The main problem is that the sort function should be written in terms of $a and $b. What you have ought to work if you call the coderef in @f as, print sort { $f[0]->($a, $b) } @list; I don't understand why you are counting calls to the comparison function after you read the counter. Does the real code have another sub clotted on $count, or do you call mcc() again to read it?

After Compline,
Zaxo