Perl> sub x{ return };; Perl> @b = ( 1,2,'a', x(), 5, 6 );; Perl> print "@b";; 1 2 a 5 6 Perl> @b = ( 1,2,'a', scalar( x() ), 5, 6 );; Perl> print "@b";; Use of uninitialized value in join or string at (eval 13) line 1 1 2 a 5 6