c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -le "my $string = qq{test\nI\nwant length of this line\n test}; my $position = 12; ;; my $length_of_line; if ( $string =~ /\n.*(?=\n)/ && $-[ 0 ] < $position && $+[ 0 ] > $position ) { $length_of_line = $+[ 0 ] - $-[ 0 ]; } print $length_of_line; " Use of uninitialized value in print at -e line 1.