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# keys

Perl 5 version 16.0 documentation
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# keys

Perl functions A-Z | Perl functions by category | The 'perlfunc' manpage

- keys HASH

- keys ARRAY
- keys EXPR

  Called in list context, returns a list consisting of all the keys of the named hash, or in Perl 5.12 or later only, the indices of an array. Perl releases prior to 5.12 will produce a syntax error if you try to use an array argument. In scalar context, returns the number of keys or indices.

  The keys of a hash are returned in an apparently random order. The actual random order is subject to change in future versions of Perl, but it is guaranteed to be the same order as either the `values` or `each` function produces (given that the hash has not been modified). Since Perl 5.8.1 the ordering can be different even between different runs of Perl for security reasons (see Algorithmic Complexity Attacks in perlsec).

  As a side effect, calling keys() resets the internal interator of the HASH or ARRAY (see each). In particular, calling keys() in void context resets the iterator with no other overhead.

  Here is yet another way to print your environment:

          @keys = keys %ENV;    @values = values %ENV;    while (@keys) {        print pop(@keys), '=', pop(@values), "\n";    }

  or how about sorted by key:

          foreach $key (sort(keys %ENV)) {        print $key, '=', $ENV{$key}, "\n";    }

  The returned values are copies of the original keys in the hash, so modifying them will not affect the original hash. Compare values.

  To sort a hash by value, you'll need to use a `sort` function. Here's a descending numeric sort of a hash by its values:

          foreach $key (sort { $hash{$b} <=> $hash{$a} } keys %hash) {        printf "%4d %s\n", $hash{$key}, $key;    }

  Used as an lvalue, `keys` allows you to increase the number of hash buckets allocated for the given hash. This can gain you a measure of efficiency if you know the hash is going to get big. (This is similar to pre-extending an array by assigning a larger number to $#array.) If you say

          keys %hash = 200;

  then `%hash` will have at least 200 buckets allocated for it--256 of them, in fact, since it rounds up to the next power of two. These buckets will be retained even if you do `%hash = ()` , use `undef %hash` if you want to free the storage while `%hash` is still in scope. You can't shrink the number of buckets allocated for the hash using `keys` in this way (but you needn't worry about doing this by accident, as trying has no effect). `keys @array` in an lvalue context is a syntax error.

  Starting with Perl 5.14, `keys` can take a scalar EXPR, which must contain a reference to an unblessed hash or array. The argument will be dereferenced automatically. This aspect of `keys` is considered highly experimental. The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.

          for (keys $hashref) { ... }    for (keys $obj->get_arrayref) { ... }

  To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at the top of your file to signal that your code will work only on Perls of a recent vintage:

          use 5.012;	# so keys/values/each work on arrays    use 5.014;	# so keys/values/each work on scalars (experimental)

  See also `each`, `values`, and `sort`.