Data::Pretty

Data::Pretty

When you stringify Perl 6 data structures, you expect sensible results just like in any modern programming language. Unfortunately, Perl 6 doesn't deliver on that point; it hasn't shaken off all the weird legacy stringification from Perl 5.

$ perl6
> [1, 2, 3]         # no brackets :(
1 2 3
> (1, 2, 3)         # no parens :(
1 2 3
> [1, 2, [3, 4]]    # can't see the nesting :(
1 2 3 4
> /abc/             # regexes don't say much :(

> sub foo {}        # long ugly number :(
sub foo () { #`(Sub|140681338496168) ... }

Data::Pretty gives you nice default stringifications for arrays, parcels, hashes, and subroutines.

> use Data::Pretty
> [1, 2, 3]         # brackets :)
[1, 2, 3]
> (1, 2, 3)         # parens :)
(1, 2, 3)
> [1, 2, [3, 4]]    # nesting :)
[1, 2, [3, 4]]
> /abc/             # yep, a regex :)
<regex>
> sub foo {}        # short and sweet :)
&foo

I wish Perl 6 itself would implement this kind of stringification of data structures, making this module obsolete.