test ? execute_if_true : execute_if_false; #!/usr/bin/perl -w @ar = get_value(); print "Wanted array. Got back: @ar\n"; $v = get_value(); print "Wanted scalar. Got back: $v\n"; sub get_value { my(@array) = (1, 2, 3); my($val) = 55; return wantarray ? @array : $val; }