Description:

Given a list of scalars or reference variables, writes out their contents in perl syntax.
The references can also be objects. The content of each variable is output in a single
Perl statement. Handles self-referential structures correctly.
The return value can be evaled to get back an identical copy of the original reference
structure.
Any references that are the same as one of those passed in will be named $VARn (where
n is a numeric suffix), and other duplicate references to substructures within $VARn
will be appropriately labeled using arrow notation. You can specify names for individual
values to be dumped if you use the Dump() method, or you can change the default $VAR
prefix to something else. See $Data::Dumper::Varname and $Data::Dumper::Terse below.
The default output of self-referential structures can be evaled, but the nested references
to $VARn will be undefined, since a recursive structure cannot be constructed using one
Perl statement. You should set the Purity flag to 1 to get additional statements that
will correctly fill in these references. Moreover, if evaled when strictures are in
effect, you need to ensure that any variables it accesses are previously declared.
In the extended usage form, the references to be dumped can be given user-specified
names. If a name begins with a *, the output will describe the dereferenced type of
the supplied reference for hashes and arrays, and coderefs. Output of names will be
avoided where possible if the Terse flag is set.
In many cases, methods that are used to set the internal state of the object will
return the object itself, so method calls can be conveniently chained together.
Several styles of output are possible, all controlled by setting the Indent flag.
See "Configuration Variables or Methods" below for details.