Q:\>perl -w -MO=Deparse -e "s;;new;;old;;g" Unquoted string "old" may clash with future reserved word at -e line 1. Unquoted string "g" may clash with future reserved word at -e line 1. Useless use of a constant in void context at -e line 1. Useless use of a constant in void context at -e line 1. BEGIN { $^W = 1; } s//new/; '???'; '???'; -e syntax OK