Re: size of an array ref

A question I can still answer!

The size of a reference to an array is a scalar. If you're looking for the size of the array to which the references is pointing, you may try this:

print scalar(@{a});
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The curly braces are the dereference operator. Now, if I misunderstood, and you want to know something like the total size of a array of references to arrays, my answer is likely useless.

Information about American English usage here and here. Floating point issues? Please read this before posting. — emc

Comment on Re: size of an array ref Download Code

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Re^2: size of an array ref by jethro (Monsignor) on Feb 24, 2012 at 16:49 UTC
Sorry to disappoint you but the curly braces do not dereference, @{a} is equivalent to @a. The curly braces only allow more complicated constructs with unambiguous precedence, for example `${$a[3]}[4]` versus `${$a}[3][4]`. If you want dereference, @{$a} or simply @$a is the right choice. Update: Thanks to choroba and SuicideJunkie for spotting a $ where a @ should have been	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: size of an array ref by swampyankee (Parson) on Feb 25, 2012 at 01:01 UTC
Insert random cursing here. I should have kept my virtual mouth shut. Information about American English usage here and here. Floating point issues? Please read this before posting. — emc	[reply]
Re^4: size of an array ref by Anonymous Monk on Feb 25, 2012 at 01:10 UTC
:D Tutorials► Data Types and Variables► Data Type: Hash► references quick reference	[reply]
Re^2: size of an array ref by Marshall (Canon) on Feb 26, 2012 at 01:38 UTC
#!/usr/bin/perl -w use strict; my $aref = [5,6,7,8]; print @$aref,"\n"; #5678 print "@$aref","\n"; #5 6 7 8 print scalar @$aref,"\n"; #4 print ''.@$aref,"\n"; #4 # using string concatenation in the last example # puts @$aref in a scalar context my $ref = [ [qw(a b c)], [qw(x y zzy)] ]; print ''.map{@$_}@$ref; #6 # $ref is a ref to an array of references # @$ref makes a list of those references # the map expands out each array ref into all of its elements # putting this into a scalar context reports the total number print @{$ref->[1]},"\n"; #xyzzy #basically, you need extra {} when a subscript is involved. [download]	[reply] [d/l]