This code:
@perls = (1, 2, 3, 4)
sub foo 
{
  my @foo = @{shift()};
  return join $/, @foo
}
print foo(\@perls)

[download]
Produces the following output: 
one
two
three
four

[download]
however, if i change line 4 to:
my @foo = @{shift};

[download]
no output is produced after running. How exactly is @{shift()} being passed the contents of @_? At the moment this looks like witchcraft to me but I'd really like to know how this works.
Thanks,

In reply to Can someone clarify what's happening here by duranain

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