I'm ducking a %hash or a db, even though the question plainly implies use of one or the other, for what may be (in this particular case) a semi-good reason, and I'm curious about better ways to handle to particular data.

Given the two arrays (below), each comprised of multiple sets of elements, and which share, db-like, a first element in each set*1, is this code demonstrating yet another of my blind spots or an unnecessarily clumsy way to output related sets?

*1 The the comments after each array assignment may explain this more clearly.
#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my @arr = ("1", "Smith", "Ric", "1", "Smith", "Rich", "1", "abc", "A",
+ "1", "cdeQ", "C Sr", "1", "ghi", "G", "2", "cdeQ", "C Sr", "3", "ghi
+", "G", "3", "abc", "A", "3", "Smith", "Ric", "4", "cde", "C", "5", "
+cde", "C", "5", "xyz123", "X", "5", "cdeQ", "C II", "5", "Smith", "Ri
+ch");
#      callno   lname    fi  (repeat 3 data points for each FF at each
+ callno)

my @arr2 = ("1", "S", "01/05", "04", "2", "EMS", "01/05", "07", "3", "
+VF", "01/05", "11", "4", "S", "01/05", "13", "5", "B", "01/05", "17")
+;
#         callno  type  date      hr (repeat 4 data points for each in
+cident)

my ($i, $j, $seen);
$i = 0;
$j = 0;

for my $arr2(@arr2) {
    if ( $arr2[$j+3] ) {            # ie, if there's a complete call r
+ecord
        print "$arr2[$j] " . "$arr2[$j+1] " . "$arr2[$j+2]" . "$arr2[$
+j+3]\n";
        $seen = substr($arr2[$j], 0);
        print "\tDEBUG: My \$seen: $seen\n\n";
        $j += 4;
    } else {
        print "\n\t\t No more calls\n";
        exit;
    }
    for my $arr(@arr) {
        if ( ($arr[$i]) &&  ($seen == substr($arr[$i], 0)) ) {
            print "$arr[$i] " . "$arr[$i+1] " . "$arr[$i+2] " . "\n";
            $i += 3;
            next;
        } else {
            print "\n\t\tFF Array exhausted for Callno $seen\n";
            last;
        }
    }
next;
}

[download]

This "works" in that the output is in a form the users can live with:

1 S 01/0504
        DEBUG: My $seen: 1

1 Smith Ric
1 Smith Rich
1 abc A
1 cdeQ C Sr
1 ghi G

                FF Array exhausted for Callno 1
2 EMS 01/0507
        DEBUG: My $seen: 2

2 cdeQ C Sr

                FF Array exhausted for Callno 2
3 VF 01/0511
        DEBUG: My $seen: 3

3 ghi G
3 abc A
3 Smith Ric

                FF Array exhausted for Callno 3
4 S 01/0513
        DEBUG: My $seen: 4

4 cde C

                FF Array exhausted for Callno 4
5 B 01/0517
        DEBUG: My $seen: 5

5 cde C
5 xyz123 X
5 cdeQ C II
5 Smith Rich

                FF Array exhausted for Callno 5

                 No more calls

[download]

Suggestions of YAM (™ "yet another method") would also be welcome.

In reply to Iterating two co-dependant arrays by ww

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