my @intarray = unpack 'c*', "perl string";

my @intarray = map ord, split //, "perl string";

##</code><code>##

my $integer = vec "perl string", $i, 8;

##</code><code>##

$something = substr("a string", 4, 1) & 2**3;

##</code><code>##

$something = atoi("r") & 2**3;