How do I enter a multi-line comment in Perl?

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What are the common workarounds for multi-line comments in Perl?

How do I add a multi-line comment to Perl source code?

Answer 1

POD is the official way to do multi line comments in Perl,

• see Multi-line comments in perl code and
• Better ways to make multi-line comments in Perl for more detail.

From faq.perl.org[perlfaq7]

• How can I comment out a large block of Perl code?

The quick-and-dirty way to comment out more than one line of Perl is to surround those lines with Pod directives. You have to put these directives at the beginning of the line and somewhere where Perl expects a new statement (so not in the middle of statements like the # comments). You end the comment with =cut, ending the Pod section:

=pod

my $object = NotGonnaHappen->new();

ignored_sub();

$wont_be_assigned = 37;

=cut

The quick-and-dirty method only works well when you don't plan to leave the commented code in the source. If a Pod parser comes along, your multiline comment is going to show up in the Pod translation. A better way hides it from Pod parsers as well.

The =begin directive can mark a section for a particular purpose. If the Pod parser doesn't want to handle it, it just ignores it. Label the comments with comment. End the comment using =end with the same label. You still need the =cut to go back to Perl code from the Pod comment:

=begin comment

my $object = NotGonnaHappen->new();

ignored_sub();

$wont_be_assigned = 37;

=end comment

=cut