how should I sort this? Then how can I take only the top 5?

my $top = 5;
foreach $w (sort { $count{$b} <=> $count{$a} } keys %count) {
   last if $top--;

   print "$count{$w} $w\n";
}
[download]

or

my $top = 5;
foreach $w (
   (sort { $count{$b} <=> $count{$a} } keys %count)[0..$top-1]
) {
   print "$count{$w} $w\n";
}
[download]

If you need to handle ties, the following lists more than 5 if there are ties for the 5th spot:

my $top = 5;
my $last_count = -1;
foreach $w (sort { $count{$b} <=> $count{$a} } keys %count) {
   last if $top == 1 and $last_count != $count{$w};

   $top--;
   $last_count = $count{$w};

   print "$count{$w} $w\n";
}
[download]

I'll let someone else help you to extract words.

last if $top--;
In your first example this would evaluate to 'last if true', thus exiting the loop before the first print statement would get called.
Shouldn't that be last unless $top--; or am I overlooking something?

aye, you're right.

Two things - first, it'd be handy to have your sample input as well. Second, what you probably want to do is continue using split, but then just clear off all trailing punctuation:

  foreach my $wd (@words) {
    $wd =~ s/[[:punct:]]+$//;
    next if length($wd) < 5;
    $count{$wd}++;
  }
[download]

Oh, I lied - three things. Use strict and warnings. Just do. I added a "my" to the foreach above for strictness purposes - do the same for your other foreach.

Once you have all this, you should be able to sort on value, foreach my $w (sort { $count{$a} <=> $count{$b} } keys %count) { ... } to get everything in order. What you do with it after that depends on how you want to deal with multiple words in 5th place.

PS: best use of split with no parameters I've ever seen. I don't think that's even close to your problem, but is, in fact, the best part of your code. Good job. :-)

Here is the test I am going through:

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies
In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
<readmore>
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one peopl
+e to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with anot
+her, and to assum
e among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to whi
+ch the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent resp
+ect to the opinio
ns of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
+ them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equa
+l, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Ri
+ghts, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure
+ these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their j
+ust powers from t
he consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government bec
+omes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alte
+r or to abolish i
t, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such prin
+ciples and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem 
+most likely to ef
fect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that G
+overnments long established should not be changed for light and trans
+ient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed 
+to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by ab
+olishing the form
s to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and us
+urpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to re
+duce them under a
bsolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off s
+uch Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. 
+—Such has been th
e patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity 
+which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. Th
+e history of the
present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated in
+juries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment
+ of an absolute T
yranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a c
+andid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary fo
+r the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing 
+importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent shoul
+d be obtained; an
d when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large distr
+icts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Rep
+resentation in th
e Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants o
+nly.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfort
+able, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for th
+e sole purpose of
 fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with m
+anly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause othe
+rs to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihi
+lation, have retu
rned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in
+ the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, a
+nd convulsions wi
thin.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that
+ purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refus
+ing to pass other
s to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of 
+new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assen
+t to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of thei
+r offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of O
+fficers to harass our p
[download]

    ...
    my @words = split /\W+/;
    ...
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For show only first 5 occurs you can use this syntax:

foreach $w ( 
    (
      sort { $count{$b} <=> $count{$a} } keys %count
    ) [0..4] ) {
...
}
[download]

Using \W is not a good suggestion at all. "a1" and "123" would be considered words, but not "isn't".

It might help you here. (You can also pipe its output to a perl one-liner if you need more flexability.)

Is this because I am using split? Is there a better way to go about this.

    my @words = split;
[download]

    my @words = /\w{5,}/g;
[download]

I am sure I will start missing words that have apostrophes too.

A'mous-Monk