Molt has the problem right, even if his proposed solution is not likely optimal. You will just have to process the elements first so as to make them acceptable numericals. If you always have two alphanumeric characters in front, this may do: @sorted = sort { substr($a->[0], 2) <=> substr($b->[0], 2) } @array; Do be aware of the ubiquitous Schwartzian Transform which can immensely accelerate sorting on expensive to calculate derived keys.

Makeshifts last the longest.

In reply to Re: Sorting multi-dimensional arrays by Aristotle
in thread Sorting multi-dimensional arrays by cryptic

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