Array functions
Built-in functions add, remove, slice and reorder array elements.
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Array functions
push and pop work on the end of an array, while unshift and shift work on the front. splice removes or inserts elements anywhere, and an array slice such as @a[1,2] picks several elements at once. sort, reverse and join work with whole lists, and map and grep transform or filter them.
Note:
sort compares as strings by default; use sort { $a <=> $b } for numeric order.
Example: Array functions
use strict;
use warnings;
my @nums = (5, 3, 10);
push @nums, 7;
unshift @nums, 1;
print "after push and unshift: @nums\n";
my $last = pop @nums;
my $first = shift @nums;
print "popped $last, shifted $first, left: @nums\n";
print "default sort: ", join(",", sort (10, 9, 100, 1)), "\n";
print "numeric sort: ", join(",", sort { $a <=> $b } (10, 9, 100, 1)), "\n";
splice(@nums, 1, 1, 'x', 'y');
print "after splice: @nums\n";
print "slice: @nums[0,1]\n";
print "doubled: ", join(" ", map { $_ * 2 } grep { /^\d+$/ } @nums), "\n";
print "reversed: ", join(" ", reverse @nums), "\n";
# Output:
# after push and unshift: 1 5 3 10 7
# popped 7, shifted 1, left: 5 3 10
# default sort: 1,10,100,9
# numeric sort: 1,9,10,100
# after splice: 5 x y 10
# slice: 5 x
# doubled: 10 20
# reversed: 10 y x 5Login to try C/C++/Java/PHP code in the editor
Common Mistakes
- Sorting numbers without a numeric comparison block
- Forgetting that shift and pop change the array
- Mixing up push (end) and unshift (front)
Chapter Summary
- push/pop work on the end
- unshift/shift work on the front
- splice inserts or removes in the middle
- sort { $a <=> $b } sorts numerically
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