str, Int $number = 42) {*}
multi mistake-proto($str, $number) { say $str.WHAT }
mistake-proto(7, 42);  # OUTPUT: «(Int)␤» -- not passed on
mistake-proto('test'); # fails -- not passed on

=comment only

=head1 Conventions and Idioms

While the dispatch system described above provides a lot of flexibility,
there are some conventions that most internal functions, and those in
many modules, will follow.

=head2 Slurpy Conventions

Perhaps the most important of these is the way slurpy list arguments are
handled.  Most of the time, functions will not automatically flatten
slurpy lists.  The rare exceptions are those functions that don't have a
reasonable behavior on lists of lists; for example, L<chrs|/routine/chrs>,
or where there is a conflict with an established idiom, like L<pop|/routine/pop>
being the inverse of L<push|/routine/push>.

If you wish to match this look and feel, any Iterable argument must
be broken out element-by-element using a **@ slurpy, with two nuances:

=item An Iterable inside a L<Scalar container|/language/containers#Scalar_containers> doesn't count.

=item Lists created with a L<C<,>|/routine/,> at the top level only count as one Iterable.

This can be achieved by using a slurpy with a C<+> or C<+@> instead of C<**>:

    sub grab(+@a) { "grab $_".say for @a }

...which is shorthand for something very close to:

    multi sub grab(**@a) { "grab $_".say for @a }
    multi sub grab(\a) {
        a ~~ Iterable and a.VAR !~~ Scalar ?? nextwith(|a) !! nextwith(a,)
    }

This results in the following behavior, which is known as the "single
argument rule" and is important to understand when invoking slurpy functions:

=for code :skip-test
grab(1, 2);      # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»
grab((1, 2));    # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»
grab($(1, 2));   # OUTPUT: «grab 1 2␤»
grab((1, 2), 3); # OUTPUT: «grab 1 2␤grab 3␤»

This also makes user-requested flattening feel consistent whether there is
one sublist, or many:

=for code :skip-test
grab(flat (1, 2), (3, 4));   # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤grab 3␤grab 4␤»
grab(flat $(1, 2), $(3, 4)); # OUTPUT: «grab 1 2␤grab 3 4␤»
grab(flat (1, 2));           # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»
grab(flat $(1, 2));          # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»

It's worth noting that mixing binding and sigilless variables
in these cases requires a bit of finesse, because there is no Scalar
intermediary used during binding.

=for code :skip-test
my $a = (1, 2);  # Normal assignment, equivalent to $(1, 2)
grab($a);        # OUTPUT: «grab 1 2␤»
my $b := (1, 2); # Binding, $b links directly to a bare (1, 2)
grab($b);        # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»
my \c = (1, 2);  # Sigilless variables always bind, even with '='
grab(c);         # OUTPUT: «grab 1␤grab 2␤»

=head1 Functions are First-Class Objects

Functions and other code objects can be passed around as values, just like any
other object.

There are several ways to get hold of a code object. You can assign it to a
variable at the point of declaration:

    my $square = sub (Numeric $x) { $x * $x }
    # and then use it:
    say $square(6);    # OUTPUT: «36␤»

X<|prefix &>
Or you can reference an existing named function by using the C<&>-sigil in
front of it.

    sub square($x) { $x * $x };

    # get hold of a reference to the function:
    my $func = &square

This is very useful for I<higher order functions>, that is, functions that
take other functions as input. A simple one is L<map|/type/List#routine_map>,
which applies a function to each input element:

    sub square($x) { $x * $x };
    my @squared = map &square,  1..5;
    say join ', ', @squared;        # OUTPUT: «1, 4, 9, 16, 25␤»

=head2 Z<>Infix Form

To call a subroutine with 2 arguments like an infix operator, use a subroutine
reference surrounded by C<[> and C<]>.

    sub plus { $^a + $^b };
    say 21 [&plus] 21;
    # OUTPUT: «42␤»

=head2 Closures

All code objects in Perl 6 are I<closures>, which means they can reference
lexical variables from an outer scope.

    sub generate-sub($x) {
        my $y = 2 * $x;
        return sub { say $y };
        #      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  inner sub, uses $y
    }
    my $generated = generate-sub(21);
    $generated(); # OUTPUT: «42␤»

Here, C<$y> is a lexical variable inside C<generate-sub>, and the inner
subroutine that is returned uses it. By the time that the inner sub is called,
C<generate-sub> has already exited. Yet the inner sub can still use C<$y>,
because it I<closed> over the variable.

