If you're using DBI, then code like this:   $st->bind_columns(undef, \$a, \$b, \$c) can be written as   $st->bind_columns(undef, \($a, $b, $c)) That may be slightly easier to maintain.

However, two caveats:

• The \(LIST) form is confusing to many who read it, so make sure you are very consistent.
• Most code I've seen use bind_columns() is less readable than fetch_hashref(), so if you're thinking of changing your coding style, think about dropping bind_columns() altogether.