"Simple" regex advice (possibly '/' causing an issue?)

[Purl Gurl]

Ian.H wrote:

(snipped)

> my $scan_results = `$scan_command $scan_path`;

> $scan_results =~ s#.*Switches: -ARCHIVE -PACKED
> -COLLECT\n\n(.*)\n\nResults of virus scanning:.*#$1#s;

> if (m#^$scan_path(.*?)->(.*)\s+Infection:\s+(.*)$#) {
> ($user,$attachment, $infection) = ($1, $2, $3);

> Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at ./mail_scan.pl line 13

You are trying to use Perl's $_ but it does not exist, for your context.

if (m#^$scan_path ....

if ($scan_results =~ m#^$scan_path ....


It is a good practice to always use explicit variable names
even when $_ is used invisibly. You have fallen into this
pitfall of thinking $_ is there, is defined. It is not.

Use explicit variable names always and you won't encounter
this problem of "shortcut pitfalls."


Purl Gurl

[Purl Gurl]

Purl Gurl wrote:

> Ian.H wrote:

(snipped)

> > Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at ./mail_scan.pl line 13

> You are trying to use Perl's $_ but it does not exist, for your context.

> if (m#^$scan_path ....

> if ($scan_results =~ m#^$scan_path ....

> It is a good practice to always use explicit variable names
> even when $_ is used invisibly. You have fallen into this
> pitfall of thinking $_ is there, is defined. It is not.

Below is an example of what you are experiencing.

Should you try to print regex numerical variables
immediately after line 8 matching, warnings will
generate three "uninitialized value" messages.
Other subsequent code which relies on your malformed
match operator, will also generate the same message,
leading you to believe an error exists elsewhere.

Use explicit variable names to avoid this pitfall.


Purl Gurl
--

#!perl -w

our ($variable, $user, $attachment, $infection);

$variable = "Test One Here";

## LINE 8 NEXT:
if (m#^(T\w+) (\w*) (\w*)#)
{ ($user,$attachment, $infection) = ($1, $2, $3); }

if ($variable =~ m#^(T\w+) (\w*) (\w*)#)
{ ($user,$attachment, $infection) = ($1, $2, $3); }

print "Match Out: $1 $2 $3";


PRINTED RESULTS:
________________

Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at test.pl line 8.
Match Out: Test One Here

[Brian McCauley]

"Ian.H [dS]" <ian@WINDOZEdigiserv.net> writes:

> Evening all =)

Due to the propagation delays of Usenet, the timezone differences in
an international forum and the fact that most people only read
newsgroups a couple of times a day it is totally unsafe to assume that
it is evening to all. :-)

> #!/usr/bin/perl

[ snip 11 lines of code that doesn't do anything that would set $_ ]

> if (m#^$scan_path(.*?)->(.*)\s+Infection:\s+(.*)$#) {

> Use of uninitialized value in pattern match (m//) at ./mail_scan.pl line
> 13

Well, you've done nothing to set $_ (so it'll be undef) then you do a
m// with no =~ (so it'll act on $_, which, as I said, is undef).

--
\\ ( )
. _\\__[oo
.__/ \\ /\@
. l___\\
# ll l\\
###LL LL\\