Another closure example is the use of L<map|/type/List#routine_map>
to multiply a list of numbers:

    my $multiply-by = 5;
    say join ', ', map { $_ * $multiply-by }, 1..5;     # OUTPUT: «5, 10, 15, 20, 25␤»

Here, the block passed to C<map> references the variable C<$multiply-by> from
the outer scope, making the block a closure.

Languages without closures cannot easily provide higher-order functions that
are as easy to use and powerful as C<map>.

=head2 Routines

Routines are code objects that conform to L<type Routine|/type/Routine>, most
notably L<Sub|/type/Sub>, L<Method|/type/Method>, L<Regex|/type/Regex> and
L<Submethod|/type/Submethod>.

They carry additional functionality in addition to what L<Block|/type/Block>
supplies: they can come as L<multis|#Multi-dispatch>,
you can L<wrap|/type/Routine#method_wrap> them, and exit early with C<return>:

    my $keywords = set <if for unless while>;

    sub has-keyword(*@words) {
        for @words -> $word {
            return True if $word (elem) $keywords;
        }
        False;
    }

    say has-keyword 'not', 'one', 'here';       # OUTPUT: «False␤»
    say has-keyword 'but', 'here', 'for';       # OUTPUT: «True␤»

Here, C<return> doesn't just leave the block inside which it was called, but
the whole routine. In general, blocks are transparent to C<return>, they
attach to the outer routine.

X<|use soft (pragma)>
Routines can be inlined and as such provide an obstacle for wrapping. Use the
pragma C<use soft;> to prevent inlining to allow wrapping at runtime.

    sub testee(Int $i, Str $s){
        rand.Rat * $i ~ $s;
    }

    sub wrap-to-debug(&c){
        say "wrapping {&c.name} with arguments {&c.signature.perl}";
        &c.wrap: sub (|args){
            note "calling {&c.name} with {args.gist}";
            my \ret-val := callwith(|args);
            note "returned from {&c.name} with return value {ret-val.perl}";
            ret-val
        }
    }

    my $testee-handler = wrap-to-debug(&testee);
    # OUTPUT: «wrapping testee with arguments :(Int $i, Str $s)»

    say testee(10, "ten");
    # OUTPUT: «calling testee with \(10, "ten")␤returned from testee with return value "6.151190ten"␤6.151190ten»
    &testee.unwrap($testee-handler);
    say testee(10, "ten");
    # OUTPUT: «6.151190ten␤»


=comment Important ones: candidates, wrap, unwrap, assuming, arity, count

=head1 Defining Operators

Operators are just subroutines with funny names. The funny names are composed
of the category name (C<infix>, C<prefix>, C<postfix>, C<circumfix>,
C<postcircumfix>), followed by a colon, and a list of the operator name or
names (two components in the case of circumfix and postcircumfix).

This works both for adding multi candidates to existing operators and for
defining new ones. In the latter case, the definition of the new subroutine
automatically installs the new operator into the grammar, but only in the
current lexical scope. Importing an operator via C<use> or C<import> also
makes it available.

