my $code = join "\n;\n", map {sprintf '$count{ $_ } = tr/%s/%s/', $_, $_ } @alphabet; my %count; local $_ = $string1; eval $code; #### my $code2 = join "\n+\n", map {sprintf 'abs($count{ %s } - tr/%s/%s/)', $_, $_, $_ } @alphabet; local $_ = $string2; eval $code2;