The eval function with quoted argument traps compile errors. You can examine the error messages in the perlvar $@. No other special magic is needed. This is not true of eval BLOCK.

Update: <shrug>If you want to avoid runtime on your eval string, just wrap it in a conditional:

$ 
$ perl -Mstrict -e'$_="printed\n";my$foo=q(print);eval"if(\$^C){$foo}"
+;print $@ if $@' -- #no compile or run error
$ 
$ perl -Mstrict -e'$_="printed\n";my$foo=q(quux);eval"if(\$^C){$foo}";
+print $@ if $@' -- # compile error
Bareword "quux" not allowed while "strict subs" in use at (eval 1) lin
+e 1.
$ 
$ perl -Mstrict -e'$_="printed\n";my$foo=q(&quux);eval"if(\$^C){$foo}"
+;print $@ if $@' -- # runtime error 
$ 
$ perl -Mstrict -e '$_="printed\n";my$foo=q(print);eval"$foo";print $@
+ if $@' -- # conditional removed, no errors
printed
$

[download]
I used $^C, the compile-time flag, for cli convenience, but some $debug would do as well.

After Compline,
Zaxo

In reply to Re: syntax check from within perl by Zaxo
in thread syntax check from within perl by Anonymous Monk

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.