=begin code
# adding a multi candidate to an existing operator:
multi infix:<+>(Int $x, "same") { 2 * $x };
say 21 + "same";            # OUTPUT: «42␤»

# defining a new operator
sub postfix:<!>(Int $x where { $x >= 0 }) { [*] 1..$x };
say 6!;                     # OUTPUT: «720␤»
=end code

The operator declaration becomes available as soon as possible, so you can
recurse into a just-defined operator:

=begin code
sub postfix:<!>(Int $x where { $x >= 0 }) {
    $x == 0 ?? 1 !! $x * ($x - 1)!
}
say 6!;                     # OUTPUT: «720␤»
=end code

Circumfix and postcircumfix operators are made of two delimiters, one opening
and one closing.

=begin code
sub circumfix:<START END>(*@elems) {
    "start", @elems, "end"
}

say START 'a', 'b', 'c' END;        # OUTPUT: «(start [a b c] end)␤»
=end code

Postcircumfixes also receive the term after which they are parsed as
an argument:

=begin code
sub postcircumfix:<!! !!>($left, $inside) {
    "$left -> ( $inside )"
}
say 42!! 1 !!;      # OUTPUT: «42 -> ( 1 )␤»
=end code

Blocks can be assigned directly to operator names. Use a variable declarator and
prefix the operator name with a C<&>-sigil.

    my &infix:<ieq> = -> |l { [eq] l>>.fc };
    say "abc" ieq "Abc";
    # OUTPUT: «True␤»

=head2 Precedence

X«|is tighter»X«|is equiv»X«|is looser»
Operator precedence in Perl 6 is specified relatively to existing operators.
The traits C<is tighter>, C<is equiv> and C<is looser> can be provided with an
operator, the new operators precedence is related to. More then one trait can
be applied.

For example, C«infix:<*>» has a tighter precedence than C«infix:<+>»,
and squeezing one in between works like this:

=begin code
sub infix:<!!>($a, $b) is tighter(&infix:<+>) {
    2 * ($a + $b)
}

say 1 + 2 * 3 !! 4;     # OUTPUT: «21␤»
=end code

Here, the C<1 + 2 * 3 !! 4> is parsed as C<1 + ((2 * 3) !! 4)>, because the
precedence of the new C<!!> operator is between that of C<+> and C<*>.

The same effect could have been achieved with:

    sub infix:<!!>($a, $b) is looser(&infix:<*>) { ... }

To put a new operator on the same precedence level as an existing operator,
use C<is equiv(&other-operator)> instead.


=head2 Associativity

When the same operator appears several times in a row, there are multiple
possible interpretations. For example:

    1 + 2 + 3

could be parsed as

    (1 + 2) + 3         # left associative

or as

    1 + (2 + 3)         # right associative

For addition of real numbers, the distinction is somewhat moot, because C<+> is
L<mathematically associative|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associative_property>.

But for other operators it matters a great deal. For example, for the
exponentiation/power operator, C<< infix:<**> >>:

    say 2 ** (2 ** 3);      # OUTPUT: «256␤»
    say (2 ** 2) ** 3;      # OUTPUT: «64␤»

Perl 6 has the following possible associativity configurations:

=begin table

    A   Assoc     Meaning of $a ! $b ! $c
    =   =====     =======================
    L   left      ($a ! $b) ! $c
    R   right     $a ! ($b ! $c)
    N   non       ILLEGAL
    C   chain     ($a ! $b) and ($b ! $c)
    X   list      infix:<!>($a; $b; $c)

=end table

X<|is assoc (trait)>
You can specify the associativity of an operator with the C<is assoc> trait,
where C<left> is the default associativity.

=begin code
sub infix:<§>(*@a) is assoc<list> {
    '(' ~ @a.join('|') ~ ')';
}

say 1 § 2 § 3;      # OUTPUT: «(1|2|3)␤»
=end code

=head1 Traits

I<Traits> are subroutines that run at compile time and modify the behavior of a
type, variable, routine, attribute, or other language object.

Examples of traits are:

=for code :skip-test
class ChildClass is ParentClass { ... }
#                ^^ trait, with argument ParentClass
has $.attrib is rw;
#            ^^^^^  trait with name 'rw'
class SomeClass does AnotherRole { ... }
#               ^^^^ trait
has $!another-attribute handles <close>;
#                       ^^^^^^^ trait

... and also C<is tighter>, C<is looser>, C<is equiv> and C<is assoc> from the previous
section.

