passing an array

[Mike Blezien]

Hello,

what is the best way to pass an array to a sub routine,
IE.

my @fields = qw(one two three);

send_array(@fields);


sub send_array {
my @ary = @_;
# do stuff here....
}

is this the most effective way to pass an array to sub
routine or is there a better way to do this.

thx's

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Mike<mickalo>Blezien
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[James Edward Gray II]

On Dec 9, 2003, at 8:49 PM, Mike Blezien wrote:

> Hello,
>
> what is the best way to pass an array to a sub routine,
> IE.
>
> my @fields = qw(one two three);
>
> send_array(@fields);
>
>
> sub send_array {
> my @ary = @_;
> # do stuff here....
> }
>
> is this the most effective way to pass an array to sub routine or is
> there a better way to do this.

That depends on how you define "effective". The way you showed is the
easiest. References are probably better in some respects though, if
you don't mind the complications:

my @array = qw(1 2 3);
my @other_array = qw(dog cat pig);

send_array(\@array, \@other_array);

sub send_array {
my($nums, $anims) = @_;
# do stuff with references here, for example

print $nums->[1], ' ', $anims->[2], "\n"; # prints "2 pig"
}

Hope that helps.

James

[Mike Blezien]

Thanks James,

passing as a reference was basically what I was trying to
recall,.... your example made that clear :)



--
Mike<mickalo>Blezien
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Thunder Rain Internet Publishing
Providing Internet Solutions that work!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

James Edward Gray II wrote:

> On Dec 9, 2003, at 8:49 PM, Mike Blezien wrote:
>

>> Hello,
>>
>> what is the best way to pass an array to a sub routine,
>> IE.
>>
>> my @fields = qw(one two three);
>>
>> send_array(@fields);
>>
>>
>> sub send_array {
>> my @ary = @_;
>> # do stuff here....
>> }
>>
>> is this the most effective way to pass an array to sub routine or is
>> there a better way to do this.

>
>
> That depends on how you define "effective". The way you showed is the
> easiest. References are probably better in some respects though, if you
> don't mind the complications:
>
> my @array = qw(1 2 3);
> my @other_array = qw(dog cat pig);
>
> send_array(\@array, \@other_array);
>
> sub send_array {
> my($nums, $anims) = @_;
> # do stuff with references here, for example
>
> print $nums->[1], ' ', $anims->[2], "\n"; # prints "2 pig"
> }
>
> Hope that helps.
>
> James
>
>
>

[Bob Showalter]

Mike Blezien wrote:

> Hello,
>
> what is the best way to pass an array to a sub routine, IE.

You can't pass an array to a sub. You can only pass a list of scalars.

>
> my @fields = qw(one two three);
>
> send_array(@fields);
>
>
> sub send_array {
> my @ary = @_;

Whatever you passed ends up in @_. There's no way for the sub to know how
this data was passed, if it matters.

> # do stuff here....
> }
>
> is this the most effective way to pass an array to sub
> routine or is there a better way to do this.

If your sub just needs a list of values, what you've done is fine. If your
sub somehow needs to know about the @fields array, perhaps to modify it or
add or remove elements, you have to pass an array reference. Then you
manipulate the array via the reference inside the sub.