Learning Perl, Fourth Edition

Invoking a Subroutine

Invoke a subroutine from within any expression by using the subroutine name (with the ampersand):^[96]

    &marine;  # says Hello, sailor number 1!
    &marine;  # says Hello, sailor number 2!
    &marine;  # says Hello, sailor number 3!
    &marine;  # says Hello, sailor number 4!

Most often, we refer to the invocation as calling the subroutine.

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^[96] And frequently a pair of parentheses, even if empty. As written, the subroutine inherits the caller’s @_ value, which we’ll be discussing shortly. So don’t stop reading here, or you’ll be writing code with unintended effects.