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in reply to Re^2: 'require/use' scoping ("scope")
in thread 'require/use' scoping

Package variables are visible throughout the entire program. They have no scope. Don't confuse the default package with a scope. A default package doesn't limit the extent or effect of a variable. To use "scope" in that sense only confuses people and makes the word useless. In your sense, you could also talk about the "scope" of hash keys. It's not a useful concept when you extend it like that, and that's not it's meaning when you're talking Perl.

local has nothing to do with the scope of the variable. It deals with the value of the variable during a lexical scope (but not within a lexical scope), and only works on package variables. The variable's value is available outside of its lexical scope (as in subroutines and so on).

See the entry for package in perlfunc for details.

Update: Tye, think what you like, but Perl isn't Wikipedia. When you talk about (Update: variable) scope in Perl, the time it makes any sense is in lexical scoping. Any other use of the concept is just wanking. It's not my personal definition: it's how it's used in the Perl documentation, which doesn't have any other (Update: variable) scope to talk about. Despite you're repeated claim about a package variable being scoped, it's just not true. It's always available everywhere in the program. The small matter of syntax about referencing it doesn't matter. As for what local does, don't conflate how it does it behind the scenes with what the feature is. You might also want to read Dominus's Coping with Scoping".

--
brian d foy <brian@stonehenge.com>
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