the learned ybiC is correct. neither MSA nor Selena Sol was able to provide enlightenment - though I may point out the Selena's code was WAY tighter than MSA's now that i can look back on it. Anyway, stick to the monastery and be thankful to be among the enlightened. : )

-- I'm a solipsist, and so is everyone else. (think about it)

For what it's worth, I'm just plain lucky.   Missed MSA and SS, finding the Monastery instead when I needed to learn more than rudimentery Perl for logfile processing.   I have a *lot* to learn, thankfully not to un-learn.

If you really want to see Another Way Not To Do It, www.google.com is pretty effective.   Ask tilly.   {grin}   (about Google, not about "how not to do it")
    cheers,
    Don   (ybiC)
    striving for Perl Adept

Update:   "learned ybiC..."
Thanks for the compliment, jptxs.   8^)   Wish I deserved it.
$ybiC='grasshopper' while ($lang='Perl');