@foo = ('a(b(c)d(e(f)g)h)i(j(k)l(m)n)o', 'a(b(c)d(e(f)g)h)i(j(k)l(m)n)o)'); for (@foo) { print "\'$_\' has "; while ( s/\([^()]*\)// ){} print "un" if /[()]/; print "balanced parentheses\n"; }