print substr($String, 0, 10);

[download]
<Update> SteveAZ98 is right: substr will not pad the string to a fixed length, if it is not longer than the desired width...</Update>

Engaging in one of my favorite PM activities, I benchmarked pack vs. substr: 

timethese(1000000, {
  pack   => q{ my $String = 'Russ is a stud'; $String = pack("A10", $S
+tring)},
  substr => q{ my $String = 'Russ is a stud'; $String = substr($String
+, 0, 10)}
});

[download]
With these results: 
Benchmark: timing 1000000 iterations of pack, substr...
      pack:  7 wallclock secs ( 7.20 usr +  0.00 sys =  7.20 CPU)
    substr:  6 wallclock secs ( 6.67 usr +  0.01 sys =  6.68 CPU)

[download]
I just love wasting time with benchmarks, perl golf, etc.

Russ
Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl

In reply to RE: Set String Length (benchmark) by Russ
in thread A Set String Length by zdog

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