in reply to Re: return ref is better ?
in thread return ref is better ?

Note that the referenced link discusses prototyping without officially frowning upon it, thus, at least by implication, endorsing it.

It also invokes all of its example subroutines with a  & sigil, another frowned-upon practice. I only spent a couple of minutes reviewing the material, but I got the feeling it is a mixture of good and bad advice, with no way for the novice to tell which is which.