sub word_count {
  my %h;
  $h{$_}++ for pop =~ /\w+/g;
  %h;
}

## Example ##

use Data::Dumper;
my $s = 'fee fi fo fo fi fee fo fum fum bar baz';
my %h = word_count($s);
print Dumper \%h;
[download]

   MeowChow                                   
               s aamecha.s a..a\u$&owag.print

supernewbie wanted an explanation of MeowChows sub:

First declare the sub

sub word_count {

Next we declare a lexically scoped has called %h the % indicates that this is a hash and the h is a typical MeowChow explanatory long var name :-)

my %h;

This is a bit of very idiomatic perl

$h{$_}++ for pop =~ /\w+/g;

It is fairly easy to understand if you read it R->L. The expression:

pop =~ /\w+/g

pop()s the last value off @_ which is the array passed to a subroutine called like mysub(@myarray). This gets us the value passed to the sub. We then use a regular expression to match \w+ which is groups of letters (as many in a row a possible) but not whitespace. Because this is referenced in LIST context by the for it returns a list of words which the for iterates over assigning each value to the magical $_ variable.

Finally we use out hash to count the occurances of each word (code). A hash stores a key value pair. Thus the key we are using is $_. The ++ part increments the value of $h{$_} by one each time we see the key.

%h

In a perl sub the sub returns the last value evaluated so this is shorhand for the more usual return %h

Hope this helps

cheers

tachyon

s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print

Here is an example for you using a hash

# declare our vars
my (%codes, @array_codes);

#undef input record sep to get all data at once
local $/;

# make an array of codes by splitting DATA on whitespace
@array_codes = split /\s+/, <DATA>;

# map the codes to a hash, counting duplicates
# using a for loop for efficiency
foreach $code_key (@array_codes) {
   $codes{$code_key}++;
} 

# print it out
printf "$_\t$codes{$_}\n" for keys %codes;


__DATA__
baaba ba abab abab abab baaba baaba babaa. 
abab aaba ba abab ba. bababab abab abab ba aaba. 
ba bababab aaba abab babaa baaba ba baaba. 
aaba ba bababab ba bababab abab ba aaba abab baaba abab. 
ba abab abab ba.
[download]

Note that: map{....}@array is just another way of writing: for (@array) { .. }. To do it to a file all you need to do to use this is do somthing like:

sub count_codes {
  my $file = shift;
  open (FILE, "<$file") or die "Oops, perl says $!\n";
  local $/;
  my @array_codes = split /\s+/, <FILE>;
  close FILE;
  foreach $code_key (@array_codes) {
    $codes{$code_key}++;
  } 
  printf "$_\t$codes{$_}\n" for keys %codes;
}

# call sub
count_codes("/path/to/myfile.txt");
[download]

You have some full stops in there which I have assumed are part of the codes. If they are not you will need to filter them out using a regex in our for loop like this:

foreach $code_key (@array_codes) {
  $code_key =~ s/[.]//g;
  $codes{$code_key}++;
}
[download]

If you want filter out more characters add them to the character class between the [ ]

cheers

tachyon

Update

Removed lazy and inefficient map and replaced with proper for loop. Even typed foreach to remind me not to be so slack.

s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print

If I don't mention it, someone else will. Don't suggest the use of map in a void context. You are taking the trouble to build a whole return list, which you just throw away. It is more efficient and idiomatic to use for for such tasks.

   MeowChow                                   
               s aamecha.s a..a\u$&owag.print

Good point, I'll update the code. It's too much Golf you know, shaving those two chars by using map instead of for.

cheers

tachyon

s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print

I tried your method. Everything works great, execpt the program will return something like:

ba.  1
ba   2
........
[download]

Should I do a s/\./ / on file.txt before process it through your function? What if there are other things like ? ! : ; " ' ( ) ...etc..

You just need to adjust the regex a little.

my @array_codes = split /\s+/, <FILE>;
[download]

assumes that you're interested in all non-whitespace characters. Changing it to:

my @array_codes = split /\W+/, <FILE>;
[download]

means that your're only interested in non-word characters (where word chars are A-Z, 0-9 and '-').

--
<http://www.dave.org.uk>

Perl Training in the UK <http://www.iterative-software.com>

Hi, you have two options. If you wish to retain ultimate control split on whitespace and filter the elemets in @array_codes using this (as above)

$code_key =~ s/[.?!:;"'()]//g;
[download]

This filters out all the stuff in the char class. Alternatively you can just grab alphanumerics in the first place like this:

@array_codes = <DATA> =~ m/\w+/g;
[download]

cheers

tachyon

s&&rsenoyhcatreve&&&s&n.+t&"$'$`$\"$\&"&ee&&y&srve&&d&&print

Some things to ponder:

How should the algorithm handle hyphenated words? Should pre-paid become pre and paid or remain pre-paid? Will any words wrap to the next line using a hyphen?

Are there any slang or shortcut words in the file? How should b4 be handled?

Is the file short or long? Should the algorithm read the entire file into memory or would it be better to process each line?

How might you handle dates: 500 A.D., c. 1500 bc.

And what about other abreviations: Mr. Jr. Ave. etc. e.g.