If you want to loop, you need to use a loop construct, not a conditional statement (and especially not a double-negative conditional :) I take it you want to search @stored for a submitted password, (is it really stored in $_?), and if you fail to find it then you generate a new one. Try: 

my $submitted_pw = $_;
my $pw;
foreach my $stored_pw (@stored) {
    if ($submitted_pw eq $stored_pw) {
      $pw = $stored_pw and last; #exit the loop if we found a match
    }
} 
# If $pw wasn't set in the loop, create a new password
$pw ||= join(@chars[map{rand @chars} (1..17)];

[download]

Another way: 

my $submitted_pw = $_;
my $pw = grep($submitted_pw eq $_, @stored) ? $submitted_pw : join(@ch
+ars[map{rand @chars} (1..17)];

[download]

Update: well there I go answering the wrong question again. How about this: 

my %lookup_pwds;
$lookup_pwds{$_}++ for (@stored};
do {
    $pw = join(@chars[map{rand @chars} (1..17)];
} while ($lookup_pwds{$pw});

[download]

In reply to Re: Variable still not holding contents by djantzen
in thread Variable still not holding contents by sulfericacid

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