You should be writing 
$param2 = @_ ? 'Shift' : shift;

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instead of 
@_ ? $param2 = 'Shift' : $param2 = shift;

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But if you want to do what you're doing, you need some parentheses. 
    @_ ? $param3 = "Shift" : ($param3 = shift);

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I don't know what the parsing problem is, exactly, but no doubt someone else has already posted it while I've been composing this. :)
Caution: Contents may have been coded under pressure.

In reply to Re: Confused by Perl ternary operator by Roy Johnson
in thread Confused by Perl ternary operator by newest_newbie

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