return 1
  if ( $] >= 5.008    and /^(Inf(inity)?|NaN)$/i ) 
  or ( $] >= 5.006001 and /^Inf$/i               );

##</code><code>##

sub looks_like_finite_number {
  my $candidate = shift;
  return 0 if ! looks_like_number( $candidate );
  return 0
    if ( $] >= 5.008    and $candidate =~ /^(Inf(inity)?|NaN)$/i) 
    or ( $] >= 5.006001 and $candidate =~ /^Inf$/i );
  return 1;
}