if (scalar @args == 1) {
   # .. got an array ref
}
else {
   # treat it as a plain array
}


##</code><code>##


if (ref($date) =~ /^ARRAY$/) {
    # ... its an array ref
}
elsif (ref($date) =~ /ARRAY/) {
    # ... its an array based class
}
elsif (overload::Overloaded($date)) {
    # ... although not definitive, 
    # its possible that @{} is overloaded
    # use this at your own risk
}
else {
    # its probably a string ....
}