NAME
PerlX::Window - sliding windows on a string or array
SYNOPSIS
use feature qw(say);
use PerlX::Window;
my $string = "Foobar";
while (defined window $string, 3)
{
say $window; # says "Foo"
# says "oob"
# says "oba"
# says "bar"
}
DESCRIPTION
This module provides a sliding window over a long string or array. It
exports two functions `window` and `window_pos`, and two variables $window
and @window.
`window $string, $length`
Calling this function returns the current window onto the string, and
increments the stored position. The window returned is an *lvalue*
which means you can assign to it (like `substr`).
Once the string has been exhausted, it returns `undef` (or in list
context, the empty list), and resets the stored position for the
string.
`window @array, $length`
Like the string version, but instead of operating on a substring of a
string, operates on a slice of an array.
`window_pos $string`
Returns the position of the most recent window onto the string; a
zero-indexed integer.
`window_pos @array`
Returns the position of the most recent window onto the array; a
zero-indexed integer.
`window_pos`
Called with no arguments, defaults to the string or array from the
most recent call to `window`.
$window
An alias to the current window onto the string that has most recently
had `window` called upon it.
$window is implemented using Variable::Magic if installed, and a tie
otherwise.
@window
An alias to the current window onto the array that has most recently
had `window` called upon it.
You may not assign to this in list context, nor perform `pop`, `push`,
`shift`, `unshift`, or `slice` operations on it, nor any other
operation that would change the length of the array. You may however
assign to indexes within the array:
$window[0] = "Fee" if $window[0] eq "Foo";
@window is implemented using a tie.
CAVEATS
`window` is prototyped `(\[$@]$)` which means that the first argument must
be a literal scalar or array variable, and `window` will actually fetch a
reference to that variable. This means the following are not the same:
my $tmp = "Foobar";
say $window
while window $tmp, 3;
say $window
while window my $tmp = "Foobar", 3;
The second example says "Foo" infinitely because $tmp is redefined in each
loop, so is a separate variable as far as `window` is concerned.
This module currently requires Perl 5.16, though I believe that
backporting it to Perl 5.8 is feasible.
BUGS
Please report any bugs to
<
http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=PerlX-Window>.
SEE ALSO
Data::Iterator::SlidingWindow.
AUTHOR
Toby Inkster <
[email protected]>.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE
This software is copyright (c) 2014 by Toby Inkster.
This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