Traits are subs of the form C<< trait_mod<VERB> >>, where C<VERB> stands for the
name like C<is>, C<does> or C<handles>. It receives the modified thing as
argument, and the name as a named argument. See L<Sub|/type/Sub#Traits> for details.

=begin code
multi sub trait_mod:<is>(Routine $r, :$doubles!) {
    $r.wrap({
        2 * callsame;
    });
}

sub square($x) is doubles {
    $x * $x;
}

say square 3;       # OUTPUT: «18␤»
=end code

See L<type Routine|/type/Routine> for the documentation of built-in routine
traits.

=head1 Re-dispatching

There are cases in which a routine might want to call the next method
from a chain. This chain could be a list of parent classes in a class
hierarchy, or it could be less specific multi candidates from a multi
dispatch, or it could be the inner routine from a C<wrap>.

In all those cases, you can use C<callwith> to call the next routine in the
chain with arguments of your own choice.

For example:

    multi a(Any $x) {
        say "Any $x";
        return 5;
    }
    multi a(Int $x) {
        say "Int $x";
        my $res = callwith($x + 1);
        say "Back in Int with $res";
    }

    a 1;        # OUTPUT: «Int 1␤Any 2␤Back in Int with 5␤»

Here, C<a 1> calls the most specific C<Int> candidate first, and C<callwith>
re-dispatches to the less specific C<Any> candidate.

Very often, a re-dispatch passes the same argument along that the caller
received, so there is a special routine for that: C<callsame>.

    multi a(Any $x) {
        say "Any $x";
        return 5;
    }
    multi a(Int $x) {
        say "Int $x";
        my $res = callsame;
        say "Back in Int with $res";
    }

    a 1;        # OUTPUT: «Int 1␤Any 1␤Back in Int with 5␤»

Another common use case is to re-dispatch to the next routine in the chain,
and not do anything else afterwards. That's why we have C<nextwith> and
C<nextsame>, which call the next routine with arbitrary arguments
(C<nextwith>) or with the same argument as the caller received (C<nextsame>),
but never return to the caller. Or to phrase it differently, the C<nextsame>
and C<nextwith> variants replace the current callframe with the next
candidate.

=begin code
multi a(Any $x) {
    say "Any $x";
    return 5;
}
multi a(Int $x) {
    say "Int $x";
    nextsame;
    say "back in a";    # never executed, because 'nextsame' doesn't return
}

a 1;        # OUTPUT: «Int 1␤Any 1␤»
=end code

As mentioned earlier, multi subs are not the only situation in which
X<C<callwith>|callwith>, X<C<callsame>|callsame>, X<C<nextwith>|nextwith> and X<C<nextsame>|nextsame> can be helpful.
One is for dispatching to wrapped routines:

=begin code
# enable wrapping:
use soft;

# function to be wrapped:
sub square-root($x) { $x.sqrt }

&square-root.wrap(sub ($num) {
   nextsame if $num >= 0;
   1i * callwith(abs($num));
});

say square-root(4);     # OUTPUT: «2␤»
say square-root(-4);    # OUTPUT: «0+2i␤»
=end code

The final use case is to re-dispatch to methods from parent classes.

=begin code
class LoggedVersion is Version {
    method new(|c) {
        note "New version object created with arguments " ~ c.perl;
        nextsame;
    }
}

say LoggedVersion.new('1.0.2');
=end code

If you need to make multiple calls to the wrapped code or to gain a reference to
it, such as performing introspection it, you can use C<nextcallee>.

