You do not have a problem returning an array. You can only return a list, or a reference to an array, commonly referred to as an arrayref.

my @Array = ( 1, 2, 3 );
my $ArrayRef = [ 1, 2, 3 ];
$ArrayRef = \@Array;

## How do you "de-reference" an array reference?

@Array = @$ArrayRef;
@Array = @{$ArrayRef};
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Now I suggest you go and read perldata and perlref, until it all makes sense to you. These are perl basics, and you need to know them by heart.

update:

return @array; # DOES NOT RETURN AN ARRAY, IT RETURNS A LIST
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Besides knowing the basics perl data structures and references (perl basics), the other important thing to know about is context. japhy wrote an excellent article on that: "List" is a Four-Letter Word.

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** The Third rule of perl club is a statement of fact: pod is sexy.