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Re: better readline?

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From:
Chas. Owens
Date:
August 5, 2009 11:03
Subject:
Re: better readline?
Message ID:
58ce48dc0908051103u66328522q8b21085ed92425d3@mail.gmail.com
On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 16:35, Bryan Harris<bryan@harrisfam.net> wrote:
snip
>> while ( defined (my $answer = $term->readline("Enter a date and
>> note:", "8/2 Updated database")) ) {
>> print "you said $answer\n";
>> }
>
>
> Thanks for the response Chas -- oddly it doesn't work.  This is what it
> prints:
>
> 2054% ./test
> Enter a date and note:Uh.
> you said Uh.
snip

I assume you changed the second string to "Uh.".  If so, then that is
what is supposed to happen.  $term->readline() prompts with the first
string with a default of the second.  When you hit enter, the input is
stored in $answer.  All my loop does with the answer is tell you what
you said.

snip
> I don't understand the documentation -- I don't know what a "package",
> "stub", or "method" are in this context, and I've been perl coding for
> nearly 10 years!  Obviously experience doesn't always equate to expertise.
snip

Package refers to the multiple readline backends which are implemented
as modules (Term::Readline::GNU, Term::Readline::Perl, etc.).  Some of
these backends have more features than others, but you always have
access to a base level of functionality in Term::Readline::Perl.

Stubs are short functions that don't do anything.  They are needed in
case the backend does not provide a feature.  The stub will be called
instead and do nothing.  This will prevent the program from blowing
up, allowing it to run with reduced functionality.  For instance, a
backend might not provide a history of previous entries.  In that
case, addhistory won't do anything, but calling it won't cause a
runtime error.

A method is a subroutine called on an object:

$obj->method();



-- 
Chas. Owens
wonkden.net
The most important skill a programmer can have is the ability to read.

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