Simple array question

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Simple array question by thraxil (Prior) on Dec 22, 2003 at 17:04 UTC
you want `scalar` not `length`. you use `length` to count the number of characters in a string. anders pearson	[reply]
Re: Simple array question by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Dec 22, 2003 at 17:09 UTC
Try reading the documentation for length, (<< Click the link:). Once you have read that, you see that length is not used for determining the number of elements in an array in perl. You should then read the documentation on perls data types. After which you will find that changing `length(@attrvals);` to `scalar @attrvals;` will print the value "2" that you are expecting, but please read the second link above. If you don't, you won't understand why it works, and that will result in your encountering similar confusion very quickly. Examine what is said, not who speaks. "Efficiency is intelligent laziness." -David Dunham "Think for yourself!" - Abigail Hooray!	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Simple array question by davido (Cardinal) on Dec 22, 2003 at 17:21 UTC
Evaluating an array in scalar context will tell you how many elements the array contains. length is not the right tool for the job. `my @array = (["customer", "20528"], ["priority", "3"]); print scalar @array;` [download] It's an easy (and common) mistake to make. Dave	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Simple array question by Roger (Parson) on Dec 23, 2003 at 01:01 UTC
I just want to add why you are printing the value of '1', other monks have already pointed out a fix to your problem. Your code, `print length(@attrvals);` is equivalent to `print length( scalar @attrvals );`, which is equivalent to `print length("2")`, which prints "1", the length of string "2". Run the demo code below - `my @array = 0..99; # 100 element array print length(@array);` [download] The output is 3, since the string "100" (elements) has 3 characters.	[reply] [d/l] [select]