What are best practices for working with my vs our vs local?

When working in Perl or any programming language, variables that hold data can often be categorized as local, my, or our. Understanding the best practices for using these variable scopes can help maintain code clarity and avoid potential issues.

my Variables

The my keyword is used to declare variables that are lexically scoped. This means that the variable is only accessible within the block of code where it is declared. Using my is generally recommended to avoid variable name clashes and maintain encapsulation.

our Variables

The our keyword is used for package variables, allowing a variable to be accessed across different files or packages. It is recommended to use our when you need to share data within a package but aim to limit its scope as much as possible.

local Variables

The local keyword temporarily backs up the value of a global variable and allows it to be modified within a scope. This is useful when you want to temporarily change a variable but restore its original value afterward. Use it with caution, as it can lead to hard-to-trace bugs.

Best Practices

• Use my for variables that are only needed within a specific subroutine or block.
• Use our for shared variables across multiple packages, keeping their usage to a minimum.
• Use local sparingly and only when necessary to prevent unexpected behavior.