skynight is correct that Perl 5 contains some fundamental semantic traps.

It does, but only when you're used to different semantics. Perl was my second programming language, but different enough from BASIC to assume no rule would be the same. I never fell into any of its well known traps. (I tend to get bitten by the more obscure semantics.)

In the same way, HOP says it changes the way you code Perl because it assumes you learned Perl after learning C, or you learned Perl from someone who was familiar with C. For me, this was never true. I'm trained by the logic provided in perldocs, which means that I don't code like a C coder. In fact, I'm almost halway through HOP and although it's a terrific book that I am glad I bought, I still hope to find new ways of coding, because to me, the Perlish way of things feels most natural already.

length(@foo) returning 2 for a 13 element @foo has never surprised me. It was through contact with many beginners (here and in EFnet #perlhelp) that I discovered that this really is a trap for many.

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }

In reply to Re^3: Some Insights from a Traveler Between Languages by Juerd
in thread Some Insights from a Traveler Between Languages by skyknight

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