CODEWITHSUNDEEP
perl
Vicky
Vicky

Reputation: 1328

Store value returned by file test operator in Perl

How can I store value returned by -M $file operator in Perl in a variable and later use in a mathematical expression? I have tried this on an existing file:

DB<1> $file="file.txt"

DB<2> $a=`-M $file`;

DB<3> print "$a"

But that does not seem to work.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 76

Answers (1)

Dave Cross
Dave Cross

Reputation: 69264

You can take the value returned by a file test operator and store in a variable by... well... by taking the value and storing it in a variable.

my $mod_time = -M $some_file;

Then later you can treat $mod_time as you would treat any scalar variable (because that's what it is).

Update: You've just updated your question to show what you've tried:

$ a= `-M $file`;

But -M $file is not an external command, so you don't need the backticks.

Upvotes: 6

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