NAME String::Dump - Dump strings of characters or bytes for printing and debugging VERSION This document describes String::Dump version 0.05. SYNOPSIS use String::Dump; say 'hex: ', dump_hex($string); # hex mode say 'oct: ', dump_oct($string); # octal mode DESCRIPTION When debugging or reviewing strings containing non-ASCII or non-printing characters, String::Dump is your friend. It provides simple functions to return a dump of the characters or bytes of your string in several different formats, such as hex, octal, decimal, Unicode names, and more. An OO interface is forthcoming with additional options and the ability to reuse them among multiple calls. Some benefits will include the ability to set the delimiter between characters, set padding for the characters, and force a string to be treated as a string of characters or a series of bytes. Don't worry, the standard functions will remain simple. Check out String::Dump::Debugging for tips on debugging Unicode and encoded strings with this module. Also check out the bundled command-line tool dumpstr. FUNCTIONS The following functions are all exported by default. This is convenient for debugging and one-liners, but explicitly exporting individual functions is recommended in other cases. It's up to you! These functions all accept a single argument: the string to dump, which may either be a Perl internal string or an encoded series of bytes. dump_hex($string) Hexadecimal (base 16) mode. use utf8; # string of 6 characters say dump_hex('Ĝis! ☺'); # 11C 69 73 21 20 263A no utf8; # series of 9 bytes say dump_hex('Ĝis! ☺'); # C4 9C 69 73 21 20 E2 98 BA For a lowercase hex dump, simply pass the response to "lc". say lc dump_hex('Ĝis! ☺'); # 11c 69 73 21 20 263a dump_dec($string) Decimal (base 10) mode. use utf8; say dump_dec('Ĝis! ☺'); # 284 105 115 33 32 9786 no utf8; say dump_dec('Ĝis! ☺'); # 196 156 105 115 33 32 226 152 186 dump_oct($string) Octal (base 8) mode. use utf8; say dump_oct('Ĝis! ☺'); # 434 151 163 41 40 23072 no utf8; say dump_oct('Ĝis! ☺'); # 304 234 151 163 41 40 342 230 272 dump_bin($string) Binary (base 2) mode. use utf8; say dump_bin('Ĝis! ☺'); # 100011100 1101001 1110011 100001 100000 10011000111010 no utf8; say dump_bin('Ĝis! ☺'); # 11000100 10011100 1101001 1110011 100001 100000 11100010 10011000 10111010 dump_names($string) Named Unicode character mode. Unlike the various numeral modes above, this mode uses ', ' for the delimiter. use utf8; say dump_names('Ĝis! ☺'); # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G WITH CIRCUMFLEX, LATIN SMALL LETTER I, # LATIN SMALL LETTER S, EXCLAMATION MARK, SPACE, WHITE SMILING FACE This mode makes no sense for a series of bytes, but it still works if that's what you really want! no utf8; say dump_names('Ĝis! ☺'); # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS, STRING TERMINATOR, # LATIN SMALL LETTER I, LATIN SMALL LETTER S, EXCLAMATION MARK, # SPACE, LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX, START OF STRING, # MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR The output in the examples above has been manually split into multiple lines for the layout of this document. CONTRIBUTIONS This is an early release of String::Dump. Feedback is appreciated! To give suggestions or report an issue, contact or open an issue at . Pull requests are welcome at . SEE ALSO * dumpstr - Dump strings of characters on the command line * String::Dump::Debugging - String debugging tips with String::Dump * Template::Plugin::StringDump - String::Dump plugin for TT * Data::HexDump - Simple hex dumping using the default output of the Unix "hexdump" utility * Data::Hexdumper - Advanced formatting of binary data, similar to "hexdump" AUTHOR Nick Patch COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright 2011 Nick Patch This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.