Author: lwall Date: 2010-08-16 16:13:31 +0200 (Mon, 16 Aug 2010) New Revision: 32009
Modified: docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod Log: [S02] revert Nil to undefined singleton value for masak++ et al.++ (Note, despite being a kind of "bottom", it is not a type as it was before.) Modified: docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod =================================================================== --- docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod 2010-08-16 07:49:05 UTC (rev 32008) +++ docs/Perl6/Spec/S02-bits.pod 2010-08-16 14:13:31 UTC (rev 32009) @@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ Created: 10 Aug 2004 - Last Modified: 16 Jul 2010 - Version: 220 + Last Modified: 16 Aug 2010 + Version: 221 This document summarizes Apocalypse 2, which covers small-scale lexical items and typological issues. (These Synopses also contain @@ -2153,22 +2153,27 @@ you can think of PerlĀ 5 references as a degenerate form of C<Capture> when you want to refer only to a single item. -The empty C<Parcel> is a value with a special name: C<Nil>. It is the -named equivalent of the empty C<()> list. The C<Nil> value returns -C<Mu> if you iterate it or try to get a positional value from it, but +There is a special C<Parcel> value named C<Nil>. It means "there is no +value here". It is the undefined equivalent of the empty C<()> list, except that the +latter is defined and means "there are 0 arguments here". The C<Nil> value returns +itself if you iterate it or try to get a positional value from it, but interpolates as a null list into flat context, and an empty C<Seq> into slice context. Since method calls are performed directly on -any object, C<Nil.defined> returns C<True> just as C<().defined> does. +any object, C<Nil.defined> returns C<False> while C<().defined> returns C<True>. -Assigning or binding C<Nil> to any scalar container causes the +Assigning C<Nil> to any scalar container causes the container to throw out any contents and restore itself to an uninitialized state (after which it will contain a type object appropriate to the declared type of the container, where C<Any> -is the default type). +is the default type). Binding of C<Nil> has a similar result, except that binding +C<Nil> to a parameter with a default causes that parameter to be set to its +default value rather than an undefined value, as if the argument had not +been supplied. Assigning or binding C<Nil> to any composite container (such as an C<Array> or C<Hash>) empties the container, resetting it back to an -uninitialized state. The container object itself remains defined. +uninitialized state. The container object itself the becomes undefined. +(Asssignment of C<()> leaves it defined.) The C<sink> statement prefix will eagerly evaluate any block or statement, throw away the results, and instead return the C<Nil> value.