Setting $DB::onetimeDump to 'dump' and calling DB::eval will do exactly what you want. Try this in your .perldb:

sub DB::new_eval { local $DB::onetimeDump = 'dump'; &DB::old_eval(@_);
+ }
*DB::old_eval = \&DB::eval;
*DB::eval = \&DB::new_eval;
[download]

[tearought-lm|(none)]04:54 PM $ perl -de0

Loading DB routines from perl5db.pl version 1.31
Editor support available.

Enter h or `h h' for help, or `man perldebug' for more help.

main::(-e:1):   0
  DB<1> [1..10]
0  ARRAY(0x800cc0)
   0  1
   1  2
   2  3
   3  4
   4  5
   5  6
   6  7
   7  8
   8  9
   9  10

  DB<2>
[download]

  DB<4> print "my father plays dominos\n"
my father plays dominos
0  1

  DB<5>
[download]

Thanx, look really easy ... nice work pemungkah! 8)

I have to figure out a good automated context strategy...

... hmm ...I think it's appropriate to default to list evaluation like with the x-cmd since I can always use scalar to do otherwise.

But it's somehow useless to get just one line with index 0 for dumping a scalar

  DB<4> print "my father plays dominos\n"
my father plays dominos
0  1
[download]

Do you know a way to change this behavior automatically for a one element list like with p-cmd?

  DB<4> print "my father plays dominos\n"
1my father plays dominos
[download]

as far as I can understand from the docs of DB it's neccessary to manipulate dumpvar.pl to achieve this... right?

Cheers Rolf

What you're seeing here is an 'x' of the print's return value, which is of course 1 since the print succeeded. We can expand the replacement eval with a crude check for the function being a print, in which case we leave $onetimeDump off.

sub smarter_eval {
  local $onetimeDump = 'dump'
    if $_[0] =~ /\Aprint\s*\(?/;
  old_eval(@_);
}
[download]

Thanks again, I'm using this now regularly! :)

  DB<26> 1..9,[a..b]
 => (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ["a", "b"])
[download]

to be precise I tweaked the debugger to use Data::Dump::qq() for printing.

Cheers Rolf

I think this is useful enough I should make it into a patch. I'll do that. It'll need a way to toggle it on and off, etc. but that's all a SMOP.