What is the difference between 'my' and 'local' in Perl?

In Perl, the focus keyword is 'my' and 'local' are both used to declare variables, but they serve different purposes. The main difference between them is that 'my' restricts the variable's scope to the current block, while 'local' dynamically changes the value of a global variable only within the current scope.

Using 'my' declares a lexically scoped variable, which means it is only accessible within the block in which it is declared. On the other hand, 'local' temporarily changes the value of a global variable within the scope, but the changes made by 'local' are visible to any functions called within that scope.

Understanding when to use 'my' and when to use 'local' is crucial for writing efficient and maintainable Perl code.