if ($rc=$ref->getc!~/./) { ... }
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won't work because the !~ binds tighter than the "="...

So? That's what parens are for:

   if (( $rc = $ref->getc ) !~ /./ ) { ... }
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I like parens -- they're Good Things. But the first reply was right: since you're using getc, you should just test for the return value being defined:

   if ( defined( $rc = $ref->getc )) { ... }
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