Full documentation of builtin functions: perlfunc
Here are Perl's functions (including things that look like functions, like some keywords and named operators) arranged by category. Some functions appear in more than one place.
chomp
, chop
, chr
, crypt
, hex
, index
, lc
, lcfirst
, length
, oct
, ord
, pack
, q/STRING/
, qq/STRING/
, reverse
, rindex
, sprintf
, substr
, tr///
, uc
, ucfirst
, y///
abs
, atan2
, cos
, exp
, hex
, int
, log
, oct
, rand
, sin
, sqrt
, srand
binmode
, close
, closedir
, dbmclose
, dbmopen
, die
, eof
, fileno
, flock
, format
, getc
, print
, printf
, read
, readdir
, rewinddir
, seek
, seekdir
, select
, syscall
, sysread
, sysseek
, syswrite
, tell
, telldir
, truncate
, warn
, write
-X
, chdir
, chmod
, chown
, chroot
, fcntl
, glob
, ioctl
, link
, lstat
, mkdir
, open
, opendir
, readlink
, rename
, rmdir
, stat
, symlink
, umask
, unlink
, utime
caller
, continue
, die
, do
, dump
, eval
, exit
, goto
, last
, next
, redo
, return
, sub
, wantarray
defined
, dump
, eval
, formline
, local
, my
, reset
, scalar
, undef
, wantarray
alarm
, exec
, fork
, getpgrp
, getppid
, getpriority
, kill
, pipe
, qx/STRING/
, setpgrp
, setpriority
, sleep
, system
, times
, wait
, waitpid
bless
, dbmclose
, dbmopen
, package
, ref
, tie
, tied
, untie
, use
accept
, bind
, connect
, getpeername
, getsockname
, getsockopt
, listen
, recv
, send
, setsockopt
, shutdown
, socket
, socketpair
msgctl
, msgget
, msgrcv
, msgsnd
, semctl
, semget
, semop
, shmctl
, shmget
, shmread
, shmwrite
endgrent
, endhostent
, endnetent
, endpwent
, getgrent
, getgrgid
, getgrnam
, getlogin
, getpwent
, getpwnam
, getpwuid
, setgrent
, setpwent
endprotoent
, endservent
, gethostbyaddr
, gethostbyname
, gethostent
, getnetbyaddr
, getnetbyname
, getnetent
, getprotobyname
, getprotobynumber
, getprotoent
, getservbyname
, getservbyport
, getservent
, sethostent
, setnetent
, setprotoent
, setservent
abs
, bless
, chomp
, chr
, exists
, formline
, glob
, import
, lc
, lcfirst
, map
, my
, no
, prototype
, qx
, qw
, readline
, readpipe
, ref
, sub*
, sysopen
, tie
, tied
, uc
, ucfirst
, untie
, use
* - sub
was a keyword in perl4, but in perl5 it is an operator, which can be used in expressions.
-X
- a file test (-r, -x, etc)
abs
- absolute value function
accept
- accept an incoming socket connect
alarm
- schedule a SIGALRM
atan2
- arctangent of Y/X in the range -PI to PI
bind
- binds an address to a socket
binmode
- prepare binary files for I/O
bless
- create an object
caller
- get context of the current subroutine call
chdir
- change your current working directory
chmod
- changes the permissions on a list of files
chomp
- remove a trailing record separator from a string
chop
- remove the last character from a string
chown
- change the owership on a list of files
chr
- get character this number represents
chroot
- make directory new root for path lookups
close
- close file (or pipe or socket) handle
closedir
- close directory handle
connect
- connect to a remote socket
continue
- optional trailing block in a while or foreach
cos
- cosine function
crypt
- one-way passwd-style encryption
dbmclose
- breaks binding on a tied dbm file
dbmopen
- create binding on a tied dbm file
defined
- test whether a value, variable, or function is defined
delete
- deletes a value from a hash
die
- raise an exception or bail out
do
- turn a BLOCK into a TERM
dump
- create an immediate core dump
each
- retrieve the next key/value pair from a hash
endgrent
- be done using group file
endhostent
- be done using hosts file
endnetent
- be done using networks file
endprotoent
- be done using protocols file
endpwent
- be done using passwd file
endservent
- be done using services file
eof
- test a filehandle for its end
eval
- catch exceptions or compile and run code
exec
- abandon this program to run another
exists
- test whether a hash key is present
exit
- terminate this program
exp
- raise e to a power
fcntl
- file control system call
fileno
- return file descriptor from filehandle
flock
- lock an entire file with an advisory lock
fork
- create a new process just like this one
format
- declare a picture format with use by the write() function
formline
- internal function used for formats
getc
- get the next character from the filehandle
getgrent
- get next group record
getgrgid
- get group record given group user ID
getgrnam
- get group record given group name
gethostbyaddr
- get host record given its address
gethostbyname
- get host record given name
gethostent
- get next hosts record
getlogin
- return who logged in at this tty
getnetbyaddr
- get network record given its address
getnetbyname
- get networks record given name
getnetent
- get next networks record
getpeername
- find the other end of a socket connection
getpgrp
- get process group
getppid
- get parent process ID
getpriority
- get current nice value
getprotobyname
- get protocol record given name
getprotobynumber
- get protocol record numeric protocol
getprotoent
- get next protocols record
getpwent
- get next passwd record
getpwnam
- get passwd record given user login name
getpwuid
- get passwd record given user ID
getservbyname
- get services record given its name
getservbyport
- get services record given numeric port
getservent
- get next services record
getsockname
- retrieve the sockaddr for a given socket
getsockopt
- get socket options on a given socket
glob
- expand filenames using wildcards
gmtime
- convert UNIX time into record or string using Greenwich time
goto
- create spaghetti code
grep
- locate elements in a list test true against a given criterion
hex
- convert a string to a hexadecimal number
import
- patch a module's namespace into your own
index
- find a substring within a string
int
- get the integer portion of a number
