Also, try using the var = shift syntax for getting arguments in a subroutine. I've run into too many problems trying to use the @_.

The syntax used is perfectly fine. The thing that one must remember when using @_ is that:

my $arg = @_;
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will assign the number of arguments to $arg, but:

my($arg) = @_;
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will assign the first argument to $arg. (The ()s give list context to the right-hand side of the my assignment.)

update: Of course, one must also remember to assign all the arguments at once when using @_.