strict(3pm)						 Perl Programmers Reference Guide					       strict(3pm)

NAME

       strict - Perl pragma to restrict unsafe constructs

SYNOPSIS

	   use strict;

	   use strict "vars";
	   use strict "refs";
	   use strict "subs";

	   use strict;
	   no strict "vars";

DESCRIPTION

       If no import list is supplied, all possible restrictions are assumed.  (This is the safest mode to operate in, but is sometimes too strict
       for casual programming.)  Currently, there are three possible things to be strict about:  "subs", "vars", and "refs".

       "strict refs"
	     This generates a runtime error if you use symbolic references (see perlref).

		 use strict 'refs';
		 $ref = $foo;
		 print $$ref;	     # ok
		 $ref = "foo";
		 print $$ref;	     # runtime error; normally ok
		 $file = "STDOUT";
		 print $file "Hi!";  # error; note: no comma after $file

	     There is one exception to this rule:

		 $bar = &{'foo'};
		 &$bar;

	     is allowed so that "goto &$AUTOLOAD" would not break under stricture.

       "strict vars"
	     This generates a compile-time error if you access a variable that wasn't declared via "our" or "use vars", localized via "my()", or
	     wasn't fully qualified.  Because this is to avoid variable suicide problems and subtle dynamic scoping issues, a merely local() vari-
	     able isn't good enough.  See "my" in perlfunc and "local" in perlfunc.

		 use strict 'vars';
		 $X::foo = 1;	      # ok, fully qualified
		 my $foo = 10;	      # ok, my() var
		 local $foo = 9;      # blows up

		 package Cinna;
		 our $bar;		     # Declares $bar in current package
		 $bar = 'HgS';		     # ok, global declared via pragma

	     The local() generated a compile-time error because you just touched a global name without fully qualifying it.

	     Because of their special use by sort(), the variables $a and $b are exempted from this check.

       "strict subs"
	     This disables the poetry optimization, generating a compile-time error if you try to use a bareword identifier that's not a subrou-
	     tine, unless it appears in curly braces or on the left hand side of the "=>" symbol.

		 use strict 'subs';
		 $SIG{PIPE} = Plumber;	     # blows up
		 $SIG{PIPE} = "Plumber";     # just fine: bareword in curlies always ok
		 $SIG{PIPE} = &Plumber;     # preferred form

       See "Pragmatic Modules" in perlmodlib.

perl v5.8.0							    2002-06-01							       strict(3pm)