ioctl
- system-dependent device control system call
join
- join a list into a string using a separator
keys
- retrieve list of indices from a hash
kill
- send a signal to a process or process group
last
- exit a block prematurely
lc
- return lower-case version of a string
lcfirst
- return a string with just the next letter in lower case
length
- return the number of bytes in a string
link
- create a hard link in the filesytem
listen
- register your socket as a server
local
- create a temporary value for a global variable (dynamic scoping)
localtime
- convert UNIX time into record or string using local time
lock
- get a thread lock on a variable, subroutine, or method
log
- retrieve the natural logarithm for a number
lstat
- stat a symbolic link
m//
- match a string with a regular expression pattern
map
- apply a change to a list to get back a new list with the changes
mkdir
- create a directory
msgctl
- SysV IPC message control operations
msgget
- get SysV IPC message queue
msgrcv
- receive a SysV IPC message from a message queue
msgsnd
- send a SysV IPC message to a message queue
my
- declare and assign a local variable (lexical scoping)
next
- iterate a block prematurely
no
- unimport some module symbols or semantics at compile time
oct
- convert a string to an octal number
open
- open a file, pipe, or descriptor
opendir
- open a directory
ord
- find a character's numeric representation
pack
- convert a list into a binary representation
package
- declare a separate global namespace
pipe
- open a pair of connected filehandles
pop
- remove the last element from an array and return it
pos
- find or set the offset for the last/next m//g search
print
- output a list to a filehandle
printf
- output a formatted list to a filehandle
prototype
- get the prototype (if any) of a subroutine
push
- append one or more elements to an array
q/STRING/
- singly quote a string
qq/STRING/
- doubly quote a string
qr/PATTERN/
- Compile pattern
quotemeta
- quote regular expression magic characters
qw/STRING/
- quote a list of words
qx/STRING/
- backquote quote a string
rand
- retrieve the next pseudorandom number
read
- fixed-length buffered input from a filehandle
readdir
- get a directory from a directory handle
readline
- fetch a record from a file
readlink
- determine where a symbolic link is pointing
recv
- receive a message over a Socket
redo
- start this loop iteration over again
ref
- find out the type of thing being referenced
rename
- change a filename
require
- load in external functions from a library at runtime
reset
- clear all variables of a given name
return
- get out of a function early
reverse
- flip a string or a list
rewinddir
- reset directory handle
rindex
- right-to-left substring search
rmdir
- remove a directory
s///
- replace a pattern with a string
scalar
- force a scalar context
seek
- reposition file pointer for random-access I/O
seekdir
- reposition directory pointer
select
- reset default output or do I/O multiplexing
semctl
- SysV semaphore control operations
semget
- get set of SysV semaphores
semop
- SysV semaphore operations
send
- send a message over a socket
setgrent
- prepare group file for use
sethostent
- prepare hosts file for use
setnetent
- prepare networks file for use
setpgrp
- set the process group of a process
setpriority
- set a process's nice value
setprotoent
- prepare protocols file for use
setpwent
- prepare passwd file for use
setservent
- prepare services file for use
setsockopt
- set some socket options
shift
- remove the first element of an array, and return it
shmctl
- SysV shared memory operations
shmget
- get SysV shared memory segment identifier
shmread
- read SysV shared memory
shmwrite
- write SysV shared memory
shutdown
- close down just half of a socket connection
sin
- return the sine of a number
sleep
- block for some number of seconds
socket
- create a socket
socketpair
- create a pair of sockets
sort
- sort a list of values
splice
- add or remove elements anywhere in an array
split
- split up a string using a regexp delimiter
sprintf
- formatted print into a string
sqrt
- square root function
srand
- seed the random number generator
stat
- get a file's status information
study
- optimize input data for repeated searches
sub
- declare a subroutine, possibly anonymously
substr
- get or alter a portion of a stirng
symlink
- create a symbolic link to a file
syscall
- execute an arbitrary system call
sysread
- fixed-length unbuffered input from a filehandle
sysseek
- position I/O pointer on handle used with sysread and syswrite
system
- run a separate program
syswrite
- fixed-length unbuffered output to a filehandle
tell
- get current seekpointer on a filehandle
telldir
- get current seekpointer on a directory handle
tie
- bind a variable to an object class
time
- return number of seconds since 1970
times
- return elapsed time for self and child processes
tr///
- transliterate a string
truncate
- shorten a file
uc
- return upper-case version of a string
ucfirst
- return a string with just the next letter in upper case
umask
- set file creation mode mask
undef
- remove a variable or function definition
unlink
- remove one link to a file
unpack
- convert binary structure into normal perl variables
unshift
- prepend more elements to the beginning of a list
untie
- break a tie binding to a variable
use
- load in a module at compile time
utime
- set a file's last access and modify times
values
- return a list of the values in a hash
vec
- test or set particular bits in a string
wait
- wait for any child process to die
waitpid
- wait for a particular child process to die
wantarray
- get list vs array context of current subroutine call
warn
- print debugging info
write
- print a picture record
y///
- transliterate a string