A quick beginner's question from a non-beginner:

Is it always okay to return a value from a routine that is sometimes called in a void context?

For example, take this classic from the cookbook: 

sub name {
    my $self = shift;
    if (@_) { $self->{NAME} = shift } 
    return $self->{NAME};
}

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Is there a reason it would be better written as: 
sub name {
    my $self = shift;
    if (@_) { $self->{NAME} = shift } 
    return $self->{NAME} if defined wantarray;
}

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Of course there may be specific cases where I'd want to avoid returning a value in a void context, but this question is under the "general rule" category. Is there a problem with returning a value in a void context?

In reply to OK to always return a value? by doran

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