file load

Russ Schnapp rschnapp at ACM.org
Fri Apr 28 17:19:20 CDT 2000


~sdpm~
>> or, for fewer variable names:
>>
>>   {
>>   local $/ = undef;
>>   $string = <FILE>;
>>   }

>it can't be "my $/ = undef;" ??

Nope.  That's the subtle difference between "my" and "local".  The 
former is more like a conventional local variable.  

A "my" identifier masks globals that are referred to WITHIN the 
block in which they are declared.  

A "local" identifier in PERL actually is new instance of the variable 
that masks ALL references to global, WHEREVER THEY MAY 
OCCUR, so long as the block in which they are declared is active. 

It's cute.  It's handy.  It's a nightmare, from a language design point 
of view.  It means that when you look at a variable reference, you 
can't definitively say where the variable is defined.  

Larry Wall provided us with a very functional, very powerful 
language.  If only he had had a language design background, 
though.  I'll fight my urge to whine about many other unnecessary 
"features" of the language.  (Can you tell that I'm not a big fan of 
being able to do the same simple thing 5 different ways in a single 
language?)

...Russ Schnapp
Schnapp Software Consulting
http://www.schnapp.org/
~sdpm~

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