Re^2: If I was forced to program in another language, the Perl language feature I would miss most would be:

[Anonymous Monk]

It looks so nice and is so readable.

I disagree. It doesn't follow the code flow.

When debugging or analysing the code, you don't find out until the very end of the line whether or not you actually needed to read the line. By that point, you've had to read it anyway.

I find it quite jarring to read, for all but the simplest of expressions. Then again, I find the same thing for lists of English instructions, too.

unlink($file) && crack_password() && sacrifice_firstborn( $child ) && 
+take_over_world( $mwahahahaha ) if ( $ignore_all_that_just_kidding);

[BerntB]

I mainly use it for returning error cases (as I showed) and for things like alternative initiation of variables:

...
my($foo) = blah($yadda);
$foo     = barf->new()  unless $foo;
$foo     = gazonkly()   unless $foo;
return ERROR_CODE       if $foo < $boo;
...

I am not exactly known for aesthetical good taste, but I like it. If you have a clearer way of writing things like that, please tell me.

[Anonymous Monk]

When code is written as

if (<expr>) { statement }

instead of

statement if <expr>;

you can mentally decipher the code in the order of control flow. That's what I prefer.

[BerntB]

I understand that traditional argument, the point is that I was using postfix if as an idiom in specific circumstances which make my code clearer.

I specifically asked for "a clearer way of writing things like that", but you didn't answer -- which probably means you can't see a neater way, either.

Update: Fixed spelling and a html tag so it worked. :-)

[Anonymous Monk]

Is this what Perl's or-equals or defined-or-equals operators are for?

$foo     ||= barf->new();
$foo     ||= gazonkly();

or to only test undef:

$foo     //= barf->new();
$foo     //= gazonkly();