my @executions = $jobInfo->{'content'}{'executions'};

This puts whatever happens to be returned on the right-hand side into the first slot of the array @executions. It just happens that what you get is from the RHS not an empty array, but an empty arrayref. And this arrayref happens to occupy the first slot of the array @executions. Therefore, the array @executions has one element.

See what print Dumper \@executions; returns instead.

To turn an arrayref into an array (i.e. copy its contents to an array), you need to dereference it, or you can just keep using it as an arrayref. I usually do the latter. 

# Dereference and copy contents
my @executions = @{ $jobInfo->{'content'}{'executions'} }; 

# Just use it as an arrayref
my $executions = $jobInfo->{'content'}{'executions'};
print scalar @$executions, "\n";
print "element 0 is ", $executions->[0], "\n";

[download]

In reply to Re: Strange behavior of array in scalar context by Anonymous Monk
in thread Strange behavior of array in scalar context by xavier8854

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.