I’m getting a warning running one of my Perl scripts. The error is being thrown at a simple if statement where I’m testing if a string in an array is equal to another string.
My coworker and I have tried several scenarios and still haven’t been able to resolve the warnings. I’ve tried to place all my research so far into this thread, so it is a little long, but please stick with it. I’m completely stuck and hoping one of the great minds of Stack Overflow can help me out!
The code generating the problems is:
if ($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber")
The block of code around that section is:
my @pieces = split(/=/, $var);
if($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber") {
$promoNumber = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Type") {
# More similar code follows
My goal in the above code is to assign all the variables I’ve found in a text file to the respective Perl variables. I then insert those found variables into a SQL database.
The text file has several fields that can be in different orders, which is why I use the switch style if-elsif… to accomplish assigning values. There are also some fields I don’t care about, such as Level, and I just ignore these fields. These fields however are the fields that cause warnings.
The $var is set to the following as it loops through…
PromotionNumber=000
RecordOffset=0
Code=0
SubCode=1
Level=0
When I hit “Level=0”, I can pause in the PerlIDE.exe debugger and see that the string is split into Level and 0 and inserted in the array. However, as soon as the code advances to the if statement and tests $pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber" I get the warning.
I can even print out $pieces[0] right before the if statement, and it will print “Level”.
If I change the code to the following the warning goes away…
my @pieces = split(/=/, $var);
if($pieces[0] eq "Level") {
#My problematic variable test
}elsif($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber") {
$promoNumber = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Type") {
#More similar code follows
However, if I test for the “Level” string second, the warning comes back. The code below DOES have the warning.
my @pieces = split(/=/, $var);
if($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber") {
#My problematic variable test
}elsif($pieces[0] eq "Level") {
$promoNumber = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Type") {
#More similar code follows
Why does Perl care which order I test in? Note, that I am testing SEVERAL other strings that are multiple elsif’s down in my if-elsif statements that don’t give this warning.
Any ideas? I really need to clear up this warning so that it doesn’t flood the console when running. The script is working with the warnings though.
Exact error is:
Use of uninitialized value in string eq at japdpmrijob.pl line 250.
Exact line of error (determined using Perl’s debug utility in PerlIDE.exe) is:
if ($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber") {
I can print out $pieces[0] and see the value. So I know it is defined with my value. I can also print out $pieces[1] and see my expected value. If I test for $pieces[0] eq “Level” first, the warning goes away and I can access both variables.
I am still confused…
It looks like the error is actually the “eq” being flagged as a variable. Any ideas on that?
Below you’ll find a large chunk of the code. I included the entire for loop and several of the variables that I’m working with. Notice the else statement at the end of the if-elsif-else sequence, I added this to attempt stop the warning as noted by the third answer. This else statement prints my expected values every time the warning is called, so I know the values are present.
for my $cond (@conditions) {
if($debug==1){print $cond."\n";}
# Required database variables
my $isRecord = 0;
my $promoNumber;
my $type;
my $process;
my $testValue;
my $recordOffset;
my $code;
my $subcode;
my $itemType;
my $itemValue;
# Function test variables
my $itemTypeVar;
my $newQualifier = 1;
# Database Configuration
my $dbApps = new Win32::ODBC("myDatabase") || die "Error: " . Win32::ODBC::Error();
my @condVars = split(/\|/, $cond);
for my $var (@condVars) {
if($debug==1){print $var."\n";}
my @pieces = split(/=/, $var);
if( defined($pieces[0]) ){
print "piece 0 defined!\n";
} else {
print "pieces 0 not defined!\n";
}
if( defined($pieces[1]) ){
print "piece 1 defined!\n";
} else {
print "piece 1 not defined!\n";
}
if($pieces[0] eq "PromotionNumber"){
$promoNumber = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Type"){
$type = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Process"){
$process = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "TestValue"){
$testValue = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "RecordOffset"){
$recordOffset = $pieces[1];
if ($recordOffset == 0) {
$newQualifier = 1; }
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "Code"){
$code = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "SubCode"){
$subcode = $pieces[1];
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq "ItemType"){
$itemType = $pieces[1];
if($itemType eq "0") {
$itemTypeVar = "ItemCode";
} elsif($itemType eq "1") {
$itemTypeVar = "ItemCode";
} elsif($itemType eq "2") {
$itemTypeVar = "Department";
} elsif($itemType eq "5") {
$itemTypeVar = "MixMatchCode";
} elsif($itemType eq "12") {
$itemTypeVar = "GroupCode";
}
} elsif ($pieces[0] eq $itemTypeVar){
$itemValue = $pieces[1];
} else {
print "$pieces[0] and $pieces[1] not used.\n";
}
print "$var\n";
}
}
I think you are looking for the error in the wrong place. For a warning triggered inside an
if-elsif-elsestatement or other complex block of code, older versions of Perl may identify the warning as occuring on the first line of the statement.