Control Structures

• if elsif else
• for loop
• while loop
• next and last

if elsif else

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $number = 45;

print "========== if ========== \n";
if($number > 25)
{
    print "Hurray! $number is greater than 25\n";
}

print "========== if-else ========== \n";
if($number % 2 == 0)
{
    print "$number is an even number\n";
}
else
{
    print "$number is an odd number\n";
}

print "========== if-elsif-else ========== \n";
if($number < 0)
{
    print "$number is a negative number\n";
}
elsif($number > 0)
{
    print "$number is a positive number\n";
}
else
{
    print "$number is neither postive nor a negative number\n";
}

• braces {} are required even for single statement blocks
• if you made a syntax error using if control structure, it is likely due to leaving out braces or a typo for elsif keyword
• any number of statements can be placed within braces, including nesting - i.e if statements within the braces

$ ./if_elsif_else.pl
========== if ========== 
Hurray! 45 is greater than 25
========== if-else ========== 
45 is an odd number
========== if-elsif-else ========== 
45 is a positive number

As seen in above examples, we often need only single statement in if control block. In such cases, we can place the condition at end of statement for more compact coding

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $number = 45;

# single statement if
print "Hurray! $number is greater than 25\n" if($number > 25);

# alternative to single-statement if-elsif-else structure
my $print_str = 'neither postive nor a negative';
$print_str = 'a negative' if($number < 0);
$print_str = 'a positive' if($number > 0);
print "$number is $print_str number\n";

• don't forget the semicolon at end of if condition

$ ./if_oneliner.pl
Hurray! 45 is greater than 25
45 is a positive number

for loop

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $number = 9;
for(my $i = 1; $i < 5; $i++)
{
    my $mul_table = $number * $i;
    print "$number * $i = $mul_table\n";
}

• for loop syntax is very similar to that in C
• use foreach when iterating over arrays and similar iterative structures. Syntax and examples are convered in later sections

$ ./for_loop.pl
9 * 1 = 9
9 * 2 = 18
9 * 3 = 27
9 * 4 = 36

while loop

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

# continuously ask user string until it is a palindrome
my $usr_string = 'not a palindrome';
while($usr_string ne reverse($usr_string))
{
    print "Enter a palindrome string: ";
    $usr_string = <STDIN>;
    chomp($usr_string);
}

• while-loop allows us to execute block of statements until a condition is satisfied
• ne is the 'not equal to' string comparison operator, use != when comparing numbers
• reverse gives us the reversed string for comparison
• this is another example where removing trailing newline character with chomp is important

$ ./while_loop.pl
Enter a palindrome string: abc
Enter a palindrome string: malayalam

next and last

The next and last keywords are used to change the normal flow of loops on certain conditions

Example for next

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $prev_num = 0;
my $curr_num = 0;
print "The first 10 numbers in fibonacci sequence:\n";
for(my $i = 0; $i < 10; $i++)
{
    print "$curr_num ";
    if($i == 0)
    {
        $curr_num = 1;
        # skip rest of the loop and start next iteration
        next;
    }
    my $temp  = $curr_num;
    $curr_num = $curr_num + $prev_num;
    $prev_num = $temp;
}
print "\n";

• next can be placed anywhere in a loop block without having to worry about complicated code flow

$ ./loop_with_next.pl
The first 10 numbers in fibonacci sequence:
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34

Example for last

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $random_num;
while(1)
{
    $random_num = int(rand(500));
    last if($random_num % 4 == 0 && $random_num % 6 == 0);
}
print "Random number divisible by 4 and 6: $random_num\n";

• while(1) and for(;;) are generally used to create infinite loops

$ ./loop_with_last.pl
Random number divisible by 4 and 6: 348

• in case of nested loops, next and last only affect the immediate parent loop