You don't need a multi-dimensional array to do that. You could get the same effect without the complexity by taking advantage of the regular syntax of Unix name:

• sort list ascibetically
• loop through each path in order. When outputing each item,
  • use split to convert each path into an array of names, e.g. ['var', 'www', 'data', 'misc']
  • use size of array to determine amount of indentation, e.g. 4 path components = 3 tabs, 3 path components = 2 tabs, and so on.
  • display only the last array element on each line after the space.

Presto, there you have your output. I'm not posting code on purpose. Without context for why you are interested in this question, it smells a lot like homework or a search for hints in a golf contest. If I'm providing help for that sort of thing, I generally like to know that I'm doing so, so I can make a judgment about how much help is too much (or too little) help. Perhaps you could add a few words about why you care about this?

Best, beth

---

---

Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!

Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.

Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.

Please read these before you post! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:

a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr

You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)

	For:		Use:
	&		&
	<		&lt;
	>		&gt;
	[		&#91;
	]		&#93;

Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?

See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.