cosmicperl has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi All,
  I've got a situation and I'm trying to find the right code for it that strict pragma will agree with.
Firstly I have a scalar that will contain either a value or a reference to an array. If it's an array I want it to do one thing. If it's a scalar value I want it to do another. What's the correct way of doing this so I don't get errors?
Secondly How can a make a global variable truely global, so that it will be accessible by all packages without using package::variable.

Thanks again
Lyle
  • Comment on 2 questions about anonymous storage and global variables

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Re: 2 questions about anonymous storage and global variables
by Enlil (Parson) on Jan 13, 2006 at 01:04 UTC
    Firstly I have a scalar that will contain either a value or a reference to an array. If it's an array I want it to do one thing. If it's a scalar value I want it to do another. What's the correct way of doing this so I don't get errors?

    Have a look at ref in the documentation. It has a couple of examples of what you are looking for.

    Secondly How can a make a global variable truely global, so that it will be accessible by all packages without using package::variable.

    You don't. Well sortof, Can you create *real* global variables?

    hth
    -enlil

[reply]
      Thanks that has cleared that up for me. I've read about ref in the past but couldn't for the life of me remember or find on the net. Maybe is should practice some new searching techniques.
[reply]

        For a basic function like that, perlfunc is often a good place to start when the exact function has slipped your mind.

        -xdg

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