strict(3perl) Perl Programmers Reference Guide strict(3perl)
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
The "strict" pragma disables certain Perl expressions that could behave
unexpectedly or are difficult to debug, turning them into errors. The
effect of this pragma is limited to the current file or scope block.
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
was neither explicitly declared (using any of "my", "our",
"state", or "use vars") nor fully qualified. (Because this is to
avoid variable suicide problems and subtle dynamic scoping issues,
a merely "local" variable isn't good enough.) See "my" in
perlfunc, "our" in perlfunc, "state" in perlfunc, "local" in
perlfunc, and vars.
use strict 'vars';
$X::foo = 1; # ok, fully qualified
my $foo = 10; # ok, my() var
local $baz = 9; # blows up, $baz not declared before
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
subroutine, unless it is a simple identifier (no colons) and that
it appears in curly braces, on the left hand side of the "=>"
symbol, or has the unary minus operator applied to it.
use strict 'subs';
$SIG{PIPE} = Plumber; # blows up
$SIG{PIPE} = "Plumber"; # fine: quoted string is always ok
$SIG{PIPE} = \&Plumber; # preferred form
See "Pragmatic Modules" in perlmodlib.
HISTORY
"strict 'subs'", with Perl 5.6.1, erroneously permitted to use an
unquoted compound identifier (e.g. "Foo::Bar") as a hash key (before
"=>" or inside curlies), but without forcing it always to a literal
string.
Starting with Perl 5.8.1 strict is strict about its restrictions: if
unknown restrictions are used, the strict pragma will abort with
Unknown 'strict' tag(s) '...'
As of version 1.04 (Perl 5.10), strict verifies that it is used as
"strict" to avoid the dreaded Strict trap on case insensitive file
systems.
Beginning with Perl 5.12, use of "use VERSION" (where VERSION >= 5.11.0)
now lexically enables strictures just like "use strict" (in addition to
the normal "use VERSION" effects and features.) In other words, "use
v5.011" or higher now implies "use strict" automatically, as noted in
"Implicit strictures" in perl5120delta and "use VERSION".
perl v5.40.1 2026-08-30 strict(3perl)
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