Great response, by the way, Jeff -- I wish I'd read this 3 years ago...
- Bryan
> On Jul 21, Brent Clark said:
>
>> I have the following code:
>>
>> ($fileName) = ($_ =~ /regexcode/o);
>>
>> Which gives me the correct data.
>
>> But if I make it like so (note the () missing around the variable):
>>
>> $fileName = ($_ =~ /regexcode/o);
>>
>> Whats the difference.
>
> The difference is the context. A pattern match returns different values
> depending on whether it was called in scalar context or list context. In
> scalar context, a pattern match returns whether or not it was able to
> match. In list context, the pattern match returns the capture groups:
>
> $x = "japhy" =~ /(.)...(.)/; # $x = 1
> ($x) = "japhy" =~ /(.)...(.)/; # $x = 'j'
> @x = "japhy" =~ /(.)...(.)/; # @x = ('j', 'y')
>
> By placing parentheses on the left-hand side of an = operation, you're
> creating a list of values (even if it's one, or even zero values).
>
> If the pattern match has the /g modifier on it (for global matching), the
> context changes how it behaves as well.
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