Accessing elements with an index ... you can do with an array and not with a list.

Why do you say that? Are you assuming that "list" means "linked list"? That's not what we mean by "list" in Perl.

I think you're right about the element count in scalar context. I seem to remember reading something like "there's no standard way of converting a list to a scalar," but I can't remember where.

Anyway, I'm not trying to be argumentative, I'm just trying to clear up misunderstandings people might have with Perl. And I sometimes post anonymously when I'm on public wireless access points. Happy perling to you.