In line with what JMD said: 
sub delete_field
{
     my $self      = shift;
     my ($deleter) = @_;
     my $scrubbed  = 0;

     @{$self->{_fields}} =
        grep { !(($deleter eq $_) && ++$scrubbed) }
             @{$self->{_fields}};
 
     return $scrubbed;                
}

[download]
Which is really just evaluating a match/mismatch case, but with some intermediate code to increment $scrubbed.

In reply to Re: Counting Deletions From List by tadman
in thread What's the best metaphor for deleting something from a list? by petdance

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