use strict;
use warnings;
my $logical = 1;
my ($a,$b);
$a = $logical ?  2  : 'a';
$b = $logical ? 'b' : 'x';
print "a is $a\n";
print "b is $b\n";

$logical = 0;
print "\$logical is now false\n";
$a = $logical ?  2  : 'a';
$b = $logical ? 'b' : 'x';
print "a is $a\n";
print "b is $b\n";

OUTPUT:
a is 2
b is b
$logical is now false
a is a
b is x