Of course. So don't do that.

Declare an array, and pass a reference.

I also prefer to use

sub arrayManip {
    our @a;
    local *a = shift;
    # do stuff with @a
}

my @array = (...);

arrayManip( \@array );
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But you doubtless consider that too "complex".

But you doubtless consider that too "complex".

I consider it a silly micro-optimization, because the programs I write tend to do IO. (And did you benchmark the cost of accessing the symbol table versus a lexical variable?)

I consider it a silly micro-optimization, ... And did you benchmark the cost of accessing the symbol table versus a lexical variable?

I don't prefer it for performance. I prefer it for the simplified syntax.

Most of my programs do IO also. Usually a few seconds at the beginning and the end. In between they do lots of cpu-intensive stuff. Often many hours of it. So, for your delectation:

#! perl -slw
use strict;
use Benchmark qw[ cmpthese ];


sub deref {
    my $r = shift;
    ++$r->[$_][1] for 0..$#$r;
}

sub alias {
    our @a;
    local *a = shift;
    ++$a[$_][1] for 0 .. $#a
}

my @a = map[1..3],1..1e6;;

cmpthese -1, {
    deref => sub { deref( \@a ) },
    alias => sub { alias( \@a ) },
};

__END__
c:\test>junk5
        Rate deref alias
deref 4.16/s    --  -12%
alias 4.72/s   13%    --
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So 8 minutes saved on each hour. 3 hours over a day.

BTW: If you'd called your "Modern Perl" movement, "Beginner's Perl", I wouldn't have a problem with it. Well, if you also dropped the justifictions and stuck with the facts.

---

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

RIP an inspiration; A true Folk's Guy