There are a lot of ways to do anything in Perl, and your code doesn't loudly scream NO! The proof is in the pudding: does it work? The Llama will probably focus on solutions using methods taught in that chapter, and solutions that are very readable to newcomers to the language.

It's not to say your code is perfect, and there are a number of minor nits and points of style I'd probably give. However, rather than overload you with suggestions that have historical and/or religious subtleties, I'll skip all that.

--
[ e d @ h a l l e y . c c ]