## 44.2. Data Values in PL/Perl

The argument values supplied to a PL/Perl function's code are simply the input arguments converted to text form (just as if they had been displayed by a `SELECT` statement). Conversely, the `return` and `return_next` commands will accept any string that is acceptable input format for the function's declared return type.

If this behavior is inconvenient for a particular case, it can be improved by using a transform, as already illustrated for `bool` values. Several examples of transform modules are included in the PostgreSQL distribution.