in reply to Has Perl gone completely insane on me?

When you use & and no arguments, @_ is preserved.

sub func { print(scalar(@_), $/); }

@_ = qw(a b c);

&func;        # 3
func();       # 0
func;         # 0

&func(1, 2);  # 2
func(1, 2);   # 2
func 1, 2;    # 2

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There's rarely any need to use the ampersand notation. I think you shouldn't use it unless necessary.

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Re^2: Has Perl gone completely insane on me?
by ysth (Canon) on Jan 06, 2005 at 07:24 UTC
    There's rarely any need to use the ampersand notation. I think you shouldn't use it unless necessary.
    Some people feel more comfortable using &. It leads to less action at a distance (where perl parses differently depending on whether it's already seen a sub declaration). But if you do choose to use &, always use () with it.
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