If you are returning a simple, short list of values, or even a hash, returning the values is probably the best, because it is the simplest.

However, 

   my @values = f(...);        # simple read,
                               # @values is a copy

[download]
or 
   my %hash = f(...);          # hash is also a copy
   my $value = $hash{'value'};

[download]
makes a copy of all values, so if you return a lot of values, you might have some performance issues. In that cast, a reference might be faster.

If you want to return more than one array or arrays and hashes where the returned lengths are unknown, references are your only choice: 

   my (@v1, @v2) = f(...);

[download]
makes @v1 slurp all return values, leaving @v2 empty. Solution, with a few comments: 
   sub f {
      (...)
      return \@v1, \@v2, \%v3; # return 2 array and a hash
                               # reference
   }

   my ($ar1, $ar2, $hr3) = f(); # collect references
   my @ar1 = @{ $ar1 };         # get the first array,
                                # creating a duplicate
   
   foreach (@ {$ar2} ) {...}    # avoid copying the array,
                                # probably more efficient

   my $value = $hr3->{'value'}  # some people find this
                                # notation cumbersome
                                # and avoid references

[download]

In reply to Re: Return value from function by lyklev
in thread Return value from function by perlCrazy

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.