C:\myperl\temp>perl temp.pl -z $opts{z} = "" C:\myperl\temp>perl temp.pl -y $opts{y} = "1" C:\myperl\temp>perl temp.pl -y -z $opts{y} = "1" $opts{z} = "" C:\myperl\temp>perl temp.pl -z -y $opts{z} = "-y" C:\myperl\temp>temp -z -z $opts{z} = "-z"