=over =item wantarray Returns true if the context of the currently executing subroutine is looking for a list value. Returns false if the context is looking for a scalar. Returns the undefined value if the context is looking for no value (void context). return unless defined wantarray; # don't bother doing more my @a = complex_calculation(); return wantarray ? @a : "@a"; This function should have been named wantlist() instead. =back