You can dodge the zeros issue and make it a bit more efficient using pack
Yes, up to a point. It'll fail if one of the numbers exceed 4294967295 (2^32, the maximum number that will fit in an unsigned long).

It also assumes that all the strings start with the same letters, or that if they don't, the non-digit prefix is the secondary key; my solution assumes it's the primary key.

That is, given the list 

    @g = qw [foo11 baz39 bar23 baz7 bar13 foo23];

[download]
your solution sorts it as: 
    baz7 foo11 bar13 bar23 foo23 baz39

[download]
and mine as 
    bar13 bar23 baz7 baz39 foo11 foo23

[download]
From the example the OP gives, it's not clear what he wants (or even whether the difference is relevant).

In reply to Re^3: sorting an array mix by JavaFan
in thread sorting an array mix by baxy77bax

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