in reply to why doesn't "my ($a,$b)" return a list?

On a side note, as of v5.12, the each(), keys(), and values() functions now operate on arrays, which might be what you are looking for. Here is an example:

#!perl
use strict;
use warnings;
use feature qw(:5.12);

my @array = 'a' .. 'g';
while( my( $index, $value ) = each @array ) {
    say "$index -> $value";
}

__END__
0 -> a
1 -> b
2 -> c
3 -> d
4 -> e
5 -> f
6 -> g

[download]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: why doesn't "my ($a,$b)" return a list?
by LanX (Saint) on Aug 20, 2010 at 12:39 UTC
    Yes indeed!!!

    Excellent, thx for showing :)

    (I was already wondering why it's not implemented this way)

    BUT just recently I got bitten by trying to nest two while (each ) on the same hash, because the iteration-pointer is tied to the hash... :(

    Cheers Rolf

[reply]
[d/l]
      just recently I got bitten by trying to nest two while (each ) on the same hash, because the iteration-pointer is tied to the hash
      If you do not change the hash in the loop, you can use your own iterator like that: 
      sub hash_iterator {
  my %h = @_;
  return sub {
    each %h;
  }
} # make_iterator

my %test = (k1 => 'v1',
            k2 => 'v2',
            k3 => 'v3',
           'k-last' => 'v-last');

my $it1 = hash_iterator(%test);
my $it2 = hash_iterator(%test);
while(<>){
  print join ':',($it1->())[0,1];
  print ';',join ':',($it2->())[0,1];
  print ' - ',join ':',($it2->())[0,1];
  print "\n";
}

      [download]
[reply]
[d/l]
        sure, but thats why I was writing my own enumerator function.

        by supplying the variables as arguments I can naturally bind the iterator to them without the need to generate extra interators.

         while( enum @a => state($value,$index) ) {...}

        Actually an extra option for "each" to work like flip-flop would be the best solution.

        Cheers Rolf

[reply]
[d/l]
Re^2: why doesn't "my ($a,$b)" return a list?
by LanX (Saint) on Aug 20, 2010 at 21:38 UTC
    > keys(), and values() functions now operate on arrays,

    are you sure? I was only able to find each in perldelta ...

    can't test it myself!

    Cheers Rolf

[reply]
[d/l]

      Yes, it is mentioned in the perlfunc manpage under keys and values. Strange that is not in perldelta.

      Update: Link fixed.

[reply]
        Thx!

        the necessity use feature qw(:5.12); isn't documented either.

        see feature

        could you plz check if it works without it?

        Cheers Rolf

[reply]
[d/l]

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom