Re^3: ~~ and list literal

[Anonymous Monk]

...

Because of precedence/binding

Consider

$ perl -le " $f = 1,2,3 ; print $f"
1

$ perl -MO=Deparse -le " $f = 1,2,3 ; print $f"
BEGIN { $/ = "\n"; $\ = "\n"; }
$f = 1, '???', '???';
print $f;
-e syntax OK

Compare it to

$ perl -le " $f = ( 1,2,3 ); print $f"
3

$ perl -MO=Deparse -le " $f = ( 1,2,3 ) ; print $f"
BEGIN { $/ = "\n"; $\ = "\n"; }
$f = ('???', '???', 3);
print $f;
-e syntax OK

Since smart is binary (like = in the above example), it works on two scalars, left-scalar operator right-scalar

If you have no parentheses, the first scalar is taken, the closest, because assignment operator (=) has higher precedence than comma opeartor (it binds tighter).

If you add parenthesis, then you have the fabled List in Scalar Context, then the comma operator return the last right item (rightest most)

See Tutorials: Precedence for Idiots

Since you're confused about precedence you're probably also confused about context, so see Tutorials: Context in Perl: Context tutorial, "List" Is a Four-Letter Word, Easy Reference for Contexts

Smart match is giving me a headache...

Stop using it :) worked for me :) Smart-match