C:\test>perl -MO=Deparse -wle"$x = 1,2,3" Useless use of a constant in void context at -e line 1. Useless use of a constant in void context at -e line 1. Name "main::x" used only once: possible typo at -e line 1. BEGIN { $^W = 1; } BEGIN { $/ = "\n"; $\ = "\n"; } $x = 1, '???', '???'; -e syntax OK