The BEGIN Block

The BEGIN block is evaluated as soon as it is defined. Therefore, it can include other functions using do() or require statements. Since the blocks are evaluated immediately after definition, multiple BEGIN blocks will execute in the order that they appear in the script.

For Example (export.pl):

• Define a BEGIN block for the main package.
• Display a string indicating the begin block is executing.
• Start the Foo package.
• Define a BEGIN block for the Foo package.

The Perl code is (export.pl):

BEGIN {

    print("main\n");

}



package Foo;

    BEGIN {

        print("Foo\n");

    }

This program displays:

main
Foo