in reply to Or, Or, Equals Zero, $x ||= 0
$x ||= 42 is read as "if $x is false (empty string, 0 or undef) store 42 into $x". This construct has always had problems when used to assign a default value (what if you want $x to be zero) that will soon be solved by the "defined-or" operator, //, arriving soon in perl 5.10.0.
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Seekers of Perl Wisdom