Re^3: Scope of separator variable

That's fine, nothing wrong with asking basic questions. And I agree, it can be difficult to find the right perldoc page when you don't already know what to look for. But do take a look at perldoc.perl.org; it's fairly well-organized, as well as searchable (though unfortunately not for tokens like $").

If you're serious about Perl programming, I'd also recommend picking up a copy (or getting your employer to pick up a copy) of Programming Perl, aka "The Camel". It's an excellent, must-have book, and it has a big reference section.

There's even a chapter on special variables, which also provides a clear and concise answer to your original question (p. 655 in the third edition):

Program-wide Special Variables
These variables are truly global in the fullest sense -- they mean the same thing in every package, because they're all forced into package main when unqualified (except for @F, which is special in main, but not forced). If you want a temporary copy of one of these, you must localize it in the current dynamic scope.

[...]
$" ($LIST_SEPARATOR)
[...]

There's gentler introductions to Perl if you're new to it, but as a general reference, it's invaluable.

Comment on Re^3: Scope of separator variable

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Re^4: Scope of separator variable by shadowSage (Novice) on Aug 06, 2014 at 18:17 UTC
Yeah, hard to search for something like $", most things won't parse that properly. Thanks for the advice and recommendations. I have Learning Perl and Intermediate Perl. I was looking at Programming Perl, though it seemed more reference-like than the others, and so I presumed it would be more useful after I got to know things a bit better. I'll go pick it up tomorrow, I think the copy I ordered of mastering perl should be there too (it'll be a bit before I get to that one, but, still, nice to have). Thanks everyone.	[reply]
Re^5: Scope of separator variable by tangent (Parson) on Aug 06, 2014 at 20:59 UTC
All of those "special variables" are explained at: perldoc.perl.org/perlvar.html#SPECIAL-VARIABLES	[reply]
Re^4: Scope of separator variable by BillKSmith (Monsignor) on Aug 07, 2014 at 04:14 UTC
Do not hesitate to write in your books. Highlight the solution to problems you are likely to have again. Add items to the index when you find them. Cross-reference similar features. Add references to perldoc to document details and/or changes. Bill	[reply]