head

Return the first $size elements of a list.

Synopsis

my @first = head $size, @list;
my @first = head 2, qw( foo bar baz );   # ('foo', 'bar')

What you get back

A list of at most $size elements, taken from the start of the input. If $size is negative, head returns all but the last -$size elements — useful for dropping a tail.

Examples

my @r = head  2, qw( foo bar baz );   # ('foo', 'bar')
my @r = head -2, qw( foo bar baz );   # ('foo')
my @r = head  5, qw( a b c );         # ('a', 'b', 'c') — fewer than $size

Edge cases

• $size >= @list returns the whole list.

• $size == 0 or -$size >= @list returns the empty list.

Differences from upstream

Fully compatible with upstream.

See also

• tail — mirror operation, taking from the end.

• sample — random selection without positional bias.