How has support for type constraints changed across recent Perl versions?

In recent versions of Perl, particularly with the introduction of signatures, there has been a growing emphasis on type constraints to improve the reliability and clarity of code. Earlier, type constraints were mostly implemented using modules like L or L<:tiny>, but they are now more accessible and integrated into the language with built-in features.

Perl 5.20 and later versions have included features that allow developers to specify the expected types of subroutine parameters, enhancing the robustness of their code. This also helps in more self-documenting code as developers explicitly state their intentions for variable types.

type constraints, Perl 5.20, Moose, Type::Tiny, signatures, subroutine parameters, robustness, self-documenting code

This content discusses the evolution of type constraints in Perl, highlighting changes and improvements in recent versions, which aid in creating more reliable and maintainable code.

# Example of using type constraints in Perl 5.20 and above sub example_subroutine (Str $name, Int $age) { print "Name: $name, Age: $age\n"; } example_subroutine("Alice", 30); # Valid call example_subroutine(30, "Alice"); # Will cause an error

type constraints Perl 5.20 Moose Type::Tiny signatures subroutine parameters robustness self-documenting code