http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=740913


in reply to ** operator in perl

Hint, check with B::Deparse, even though constants get in the way 
D:\>perl -MO=Deparse,-p -e " print -2 ** 4 + 1; "
print((-15));
-e syntax OK

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just substitute them variables, and you can see 

D:\>perl -MO=Deparse,-p -e " print -$two ** $four + $one; "
print(((-($two ** $four)) + $one));
-e syntax OK

D:\>

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In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom