Would there be a natty way fo using the $_ (or whatever returns the last variable used?)

Shot in the dark:

$val = ($_ eq "") ? $default_val : $_;
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While we are on this topic.. do you know if there is any speed (trivial tho it may be) or logical difference in checking for a value being equal or not equal first?

$a = ($b ne $c) ? $d : $e;
$a = ($b eq $c) ? $e : $d;
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wolis,
I think you are under the misconception that more verbose code automatically means slower code. I doubt seriously that you would be able to notice a significant measurable performance advantage here without millions of calculations. I would take a look at why premature optimization can be a bad thing.

Typically, performance issues are caused by inefficient algorithms as a whole and not individual lines of code. There are cases where an individual line in a tightly wrapped loop can be a problem. Then there are cases where people try to use Perl in a situation better suited for C, not because Perl is incapable of getting the job done - but because performance requirements dictate it.

Cheers - L~R

Good point however I was more asking the question of:
"Does it make any difference speed wise or logic wise to ask if a match is true or a match is false in an if statement?"

I dont think I have ever had an issue with the speed at which Perl does things. Blindingly fast is good enough for me :-)

I like giving my variables nice descriptive names and making my if elses open and legible - especially if I expect someone else to pick up the code and do something sensible with it :-)

I guess I'm remembering the old BASIC days when CPUs were slow and it mattered how things were done.

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