Perl - best practices in dealing with invalid data passed to a sub
**Best Practices for Data Handling in Perl Subroutines**
**Error Handling Techniques:**
* Return specific values (e.g., `undef`) to indicate errors.
* Use `die`, `croak`, or `confess` to throw exceptions.
* Create a custom error-handling class for structured error reporting.
**Choosing the Right Method:**
* Returning `undef` is suitable for indicating a failure without specifying the exact reason.
* Throwing an exception is preferred for complex code where more structured error handling is required.
**Informative Error Messages:**
* Use descriptive error messages in `die` calls to provide context for the failure.
* Throw error objects that contain detailed information about the error.
**Checking for Errors:**
* Use `die` to terminate execution immediately when an error occurs.
* Consider using `try/catch` (experimental in Perl 5.34.0) or `Feature::Compat::Try` for more structured error handling.
**Additional Considerations:**
* Avoid using negative values as error indicators, as they may conflict with legitimate return values.
* Choose the error handling technique that best suits the specific application and context.