Scalar Context Not Applied During Method Call

gregory-nisbet has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

so I'm a bit confused why

$a = Math::BigInt->bone;
$b = Math::BigInt->bone;
($a+$b)->bfac;
[download]

generates an error but replacing the last line with

scalar($a+$b)->bfac

works fine. AFAIK, only scalars and (exceptionally) typeglobs support the method invocation / member access syntax using "->", so why isn't scalar context automatically applied here?

edit:

The original code snippet was "print ($a+$b)->bfac" and the "looks like function"-rule was applied.

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Re: Scalar Context Not Applied During Method Call by choroba (Cardinal) on Sep 24, 2014 at 08:51 UTC
The code without print doesn't throw any error for me. With `print`, the usual trick is to add a +: `print +($a + $b)->bfac;` [download] It is a hint to the parser that the left parenthesis doesn't start the argument list for `print`. لսႽ† ᥲᥒ⚪⟊Ⴙᘓᖇ Ꮅᘓᖇ⎱ Ⴙᥲ𝇋ƙᘓᖇ	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Scalar Context Not Applied During Method Call by LanX (Saint) on Sep 24, 2014 at 09:29 UTC
> I can't figure out how to delete the question You could use `<strike>` tags around the obsolete parts. Or `<hr>` and a emphasized "please ignore from here on" ATM its not obvious what still needs to be answered. Cheers Rolf _{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language and ☆☆☆☆ :)}	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Scalar Context Not Applied During Method Call by tobyink (Canon) on Sep 24, 2014 at 10:48 UTC
"I can't figure out how to delete the question though." You cannot delete a question. Even if you don't care about getting an answer any more, future visitors to the site might, so it is right that the question stays open for additional comments. toby döt ink	[reply]