END in packages

Fingo has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I am writinga module for my use, and if I just leave a 1; as the last line, everything works fine. If I however use an END block

END {
1;
}
[download]

it does not return true. What's wrong?

Comment on END in packages Select or Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: END in packages by rchiav (Deacon) on Aug 26, 2001 at 04:16 UTC
END is for the module cleanup code. Your module must return true, hence the 1. END is basically a destructor, and won't be returned the same as the last line of the file. You might want to read perlmod Hope this helps.. Rich	[reply]
Re: END in packages by John M. Dlugosz (Monsignor) on Aug 26, 2001 at 04:37 UTC
The loader cares about the last statement executed, and that will be the main-line code. The creation of a sub, even a special one like END, doesn't cause the contents of that sub to be run--your 1 is not seen 'till it's called. END is not called when a module is loaded, but when it's terminated. In a related thread, the idea of using `return 1;` at the end of the module was raised, as being clearer.	[reply] [d/l]
Re (tilly) 2: END in packages by tilly (Archbishop) on Aug 26, 2001 at 05:44 UTC
But stylistically something has to be said for ending with: `"Just another Perl hacker,\n";` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Re (tilly) 2: END in packages by John M. Dlugosz (Monsignor) on Aug 26, 2001 at 06:57 UTC
True enough (Pun intended).	[reply]