I can't possibly imagine any use of calling my in scalar context

if (my $x = ...) { ... }
open(my $fh, ...)
read(..., my $buf, ...)
my $r = \my $s;

[download]

Perl already has the disadvantage to default to global vars while other languages automatically restrict to a local scope

What language are you talking about? C, C++, Java, JavaScript and VB all require local declarations.

a warning should be emitted when using a my(LIST) in scalar context.

More precisely, my LIST with a list of more than one variables.

Because of its side-effects, my LIST could legitimately be used in scalar context. This job may be more appropriate for a linter (Perl::Critic). But since that use is rare and easy to rewrite (into something clearer), a warning could be appropriate. Feel free to create a ticket (just need to email perlbug@perl.org).

I only looked quickly, but my and friends might be the only builtins to return something of questionable use in scalar context.

In reply to Re^5: why doesn't "my ($a,$b)" return a list? by ikegami
in thread why doesn't "my ($a,$b)" return a list? by LanX

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.