The part that I'm not quite sure about is the distinction between these two: 
# Doesn't work
sort \&numeric @list;

# Works
my $sorter = \&numeric; 
sort $sorter @list;

[download]
I know that the first example would work if I used numeric instead of \&numeric - but why does \&numeric not also work?

I'm playing with a module that defines a set of common sort patterns, and provides methods that return coderefs that implement the pattern that was requested.

For example, sorting a list of hashes based on the value of a user specified key. The custom implementation would be something like: 

sub sort_hashkey($$) {
    my ($a,$b) = @_;
    $a->{foo} <=> $b->{foo};
}

my @sorted = sort_hashkey @list;

[download]
My module provides this: 
my $sorter = sorthash_numeric('foo');
my @sorted = sort $sorter @list;

[download]
It would be nice, but not neccesary, to do this: 
my @sorted = sort sorthash_alpha('foo') @list;

[download]

In reply to Re^2: Is it possible to sort using a coderef, without first storing the coderef in a scalar by imp
in thread Is it possible to sort using a coderef, without first storing the coderef in a scalar by imp

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.