> Is $$ the only alternative, or did I miss more? I don't think I've even
> seen this $$ mentioned before?
$$ is not a suitable alternative. It already means the current process
ID. It really cannot be messed with. And ${$} is identical to $$ by
definition.
> >I still like the idea of $$, as I described it in the original thread.
> >I've seen no comments for or against at this time.
See above.
> I can't see how yet another alternative, /$$/, is any better than what
> we have now: /\z/.
I agree. If it's more alternatives we're after, just have the person
write a custom regex. The idea is to make Perl do the right thing,
whatever that may be.
The big problem with changing $, as you note, is for people that need to
catch multiple instances in a string:
$string = "Hello\nGoodbye\nHello\nHello\n";
$string =~ s/Hello$/Goodbye/gm;
Without $, you can workaround this like so:
$string =~ s/Hello\n/Goodbye\n/gm;
My suggestion would be:
1. Make $ exactly always match just before the last \n, as the
RFC suggests.
2. Introduce some new \X switch that does what $ does
currently if it's deemed necessary.
We're back to new alternatives again, but the one thing this buys you is
a $ that works consistently. I don't think many people need $'s current
functionality, and those that do can have an new \X.
-Nate
