Re^2: Memory tip

which means the scalar has lesser space than the array, I know join gets into a string different elements but I did not know that there is a difference in the size when we are talking contexts of scalar and lists...

Comment on Re^2: Memory tip

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Re^3: Memory tip by jrsimmon (Hermit) on Jun 30, 2009 at 17:09 UTC
Yes, they are different data structures and thus will have a different memory footprint. In your example, you are comparing the memory usage of a scalar to the memory usage of a list which contains 4 scalars ($list[0], $list1, $list2, $list3). The point I'm making is that you're comparing apples to oranages... I don't mean to be harsh, but perhaps you should peruse Which bad behaviour most deserves an electric shock? while paying specific attention to Re^2: Which bad behaviour most deserves an electric shock?.	[reply]
Re^3: Memory tip by SuicideJunkie (Vicar) on Jun 30, 2009 at 18:08 UTC
The scalar also contains less information, and the process is NOT generally reversible. It is quite easy to reduce the memory use when your algorithm is allowed to be lossy :) For example, consider `my @array = (1, 5, "hello,world!", 3.1415);` There is no way to restore the original array after doing a `join ',',@array` on it. `"1,5,hello,world!,3.1415"` could have been `(1, 5, "hello,world!", 3.1415)` or it could have been `(1, 5, "hello", "world!", 3.1415)`.	[reply] [d/l] [select]