Sometimes it should, especially when testing the overloaded objects. It is the lack of any is_deeply test which is able to see through overloading that lead me to do something hokey and do cmp_eq( Data::Dump::Streamer::Dump($a), 'eq', Data::Dump::Streamer::Dump($b) ) tests instead.

If an overloaded object wanted to pretend to be normal, it can use an utterly normal test and it'll get called as usual. Its the stuff like Test::More which should be able to have x-ray eyes to see through overloading.

But I don't think that's a problem. You're doing an "out of band" test, you should have to jump through hoops. Whereas if, in the course of an application, I want to know, "are these two widgets equal?" I should depend on any overloaded equality ops to do the right thing, not to second-guess what the right thing should be.

My t/whatever.t script using Test::More hardly counts as "in the normal course of an application." This is an environment where you really do want such things to happen, if that's what you intend. Testing environments are abnormal environments and this is a case where it matters that its treated as such.

Maybe the appropriate action is to have a Test::More flag that specifies whether to use overloading or have xray vision.

Maybe it should be $Test::More::XRAY_VISION? :-)

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• In general, if you think something isn't in Perl, try it out, because it usually is. :-)
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