using the debugger in this context doesnt require a single debugger command. the x command mentioned in the nodes above helps to print out simple data structures, but that can just as well be accomplished using plain old print statements or (a method I'm fond of) the Data::Dumper module.

True, however, at that point you still have a very weak, and overly "manual" REPL compared to the standard out-of-the-box REPLs in other langauges.

Honestly, I am not trying to slight the debugger. I don't prefer to use it myself, but it is a valuable too for those who do use it. However, it is really just not a decent REPL, a fact which becomes more and more clear once you have spent a decent amount of time with a truely nice REPL.