return values are undef after return

hello, monks. My question is:
There is a potentially large amount of data in array @DBread and is return'd. After it is return's is the @DBread empty'd? I'm going to be forking in other parts of the program so i need as little memory used as possible. (i know i can read a file line by line but will do that later.) This is a more academic question more than a practical one

sub readDB{
    my $DBtoread = shift;
    my $FILEREAD;
    
    open($FILEREAD, "+<", "./database/$DBtoread");
    
    my @DBread = <$FILEREAD>;
    
    close($FILEREAD);
    return(@DBread);
}
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thanks!

Comment on return values are undef after return Download Code
Re: return values are undef after return by Anonymous Monk on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:09 UTC
After it is return's is the @DBread empty'd? This is a more academic question more than a practical one Its probably empty, see Mini-Tutorial: Perl's Memory Management	[reply]
Re^2: return values are undef after return by perlaintdead (Acolyte) on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:29 UTC
so after reading that tut i am confuzzled as to whether i should be undef'ing the array or any variables in general	[reply]
Re^3: return values are undef after return by Anonymous Monk on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:48 UTC
so after reading that tut i am confuzzled as to whether i should be undef'ing the array or any variables in general ;P But you don't undef the array in return values are undef after return after you return :D undefing vars can't hurt, and it could trigger warnings if you use those vars later in your messy code :) If you seek clarity about when to undef, you seek clarity about scoping :) read Tutorials: Variable Scoping in Perl: the basics, Coping with Scoping , Mini-Tutorial: Perl's Memory Management, Lexical scoping like a fox	[reply]
Re^4: return values are undef after return by perlaintdead (Acolyte) on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:53 UTC
Re^5: return values are undef after return by Anonymous Monk on Dec 26, 2012 at 11:59 UTC


"be consistent"
	PerlMonks

return values are undef after return

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