...dangerous.
...
But what do you suggest?
Doesn't that mean that we should avoid eval as well as do?
And isn't the usage of eval and do sometimes very handy?
...

The idea I wanted to get across was that, as with handing the keys to one's car to a complete stranger (sometimes very useful, even necessary), the default initial assessment of the use of eval on (possibly user generated) data should simply be "dangerous".

As one gains more insight into the acutal circumstances one faces, one might consider prepending a modifier like "Not likely to be...", "Probably..." or "Catastrophically..." to the initial assessment, but the first approach I would suggest would always be one of great circumspection.

And btw: what about M-x load-file or something similar in emacs/elisp?
Always risky?

Indeed, I've seen people do a lot of damage using text editors a lot simpler than emacs. I guess the ultimate lesson is that short of chopping off the fingers of certain individuals, we must always maintain a stance of "situational awareness" in life.

In reply to Re^4: Make string that results from split behave like double-quoted string by AnomalousMonk
in thread Make string that results from split behave like double-quoted string by knobcreekman

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.