I agree they are both throwing proper warnings, but it's clear there is a difference in "compilation phase warnings" and "runtime warnings". The first example stops the compilation dead in it's tracks because of a syntax error. Wheras the programming error is allowed to pass as long as the syntax is correct.

I think we are arguing over whether the Perl interpreter does a one pass or two pass scan of the code. I guess it only "appears" to do a syntax scan before it cancels the compilation, but I defer to your greater wisdom that it is actually a one pass operation. It seems to the end user that Perl is checking syntax first, and I see your point that it is a misunderstanding on my part, and the syntax scan is only an illusion.