Howdy :)

I have a piece of code that looks like this: 

    $send_flag  =   $bbstatus ne $last_bbstatus                ? 1
                :   ($now - $last_send_time) > $min_frequency ? 1
                :   defined($OPTS::opts{f})                           
+   ? 1
                :                                                     
+                    0;

[download]
Basically, it just sets a flag (or not) if any one of multiple conditions are met. It seems to work fine as I have it, but I now find that I need to extend it so that a message is presented to the user, indicating which condition was met. I'm trying to avoid a series of if/elsif's, so my initial thought was to do something like: 
    $send_flag  =   $bbstatus ne $last_bbstatus                ? 1
                :   ($now - $last_send_time) > $min_frequency ? 2
                :   defined($OPTS::opts{f})                           
+   ? 3
                :                                                     
+                   10;

[download]
And then.... 
    my %send_messages = (
            1  => "Status has changed",
            2  => "Last send too old",
            3  => "Forced send requested",
            10 => "No changes"
            );

[download]

However, the above seems a bit unsightly, and I'm wondering if this is a situation where a dispatch table would be appropriate? And if so, how would this be structured? (I don't have any experience with dispatch tables, and although I've read a few related threads here and here, I'm afraid I'm having trouble grasping exactly when they are appropriate and how they are constructed).

Appreciate any advice.

Thanks,
Darren :)

In reply to Is a Dispatch Table appropriate here? by McDarren

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