As I understand it, when your script is being compiled, the default package (read symbol table?) is main:: until a package statement is processed, at which point a new (default) symbol table is set up.

As the scoping of symbols in imported (use'd) modules is defined by the current default symbol table. Anything use'd before the first package will be aliased in main::, so after the package Mods::Debug statement, you could equally refer to copy() as main::copy() or File::Copy::copy().

The upshot: If you want to use symbols in a package, use them in the package where you want to use them:).

Update:Corrected a couple of typoes. s/Main/main/ and s/File::copy()/File::Copy::copy()/.

In reply to Re: where to use "use" and package by BrowserUk
in thread where to use "use" and package by smackdab

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.