FAQ 6.22 What's wrong with using grep in a void context?
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From: PerlFAQ Server on 15 May 2010 18:00 This is an excerpt from the latest version perlfaq6.pod, which comes with the standard Perl distribution. These postings aim to reduce the number of repeated questions as well as allow the community to review and update the answers. The latest version of the complete perlfaq is at http://faq.perl.org . -------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.22: What's wrong with using grep in a void context? The problem is that grep builds a return list, regardless of the context. This means you're making Perl go to the trouble of building a list that you then just throw away. If the list is large, you waste both time and space. If your intent is to iterate over the list, then use a for loop for this purpose. In perls older than 5.8.1, map suffers from this problem as well. But since 5.8.1, this has been fixed, and map is context aware - in void context, no lists are constructed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- The perlfaq-workers, a group of volunteers, maintain the perlfaq. They are not necessarily experts in every domain where Perl might show up, so please include as much information as possible and relevant in any corrections. The perlfaq-workers also don't have access to every operating system or platform, so please include relevant details for corrections to examples that do not work on particular platforms. Working code is greatly appreciated. If you'd like to help maintain the perlfaq, see the details in perlfaq.pod. |