Synopsis

return expr
                  

Returns from a subroutine (or eval) with the value of expr. (In the absence of an explicit return, the value of the last expression evaluated is returned.) Use of return outside of a subroutine or eval will result in a fatal error.

The supplied expression will be evaluated in the context of the subroutine invocation. That is, if the subroutine was called in a scalar context, expr is also evaluated in scalar context. If the subroutine was invoked in a list context, then expr is also evaluated in list context and can return a list value. A return with no argument returns the undefined value in scalar context and a null list in list context. The context of the subroutine call can be determined from within the subroutine by using the (misnamed) wantarray function.