It's important to note that arrays and lists are not equivalent. With regards to  (caller 0)[3] and (localtime)[5]+1900 the parentheses are forcing the evaluation of the list like an array. Lists, which are usually diagramed as  (LIST) in Perl can be subscripted like a normal array. However, to do so the a slice syntax is used, which takes the form  @result/$result = ( LIST ) [ LIST ];. The parens are used to avoid ambiguity. Merlyn could further clarify.

Thus, 
my $scalar= ( EXPR )[0];

[download]
is the rough equivalent of: 
my $scalar;
{
  my @expr = EXPR();
  $scalar = @expr[0]; # or $expr[0];
}

[download]

Gyan Kapur

In reply to Re: Questions about context by Revelation
in thread Questions about context by Anonymous Monk

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