&NAME;         # Makes current @_ visible to called subroutine.
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A subroutine may be called using an explicit "&" prefix. The "&" is optional in modern Perl, as are parentheses if the subroutine has been predeclared. The "&" is not optional when just naming the subroutine, such as when it's used as an argument to defined() or undef(). Nor is it optional when you want to do an indirect subroutine call with a subroutine name or reference using the "&$subref()" or "&{$subref}()" constructs, although the "$subref->()" notation solves that problem. See perlref for more about all that.

Subroutines may be called recursively. If a subroutine is called using the "&" form, the argument list is optional, and if omitted, no @_ array is set up for the subroutine: the @_ array at the time of the call is visible to subroutine instead. This is an efficiency mechanism that new users may wish to avoid.

    &foo(1,2,3);        # pass three arguments
    foo(1,2,3);         # the same

    foo();              # pass a null list
    &foo();             # the same

    &foo;               # foo() get current args, like foo(@_) !!
    foo;                # like foo() IFF sub foo predeclared, else "
foo"
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Not only does the "&" form make the argument list optional, it also disables any prototype checking on arguments you do provide. This is partly for historical reasons, and partly for having a convenient way to cheat if you know what you're doing. See Prototypes below.

So, two points with '&' here: 1) propagates @_ implicitly, 2) bypasses prototype checking. If any of them is what you want, using '&' is fine; else not.

--shmem

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                              /\_¯/(q    /
----------------------------  \__(m.====·.(_("always off the crowd"))."·
");sub _{s./.($e="'Itrs `mnsgdq Gdbj O`qkdq")=~y/"-y/#-z/;$e.e && print}