Re^5: The default hash - accident, coincidence or conspiracy?

[jdporter]

in reply to Re^4: The default hash - accident, coincidence or conspiracy?
in thread The default hash - accident, coincidence or conspiracy?

No, it is illegal, because if you put it in a perl program, the program will not run. You get a fatal error during compilation.

For better or worse, the Perl language (unlike most) is defined by the implementation, not by a document. If the behavior in question isn't documented, that is simply a documentation bug.

ObDisclaimer: This refers to Perl5 (and prec.) only.

[SimonClinch]

That's like saying that what the police arrest you for defines the law rather than what is determined by the government.

Occasionally there will be a bug in perl which shouldn't be 'fixed' in the documentation.

[jdporter]

You're right, it is like saying that. And that is the way it is. (Mind you, I'm not saying this is good...) And anyway, this is just a programming language. It doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things, that perl is defined by its implementation.