This code:
>>>
my $ref = {'eggs' => 'bacon'};
print $ref->{eggs}, "\n";
print $ref, "\n"; # prints $ref as a hex number
print ($ref)->{eggs}, "aaaaaaaaaa\n"; # also prints $ref as hex number (why?)
>>>
outputs:
>>>
bacon
HASH(0x176f054)
HASH(0x176f054)
>>>
on both perl 5.005_03 for UNIX, and ActivePerl 5.6.0 build 623.
Am I reading it wrong? It seems like
$ref->{eggs}
and
($ref)->{eggs}
ought to look the same when printed, but they don't. "->" requires a left
operand, so it ought to remove any ambiguity about what the line means.
There are times when you'd need the latter form, such as when a reference
is obtained by a function call, as in this code:
>>>
sub ReturnRef
{
my $ref = {};
$ref->{eggs} = 'bacon';
return $ref;
}
print (ReturnRef)->{eggs};
>>>
which looks to me like it ought to print "bacon", but actually prints
HASH(0x176f054).
You *can* do the following:
>>>
sub ReturnRef
{
my $ref = {};
$ref->{eggs} = 'bacon';
return $ref;
}
print ((ReturnRef)->{eggs});
>>>
and this will print "bacon" instead of "HASH(0x176f054)", since apparently
the parentheses around "(ReturnRef)->{eggs}" make it work. But it doesn't
seem like they should be necessary.
And in any case, how come
print ($ref)->{eggs}, "aaaaaaaaaa\n";
doesn't print out the "aaaaaaaaaa\n" at the end, just the hex hash value?
Is this a specific case of some general source of confusion that is
addressed in a FAQ?
-Bennett
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.peacefire.org
(425) 649 9024
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