Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!convex!convex.COM
From: tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: Re: The best way to search an array ?
Keywords: detab
Message-ID: <111028@convex.convex.com>
Date: 13 Dec 90 20:47:46 GMT
References: <443@stephsf.stephsf.com> <1990Dec3.035541.24184@agora.uucp> <452@stephsf.stephsf.com>
Sender: news@convex.com
Reply-To: tchrist@convex.COM (Tom Christiansen)
Organization: CONVEX Software Development, Richardson, TX
Lines: 29

From the keyboard of wengland@stephsf.stephsf.com (Bill England):
:sub main'State_Check {
:	local($state) = @_;
:	$state =~ y/a-z/A-Z/;
:
:	return $state            if defined($st_abr{$state});
:	return $st_name{$state}  if defined($st_name{$state});
:	return ();
:}
:

Hmm... shouldn't that last one be:

	return '';  # or return undef

or since explicit returns cost more than implicit ones:

	'';   	    # or undef

The null _scalar_ value in perl is '' (defined) or undef (undefined),
whereas () is an empty list.  It probably will work out ok as is, but it's
one of those scalar/vector confusion things that always make me at least a
little nervous, like saying @x[1] when you mean $x[1].

--tom
--
Tom Christiansen		tchrist@convex.com	convex!tchrist
"With a kernel dive, all things are possible, but it sure makes it hard
 to look at yourself in the mirror the next morning."  -me