c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -le "my $count; F(); ;; $count = 0; F(); ;; sub F { defined $count ? do { print '=' until $count ++ == 5; } : print 'Undefined count' ; } " Undefined count = = = = = c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -le "my $count; F(); ;; $count = 0; F(); ;; sub F { print defined $count ? '=' x 5 : 'Undefined count'; } " Undefined count =====