is not Perl4, is perfectly valid Perl5

Yes, it is perfectly valid Perl5. However it is also perfectly valid Perl4 and as afoken points out this chimes with all the rest of the script looking like Perl4 too. I don't have a perl4 installation to hand to test this on but would not be surprised if that's what the script is (or at least how it started out).

Ampersand notation without good reason (such as the exceptions you have correctly quoted from the docs) is very much Perl4-style.

Edited for typo and clarity

In reply to Re^3: Merge log files causing Out of Memory (just a note on ampersand) by hippo
in thread Merge log files causing Out of Memory by malokam

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