1st & 4th, my favourite one BTW, are much easier on the eyes.

There is one more variation ...

some_function
(
  some_variable , some_other_variable , and_yet_another_variable
, and_one_more_for , luck
)
[download]

Ug :) I really hate that. I see no benefit in spaces both sides of the commas, or breaking the open paren away from the function name. And if you have to break the params across lines, at least balance their lengths :)

some_function(
    some_variable, some_other_variable, 
    and_yet_another_variable, and_one_more_for, luck
);
[download]

That's not so bad for simple (void) calls as, but when you're retrieving data and checking you get something like

if( some_return_value = some_function( 
    some_variable, some_other_variable, 
    and_yet_another_variable, and_one_more_for, 
    luck ) ) {
    // do some stuff here with some_return_value 
} else {
   // report or otherwise handle the error 
}
[download]

It's just a mess.The best I've come up with for this is

if( 
    some_return_value = some_function( 
        some_variable, some_other_variable, 
        and_yet_another_variable, and_one_more_for, luck 
    )
) {
    // do some stuff here with some_return_value 
} 
else {
   // report or otherwise handle the error 
}
[download]

Which ain't great, but is better than most alternatives to my eyes.

And much better still is

if( someRv = fSome( some, oSome, AYAnother, OneMoreFor, luck )) {
    // do some stuff here with someRv 
} 
else {
   // report or otherwise handle the error 
}
[download]

With the point being that whilst ths abbreviated variable names don't immediately make much sense, by the time a programmer has got familiar enough with the code to consider making changes, they will.

---

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.

"Too many [] have been sedated by an oppressive environment of political correctness and risk aversion."

Even more vertical.

And you're always going to get all those args in the right order? I know I wouldn't.

# round em up...
my $args = { # no need to worry about the order
  arg1 => $some_variable, 
  arg2 => $some_other_variable, 
  arg3 => $and_yet_another_variable, 
  arg4 => $and_one_more_for,
  arg5 => $luck,
  arg6 => some_other_function(),
  arg7 => $maybe_a_variable or $default,
};

# ...and herd em in
my $some_return_value = some_function($args);

if($some_return_value) {
    # do some stuff here with some_return_value 
    # and if there are more than a few lines
    # I'd consider another sub
} 
else { # and don't cuddle your else
   # report or otherwise handle the error 
   # in another sub :-)
}

sub some_function {
  my ($args) = @_;
  # no need to worry about the order here either
}
[download]

I should point out I'm presently having terrible trouble debugging an app (that I'm writing). It gets more vertical by the day! :-)

if( 
    some_return_value = some_function( 
        some_variable, some_other_variable, 
        and_yet_another_variable, and_one_more_for, luck 
    )
) {
    // do some stuff here with some_return_value 
} 
else {
   // report or otherwise handle the error 
}
[download]

My take on it is pretty close, I just see OK to open more than one paren in a line (and hence close them all in the same line):

if (some_return_value = some_function (
    some_variable, some_other_variable,
    and_yet_another_variable, and_one_more_for, luck
)) {
    // do some stuff here with some_return_value 
} else {
   // report or otherwise handle the error 
}
[download]

There is one more variation

Only one?

some_function
(
    some_variable            ,
    some_other_variable      ,
    and_yet_another_variable ,
    and_one_more_for         ,
    luck                     ,
)


some_function
(
    some_variable
,
    some_other_variable
,
    and_yet_another_variable
,
    and_one_more_for
,
    luck
)
[download]

A word spoken in Mind will reach its own level, in the objective world, by its own weight

Of course; I did not claim the posted version as "'only|sole|last' one variation" (but "a variation").

Problem with your first variation -- for that matter, any other code in which things are aligned along the columns -- is that aligning commas for short varaibles like "luck" is too much effort. (Second one is just ridiculous overkill.)

(I was hoping not to contribute anything (as I do not have much to say about brain d foy's points) but I was suckered in anyway.)

some_function(some_variable, 
              some_other_variable, 
              and_yet_another_variable,
              and_one_more_for, 
              luck);
[download]

...getting better...

some_function( filename  => $some_variable,
               address   => $some_other_variable,
               amount    => $and_yet_another_variable,
               phone_num => $and_one_more_for, 
               diameter  => $luck );
[download]

And that bites when you want to cut the first or last, or paste another first or last, argument. I prefer the args on separate lines, and indenting a normal (4 or whatever the standard) number of spaces.