Return object handle from a subroutine

Question

I want to know if it is possible to return a object handle from a subroutine in a Perl program. I will use a specific example from a program that uses MAIL::IMAPClient

Create client object handle

my $client = Mail::IMAPClient->new(
   Socket   => $socket,
   User     => $user,
   Password => $pass,
  )
  or die "new(): $@";

I would like to create this object handle from a sub routine instead

my $client = &create_client_object;

sub create_client_object {

  my $client = Mail::IMAPClient->new(
   Socket   => $socket,
   User     => $user,
   Password => $pass,
  )
  or die "new(): $@";

  return $client;
}

If possible, what is the proper way to do this?

Answer 1

Yes, that works perfectly. Besides @Miller's comment, I'd recommend you to also pass the $socket, $user and $pass as parameters to your function instead of using them from context:

my $client = create_client_object($socket, $user, $pass);

sub create_client_object {
  my ($socket, $user, $pass) = @_;

  my $client = Mail::IMAPClient->new(
   Socket   => $socket,
   User     => $user,
   Password => $pass,
  )
  or die "new(): $@";

  return $client;
}