In the general case I would prefer an exception to be thrown since I find that leads to better code (for some definition of better :-)

The only situation where I would consider undef to be more appropriate is if the module would normally be used in a context where the constructor would be expected to fail - in which case "failure" isn't "exceptional" and might be clearer presented as normal control flow.

As ever YMMV :-)

In reply to Re: Should a constructor ever return undef? by adrianh
in thread Should a constructor ever return undef? by tall_man

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