my $compartment = new Safe; # module level $compartment->permit(qw()); # module level sub date_compare { my ($date, $op, $refdate) = @_; my ($mm_date, $dd_date, $yyyy_date) = split(/\//, $date); my ($mm_ref, $dd_ref, $yyyy_ref) = split(/\//, $refdate); my $date_str = $yyyy_date . $mm_date . $dd_date; my $ref_str = $yyyy_ref . $mm_ref . $dd_ref; $compartment->reval( qq{ ($date_str $op $ref_str) || return 0; # fall-through return 1; } ); }