$ perl -e' use feature qw( say ); $! = 2; say 0+\$!; say 0+$!; sub { local $! = 3; say 0+\$!; say 0+$!; say 0+$_[0]; }->( $! ); say 0+\$!; say 0+$!; ' 93839899443048 Address of pre-local $! 2 Value of pre-local $! (aka value of errno) 93839899247848 Address of post-local $! 3 Value of post-local $! (aka value of errno) 3 Value of pre-local $! (aka value of errno) 93839899443048 $! is restored 3 Value of pre-local $! (aka value of errno)