in reply to Get the value of a scalar variable from a file

You are not using @array, so delete it. You need to understand the difference between list and scalar contexts.

Try this: 

  my ($task_number) = $line=~/\$task_number=(\d)/;

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Note the (parens) around $task_number - these provide a LIST context.

Also, the match performed is on the $line variable.

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