There is a difference: 

$\ = "\n";

my $s = 'abcdefghij';
$s =~ /def/;
print $&;                                # def
print substr($s, $-[0], $+[0] - $-[0]);  # def

$s = '1234567890';
print $&;                                # def
print substr($s, $-[0], $+[0] - $-[0]);  # 456

[download]

Does it matter? Maybe. Switching could break existing code.

In reply to Re: Can we make $& better? by ikegami
in thread Can we make $& better? by TedYoung

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