I am trying to neaten up a code smippet in the following style:

my $str = "a load of constant stuff...";
$str .= "optional bit in the middle " if $option;
$str .= "loads more stuff";
[download]

now this goes on in the same vein for a while, with a whole heap of variable interpolation and $str is in fact a messy looking array dereference.

In the process of making this more readable, I have written

my $str = "a load of constant stuff...";
        . ($option ? "optional bit in the middle " : undef);
        . "loads more stuff";
[download]

I don't like the look of that 'undef' in the middle of there, but if I change the bit in parentheses for  ( "optional bit in the middle" if $option ) I get a syntax error.

What idiom is there to make this clearer and more readable?

-- iakobski

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