{ # block for local
local $/ = ''; # paragraph mode
path( $dhcpcdfile )->edit_lines( sub
  {
  if( /^\s*profile\s+static_$ip_params{interface}\b.*\n/m ) # alter th
+is section
    {
    s/^\s*static\s+(\w+)=\K.*/$ip_params{$1}/gm;
    }
  } );
}
[download]

To an experienced perl programmer with deep knowledge of the language, this might look readable but for an occasional unprofessional perl user like myself, it would probably take at least half an hour to figure out what it is doing.
If I came back to this sort of code in a couple of years to alter/reuse it, I'd be back to square one.
If I had a future application that required a different input, this sort of all-in-one read/write approach would be difficult for me to repurpose.
It seems that brevity and obfuscation in perl code are inseparable.

For me, readability and brevity would be discovering a module Unix::ConfigFile::DHCPCD, that included a method "UpdateInterfaceIP". I think that a valid metric for a modern language is the code I don't have to write.

Please note I am not criticizing the skill or helpfulness those that give up their own time to write replies to people like me. I don't want to sound ungrateful. This is my goto place to find expert advice on perl, but claiming code is "readable" on a website that has a section devoted to "Obfuscation" is not a good look.

---

---

• Are you posting in the right place? Check out Where do I post X? to know for sure.
• Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags. Currently these include the following:

  <code> <a> <b> <big> <blockquote> <br /> <dd> <dl> <dt> <em> <font> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <hr /> <i> <li> <nbsp> <ol> <p> <small> <strike> <strong> <sub> <sup> <table> <td> <th> <tr> <tt> <u> <ul>

• Snippets of code should be wrapped in <code> tags not <pre> tags. In fact, <pre> tags should generally be avoided. If they must be used, extreme care should be taken to ensure that their contents do not have long lines (<70 chars), in order to prevent horizontal scrolling (and possible janitor intervention).
• Want more info? How to link or How to display code and escape characters are good places to start.