How can I start an interactive console for Perl?

Question

How can I start an interactive console for Perl, similar to the irb command for Ruby or python for Python?

Answer 1

Perl doesn't have a console but the debugger can be used as one. At a command prompt, type perl -de 1. (The value "1" doesn't matter, it's just a valid statement that does nothing.)

There are also a couple of options for a Perl shell.

For more information read perlfaq3.