So, undef before I return or check it for definedness before I fill it?

Update: I emptied the two keys before I returned, and it seems to work.

sub random {
  my ($user_input, $list) = @_;
  
  $list->{'all'}  = [ map { @$_ } values %{$list} ];
  $list->{'keys'} = [ grep {$_ !~ /(?:all|keys)/} keys %{$list} ];
  
  my $random_thing;
  if ($user_input && $user_input =~ /(?:help|options)/) {
    $random_thing = 'Your options are: '.join(', ',sort @{$$list{'keys
+'}}).', or all.';
  }
  elsif ($user_input && $user_input =~ /dump/) {
    use Data::Dumper;
    $random_thing = Dumper($list);
  }
  else {
    my $input = $user_input ? $user_input : 'all';
    my @random_list = shuffle(@{$$list{$input}});
    $random_thing = $random_list[rand @random_list];
  }
  
  $list->{'all'} = [];
  $list->{'keys'} = [];
  
  return $random_thing;
}

[download]
No matter how hysterical I get, my problems are not time sensitive. So, relax, have a cookie, and a very nice day!
Lady Aleena

In reply to Re^2: I have a list expanding when I don't want it to by Lady_Aleena
in thread I have a list expanding when I don't want it to by Lady_Aleena

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.