There are already loose names for \N{} that ignores whitespace (item), but this feature is a bit different. It ignores horizontal whitespace around a value (but not inside a value): use v5.10; use open qw(:std :utf8); say <<~"HERE"; Cat face: \N{ BLACK SPADE SUIT } Octal: \o{ 23140 } Hex: \x{ 2660 } HERE This outputs the character we expect: $ perl5.34.0 whitespace.pl Spade suit: ♠ Octal: ♠ Hex: ♠
![The Effective Perler – Effective Perl Programming – write better, more idiomatic Perl](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/e9a572ab01e434b68ad7d839447fc7b46ea09824/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.effectiveperlprogramming.com%2Fimages%2Fepp_second_edition.png)