modifying module variables?

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

Oh, ye hallowed possessors of divine Perl wisdom...

I need to ask about modifying my variables defined in another module.

Assuming the following module:

package MODPERL::SausageGrinder;
my $foo;
[download]

Within my code, I attempt the following:

use MODPERL::SausageGrinder;
$MODPERL::SausageGrinder::foo = 1;
[download]

Yet when debugging, foo is later used within a subroutine defined within the SausageGrinder module. There, I'm seeing that foo is not set as I did within my code (calling module).

Is it possible to modify my variables within another module thy lowly newbie humbly asks?

Comment on modifying module variables? Select or Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: modifying module variables? by ikegami (Patriarch) on May 29, 2009 at 19:27 UTC
No. `my $foo;` is a different variable than another `my $foo;`, and it's a different variable than package variable `$any::package::foo`. You could use `our` instead of `my` to access the package variable without using its full name. `package MODPERL::SausageGrinder; $MODPERL::SausageGrinder::foo = "bar"; our $foo; # Associates $foo with $MODPERL::SausageGrinder::foo print $foo; # bar` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: modifying module variables? by DStaal (Chaplain) on May 29, 2009 at 19:30 UTC
Given this is Perl, I expect there is some way to do it... But why? The whole point of these modules is to maintain that separation you are trying to break: It makes for easier to maintain, and less buggy, code. Trying to get around it should usually be the absolute last resort. (After even copy-pasting the module's code into a new module and writing an interface to do whatever it is you are trying.) Please, explain what you are trying to do. I'll bet we can find a better way than modifying another package's private variables.	[reply]
Re: modifying module variables? by Perlbotics (Archbishop) on May 29, 2009 at 19:42 UTC
Maybe this comes close to what you want without changing too much? `use strict; package MODPERL::SausageGrinder; my $foo = 0; sub printfoo { print "foo is $foo\n"; } sub setfoo { $foo = shift; } package MAIN; MODPERL::SausageGrinder::printfoo; MODPERL::SausageGrinder::setfoo(42); MODPERL::SausageGrinder::printfoo; # prints: # foo is 0 # foo is 42` [download] However, as DStaal already suggested, there is probably a better way... described in the tutorials OO-Section...	[reply] [d/l]