return data from a subroutine reference...

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

hello all,

I'd like to use something like the following code, but how does one get a return value from a call like that ?

my %arch=( apple => \&mac, sun => \&sparc, hp => \&parisc );
my $type='sun';

if(exists $arch{$type}) {
   $arch{$type}->("some stuff"); 
   # Where / how to get the returned data ?
}
else { 
   exit;
}
sub mac { 
    return(0);
}
sub sparc {
    return(1);
}
sub parisc {
    return(2);
}
[download]

thanks,

Isaac.

Comment on return data from a subroutine reference... Download Code

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Re: return data from a subroutine reference... by bobf (Monsignor) on Aug 12, 2006 at 07:43 UTC
`$arch{$type}->("some stuff")` simply calls the subroutine (see perlref), so you can capture the return value from it just as you would any other subroutine: `my $retval = $arch{$type}->("some stuff");` [download] Update: You may also find Implementing Dispatch Tables helpful (from our Tutorials section).	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: return data from a subroutine reference... by perlfan (Vicar) on Aug 12, 2006 at 13:14 UTC
You can treat an anonymous sub as any other - everything on the right hand side of the assignment operator (=) is just some jibberish to call the subroutine. Any return values you get are still passed back the same way.	[reply]
Re: return data from a subroutine reference... by aufflick (Deacon) on Aug 13, 2006 at 07:08 UTC
The above posters are correct - sometimes the answer is just too obvious right! If you haven't come across it yet, one of Perl's guiding principles is DWIM (Do What I Mean). In other words if you don't know how to express something in Perl, just try what seems natural - you'd be surprised just how often that works!	[reply]

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