I can't see "our" variables from outside the package

didess has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi all ! I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to use "our" variables outside of their defining package without qualifying them by the package name . Example follows. I tried with Perl 5.8.8 on Windows (XP) and AIX (5.3) with the same result. The package (file tryOur.pm):

#!/usr/bin/perl
# -----------------
package tryOur;
our $ExecDir = "/usr/local/bin";
#
1;
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The "caller" :

#!/usr/bin/perl
# ----------------
use tryOur;


printf ("U line  %d: ExecDir=%s\n",__LINE__,$ExecDir);

printf ("U line  %d: ExecDir=%s\n",

        __LINE__,$tryOur::ExecDir);
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The result on the screen:

U line 6: ExecDir=

U line 7: ExecDir=/usr/local/bin
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Why don't i get the value of $ExecDir when not prefixing it with the package name ? I'm sure to do something wrong, but what ? Thanks in advance. Didier

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Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: I can't see "our" variables from outside the package by ikegami (Patriarch) on Aug 23, 2008 at 11:33 UTC
Three problems. 1. Your node is unreadable. Put your code inside of `<c>...</c>`. 2. `our` is lexically scoped. 3. You're not even in the same package anymore, How do you expect Perl to know which package contains the variable if you don't use its full name?	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: I can't see "our" variables from outside the package by moritz (Cardinal) on Aug 23, 2008 at 07:38 UTC
Why don't i get the value of $ExecDir when not prefixing it with the package name ? That's the whole point of packages: they hide stuff, unless you explicitly "unhide" it by either importing it, or by using the full qualified name.	[reply]
Re: I can't see "our" variables from outside the package by GrandFather (Saint) on Aug 23, 2008 at 07:54 UTC
Read perlmod, Exporter and possibly perlmodlib. Perl reduces RSI - it saves typing	[reply]
Re: I can't see "our" variables from outside the package by Anonymous Monk on Aug 23, 2008 at 07:57 UTC
Variables and Scoping Simple Module Tutorial	[reply]


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