Difference between '>>' and '>' in Perl

Question

What is the difference between these two pieces of code?

• open (MYFILE, '>>data.txt');

• open (MYFILE, '>data.txt');

Answer 1

• open (MYFILE, '>>data.txt'). Open data.txt, save the source data and add data from the end.
• open (MYFILE, '>data.txt'). Open data.txt, delete everything from the inside and write the data from the very beginning.

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From perldoc -f open:

If MODE '<'or nothing, the file is opened for input. If MODE '>', the file is trimmed and opened for output, if necessary it is created. If MODE '>>', the file is opened for addition, and if necessary it is created.

This is due to the use of the shell,

• cmd < file.txtto copy the file to stdin,
• cmd > file.txt to write stdout to a file and
• cmd >> file.txt, stdout .