This is why it is generally recommended that subroutines should use return with no arguments when the intent is to return a false value --- in scalar context it returns undef, in list context it returns an empty list.

It doe not return undef in scalar context, it still returns the empty list, but that will evaluate to undef. If a sub always returns a single element, it makes no sense to use return without arguments, and return undef is much more explicitly self documenting.

If your sub normally returns a scalar, use an explicit return undef;.
If your sub normally returns a list with more than one element, use an explicit return ();.
If your sub is polymorphic, return without arguments. Or do so explicitly: return wantarray ? () : undef;.

- Yes, I reinvent wheels.
- Spam: Visit eurotraQ.

---

---

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! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

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:
	&		&
	<		&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.