$ perl -w print(two (('two' == 'five') ? 'true' : 'false')); Unquoted string "two" may clash with future reserved word at - line 1. ^Z Name "main::two" used only once: possible typo at - line 1. Argument "five" isn't numeric in numeric eq (==) at - line 1. Argument "two" isn't numeric in numeric eq (==) at - line 1. print() on unopened filehandle two at - line 1.