It doesn't answer my question... I want to know what return () does... For example, if I'm correct, return [] returns an array ref right? So, does return () return a subroutine ref?

Yes,  [ ] is an array ref, and no () is not a reference of any kind (not a subroutine ref)

References are explained in perlreftut#Making References , references quick reference

These are all the same (as documente in return, they return nothing (empty list) or undef , depending on context (list or scalar) ) 

sub roy { return;   }
sub roy { return    }
sub roy { return(); }
sub roy { return()  }
sub roy { return ()  }

[download]

These are all the same (return an array ref) 

sub roy { return [];  }
sub roy { return []   }
sub roy { return([]); }
sub roy { return([])  }
sub roy { return  ([])  }

[download]

See Tutorials: Context in Perl: Context tutorial, "List" Is a Four-Letter Word, Easy Reference for Contexts

In reply to Re^3: What does return() mean? by Anonymous Monk
in thread What does return() mean? by yistaaa

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.