using the define option

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: using the define option by azatoth (Curate) on Aug 22, 2001 at 13:13 UTC
`perldoc -f defined`. Quoth the Perldoc : "...You may also use defined() to check whether a subroutine exists. On the other hand, use of defined() upon aggregates (hashes and arrays) is not guaranteed to produce intuitive results, and should probably be avoided." "This counterintuitive behaviour of defined() on aggregates may be changed, fixed, or broken in a future release of Perl." Unquoth the Perldoc. This is why you're having problems. Also, remove that .sig. It's offensive. Azatoth a.k.a Captain Whiplash Make Your Die Messages Full of Wisdom! Get YOUR PerlMonks Stagename here! Want to speak like a Londoner?	[reply] [d/l]
Re: using the define option by dmmiller2k (Chaplain) on Aug 22, 2001 at 16:29 UTC
Arrays cannot be tested for defined(), only scalars can. Arrays can be tested for emptiness, as: `# the scalar of an array is its number of elements if ( scalar(@array) ) { ... } # or equivalently, and shorter # exactly the same thing, since 'if ()' forces scalar context if ( @array ) { ... }` [download] dmm Just call me the Anti-Gates ...	[reply] [d/l]
Re: using the define option by Cine (Friar) on Aug 22, 2001 at 13:28 UTC
defined @array is deprecated, just use if (@array) instead T I M T O W T D I	[reply]