=begin code
sub power-it($x) { $x * $x }
sub run-it-again-and-again($x) {
    my &again = nextcallee;
    again again $x;
}

&power-it.wrap(&run-it-again-and-again);
say power-it(5);    # OUTPUT: «625␤»
=end code

X<|nextcallee>
Redispatch may be required to call a block that is not the current scope what
provides C<nextsame> and friends with the problem to referring to the wrong
scope. Use C<nextcallee> to capture the right candidate and call it at the
desired time.

    my \IOL = Lock.new;
    &say.wrap( -> |c {
        my &wrappee = nextcallee;
        IOL.protect: { &wrappee(|c) }
    });
    for ^100 { say "oops" }

=head1 Coercion Types

Coercion types can help you to have a specific type inside a routine, but
accept wider input. When the routine is called, the argument is automatically
converted to the narrower type.

=begin code
sub double(Int(Cool) $x) {
    2 * $x
}

say double '21';    # OUTPUT: «42␤»
say double Any;     # Type check failed in binding $x; expected 'Cool' but got 'Any'
=end code

Here, the C<Int> is the target type to which the argument will be coerced, and
C<Cool> is the type that the routine accepts as input.

If the accepted input type is L<Any|/type/Any>, you can abbreviate C<Int(Any)>
to C<Int()>.

The coercion works by looking for a method with the same name
as the target type. You can define coercions for your own types like so:

=begin code
class Bar {...}

class Foo {
   has $.msg = "I'm a foo!";

   method Bar {
       Bar.new(:msg($.msg ~ ' But I am now Bar.'));
   }
}

class Bar {
   has $.msg;
}

sub print-bar(Bar() $bar) {
   say $bar.WHAT; # OUTPUT: «(Bar)␤»
   say $bar.msg;  # OUTPUT: «I'm a foo! But I am now Bar.␤»
}

print-bar Foo.new;
=end code

Coercion types are supposed to work wherever types work, but Rakudo currently
(2017.05) only implements them in signatures, for both parameters and return types.

=head1 C<sub MAIN>
X<|MAIN>X«|command line arguments»

The sub with the special name C<MAIN> is executed after all relevant phasers,
and its signature is the means by which command line arguments can be
parsed. Multi methods are supported and a usage method is automatically
generated and displayed if no command line arguments are provided. All command
line arguments are also available in
L<C<@*ARGS>|/language/variables#Dynamic_variables>, it can be mutated before
being processed by C<MAIN>.

The return value of C<MAIN> is ignored. To provide an exitcode other then 0,
call L<exit|https://docs.perl6.org/routine/exit>.

    sub MAIN( Int :$length = 24,
               :file($data) where { .IO.f // die "file not found in $*CWD" } = 'file.dat',
               Bool :$verbose )
    {
        say $length if $length.defined;
        say $data   if $data.defined;
        say 'Verbosity ', ($verbose ?? 'on' !! 'off');

        exit 1;
    }

=head2 C<%*SUB-MAIN-OPTS>

It's possible to alter how arguments are processed before they're passed
to C<sub MAIN {}> by setting options in C<%*SUB-MAIN-OPTS> hash. Available
options are:

=head3 C<named-anywhere>

    %*SUB-MAIN-OPTS<named-anywhere> = True;
    sub MAIN ($a, $b, :$c, :$d) {
        say "Accepted!"
    }

By default, named arguments to the program cannot be given after any positional
arguments are specified. However, if C«%*SUB-MAIN-OPTS<named-anywhere>» is
set to a truthy value, named arguments can be specified anywhere, even after
positional parameter. For example, the above program can be called with:

=begin code :skip-test

    perl6 example.p6 1 --c=2 3 --d=4

=end code

=head1 C<sub USAGE>
X<|USAGE>

If no multi candidate of C<MAIN> is found for the given command line
parameters, the sub C<USAGE> is called. If no such method is found, output a
generated usage message.

    sub MAIN(Int $i){ say $i == 42 ?? 'answer' !! 'dunno' }

    sub USAGE(){
    print Q:c:to/EOH/;
    Usage: {$*PROGRAM-NAME} [number]

    Prints the answer or 'dunno'.
    EOH
    }

=end pod

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