I realize this is probably homework, but you shouldn't do this. Any time you find yourself naming variables var1, var2, var3, etc., that's a very good sign that they should be in some kind of array or hash. If there were ever a reason to break a large array up into smaller ones and have them numbered, you'd want to break it up into @{$array[0]}, @{$array[1]}, @{$array[2]}, etc. An array of arrays, with each sub-array limited to whatever size you like, but with them organized inside a top-level array so you don't have to start doing goofy stuff with eval or globs to get the variable names numbered the way you like.