in reply to Re^3: Condensing code...golfing with push and return
in thread Condensing code...golfing with push and return

No, use the proper return type for the proper function type. If you return an empty list for false, then you'll be tripped up by something as simple as: 

my %hash= (
    this => GetThis(),
    foo  => 'bar',
    baz  => 'biff',
);
# Which results in:
#    $hash{this} eq "foo"
#    ! exists $hash{foo}
#    $hash{bar} eq 'baz'
#    ! exists $hash{baz}
#    exists $hash{biff}

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If your function returns lists, then an empty list is likely the correct thing to return for "false". If your function never returns lists, then I'd have it return a false scalar value not an empty list.

BTW, my favorite false value is !1 which is a lot like '' except that it won't give a warning if used in a numeric context. (It is what Perl's own functions return for "false but not undefined".)

                - tye

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Re^5: Condensing code...golfing with push and return (mixed blessing)
by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Oct 10, 2003 at 22:25 UTC
    I know; personally, I tend to do something like 
    use constant TRUE => 1;
use constant FALSE => !TRUE;

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    when I'm going to need those a lot (it's sometimes helpful to be able to communicate that you mean "true value" and not "numerical one").

    As for context, you are right; I guess it's a matter of habit. I'd tend to write that hash construction like

    my %hash= (
    this => scalar GetThis(),
    foo  => 'bar',
    baz  => 'quux',
);

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    That's probably CGI.pm's legacy.. :)

    Makeshifts last the longest.

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