can s/// return a new value, rather than modifying it's input argument?

[Bart Lateur]

What's the benefit of using the qr// quoting construct here?

Compile time check that the pattern actually compiles?

 

[Bart Lateur]

why do you return the last element of @values in scalar context?

Because that's what the comma operator does.

wouldn't the first be just as arbitrary?

It would.

 

[Anno Siegel]

Interesting! I was obviously wrong when saying that qr// returns a
string, even if it looks that way when you print the return value.

The behavior is compatible with an object in class Regex whose
stringification is suitably overloaded.

Anno