jdhedden,
This idiom can bite viciously. This will assign the value of whatever() to $something if it has a false value. A false value doesn't necessarily mean undefined. Future Perl's will have a //= operator which means "defined or" but without a patch, if a defined but false value is valid - you need to write this more like $something = whatever() if ! defined $something

This is likely a good case to comment since when debugging having a reminder that defined false values may be overwritten.

Cheers - L~R

See What is truth? (Curiosity corner) for more details

In reply to Re^2: Which is your favourite cmt-deserving Perl feature? by Limbic~Region
in thread Which is your favourite cmt-deserving Perl feature? by blazar

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