Web Standards Programmer's Reference: HTML, CSS, JavaScript®, Perl, Python®, and PHP

25.3. Basic Perl Syntax

Perl follows a syntax similar to that of the C programming language. Perl syntax can be summed up with a few simple rules:

• With few exceptions, code lines should end with a semicolon (;). Notable exceptions to the semicolon rule are lines that end in a block delimiter ({ or }).

• Blocks of code (usually under control structures such as functions, if statements, and so on) are enclosed in braces ({ and }).

• Explicit declaration of all variables is a good idea, and necessary if using strict data declarations.

• The use of functions to delimit code fragments is recommended and increases the ability to execute those fragments independently from one another. (Functions are discussed in the "User-Defined Functions" section, later in this chapter.)

• Comments can be inserted in Perl code by prefixing the comment with a pound sign (#) or surrounding the comment with /* and */ pairs. In the former case (#), the comment ends at the next line break. Use the latter case for multiline comments.