Yea, brethren, learn from my error in using cut 'n' paste code without being mindful of a scalar context typo. Learn, too, the peril of not using a standard module written by wiser ones (File::Basename), for the road to error starts off with a quick hack ...

In a between-hosts file copy script, I used my cheapo, shoddy basename routine:
my ($localfile) = reverse(split('/', $actualfile));

(I use this routine as it's overkill to load a module when you only want one function, once, in a small script on a stripped-down unix box.)

So when $actualfile = '/jobs/mac/00FTP/alphasmart_catalog.pdf', I should have ended up with 'alphasmart_catalog.pdf'.

Unfortunately, I forgot the () around $localfile. A file test failed; not surprisingly, it couldn't find a file called 'fdp.golatac_tramsahplaPTF00camsboj'

Willard
(the one in the hair shirt, in amongst the ashes)

--
$,="\n";foreach(split('',"\3\3\3c>\0>c\177cc\0~c~``\0cc\177cc")) {$a++;$_=unpack('B8',$_);tr,01,\40#,;$b[$a%6].=$_};print@b,"\n"