I'm off on a tangent of a tangent, not really solving a real problem, but I've come across this oddity and it's really bugging me. In each online example or tutorial for pop() they always use a named array. Is it possible to not do that? Instead of this:

my @odds = (1,3,5,7,9);
print pop(@odds);
[download]

Is there a way to combine that onto one line? I've tried several variations, all of them generate an error, shown in the comments below the code:

use strict;
use warnings;
use v5.30;

#works
my @odds = (1,3,5,7,9);
print pop(@odds);
#9 (no error)


print pop((2,4,6));
# Experimental pop on scalar is now forbidden ... near "))"

print pop(@(2,4,6));
# Number found where operator expected ... near "@(2"
#       (Missing operator before 2?)
# syntax error ... near "@(2"

print pop(@{2,4,6});
# Useless use of a constant (2) in void context ... line 19.
# Useless use of a constant (4) in void context ... line 19.
# Can't use string ("6") as an ARRAY ref while "strict refs" in use ..
+. line 19.
[download]

What's particularly curious is I know I've used the @{} construct before to explicitly define an array, using XML::Simple.

$ErrorResponse = $xml->XMLin($objResponse->content, ForceArray => 1);
@Errors = @{$ErrorResponse->{Errors}};
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I must be missing something, particularly in that first example: print pop((2,4,6)); generates the error "Experimental pop on scalar is now forbidden". However, (2,4,6) clearly isn't a scalar.

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