Standard Input
This document was written by CS 290W TA David Corcoran and was last
modified
Perl handles STDIN (STanDard INput) differently than other programming
languages.
<![CDATA[
/* Common C++ Standard Input */
cin >> iAge;
/* Common Java Standard Input */
DataInputStream din =
new DataInputStream(System.in);
String str = din.readLine()
# Perl Standard Input
# This reads all the way up until a newline.
$iAge = <STDIN>;
# This removes the newline character.
chop ($iAge);
]]>
Since all variables are scalars, Perl will read the data in as scalar
data. It makes no difference if it is a String, Int, or Float. Perl will
know what to do when an operation is performed on the variable. So it is
feasible to take the above $iAge and perform arithmetic operations on it.
For example,
<![CDATA[
# Read Age from Standard Input
$iAge = <STDIN>;
chop($iAge);
# suppose it is 12
$iAge = $iAge + 1;
# $iAge is now 13
++$iAge;
# $iAge is now 14
$sWhatAge = "Dave is ".$iAge." years old";
# $sWhatAge is now "Dave is 14 years old"
</UL>
]]>