sub array_to_string
# --------------------------------------------------------------
# Joins an array's values without the warning for uninitized 
# elements.  Also, replaces undef values with an appropriate
# string.
# --------------------------------------------------------------
{
   my @values = @_;
   my $output = "";
   for (@values) 
   { 
      $output .= defined $_ ? $_ : "undef";
      # comment this out if you don't want trailing spaces.
      $output .= " ";  
   }
   return $output;
}

sub get_array_index
# --------------------------------------------------------------
# When given a scalar and an array, this either returns the 
# of the scalar in the array or -1 (not found).
# --------------------------------------------------------------
{
  my $value = shift;
  my @values = @_;

  for my $index (  0 ..  $#values )
  {
    return $index if $value eq $values[ $index ];
  }
}