the subroutine checks $_[0] for both a
range check (in the correct numerical range) and
format check (in the correct string format)
and I need to do this a bunch of times,
in a bunch of different locations,
so I wanted to make it as simple as possible. i.e.:
validate($value);
heres a watered down version of the subroutine.
sub validate
{
my $val=$_[0];
die "bad range" if ($val>100);
$_[0]=sprintf("%02d", $val);
}
when I call
validate('02');
it dies, even though its a good value.
I suppose I can make the script smarter
so that it sprintf's to $_[0] only if
the string format is not correct.
then it will only die if the format is
bad and it can't correct it.
sub validate
{
my $val=$_[0];
die "bad range" if ($val>100);
my $format = sprintf("%02d", $val);
unless( $format eq $val )
{
eval (
$_[0]=$format;
);
die "bad format on read only value\n" if $@;
}
}
then, if I say
validate('02');
it won't complain.
but if I say
validate('2');
it will die on the read-only problem.
not sure if the eval block is the best way
to trap on read-only parameters. but it'll do
for now.
thanks everyone.
Greg
