Ick at the $#_, that is shocking coding when you can write:

foreach (@_) {
   # use $_ here 
}
[download]

And what's wrong with:

foreach my $some_path (@$path_list) {
   # etc
}
[download]

Have you looked into using File::Spec (standard with Perl I think). I think using canonpath and/or no_upwards might do what you're looking for in an easier to maintain and more portable manner.

Hope this helps...

gav^