How do you sort the output of Data::Dumper?
Set $Data::Dumper::Sortkeys = 1
to get Perl's default sort order.
If you want to customize the order, set $Data::Dumper::Sortkeys
to a reference to a subroutine that receives a reference to a hash as input, and outputs a reference to the list of the hash's keys in the order you want them to appear.
# sort keys
$Data::Dumper::Sortkeys = 1;
print Dumper($obj);
# sort keys in reverse order - use either one
$Data::Dumper::Sortkeys = sub { [reverse sort keys %{$_[0]}] };
$Data::Dumper::Sortkeys = sub { [sort {$b cmp $a} keys %{$_[0]}] };
print Dumper($obj);
Short answer for the impatient
Use Data::Dumper::Concise instead. It sorts your keys. Use it like this:
use Data::Dumper::Concise;
my $pantsToWear = {
pony => 'jeans',
unicorn => 'corduroy',
marsupials => {kangaroo => 'overalls', koala => 'shorts + suspenders'},
};
warn Dumper($pantsToWear);
More words for the curious
Data::Dumper::Concise also gives you more compact, easier to read output.
Note that Data::Dumper::Concise is Data::Dumper with reasonable default configuration values set for you. Its equivalent to using Data::Dumper like this:
use Data::Dumper;
{
local $Data::Dumper::Terse = 1;
local $Data::Dumper::Indent = 1;
local $Data::Dumper::Useqq = 1;
local $Data::Dumper::Deparse = 1;
local $Data::Dumper::Quotekeys = 0;
local $Data::Dumper::Sortkeys = 1;
warn Dumper($var);
}
From the Data::Dumper
documentation:
$Data::Dumper::Sortkeys or $OBJ->Sortkeys([NEWVAL])
Can be set to a boolean value to control whether hash keys are dumped in sorted order.
A true value will cause the keys of all hashes to be dumped in Perl's default sort order.
Can also be set to a subroutine reference which will be called for each hash that is dumped.
In this case Data::Dumper will call the subroutine once for each hash, passing it the
reference of the hash. The purpose of the subroutine is to return a reference to an array of
the keys that will be dumped, in the order that they should be dumped. Using this feature, you
can control both the order of the keys, and which keys are actually used. In other words, this
subroutine acts as a filter by which you can exclude certain keys from being dumped. Default is
0, which means that hash keys are not sorted.