@_ contains the list of arguments to your function, and when you interpolate it in a string, you get all your parameters separated by a space (unless you fiddled with some funny variables, but I assume you didn't).

I suppose you pass your two full pathnames as arguments, so you have to loop on @_:

sub parse_mail {
    my @mail;
    foreach my $mail ( @_ ) {
        open (MAIL,$mail) || die "Cannot open $mail, $!";
        push @mailf, <MAIL>;
        chomp (@mailf);
        close (MAIL) || die "Cannot close $mail, $!";
    }

    return @mailf;    
}
[download]

I also assume you want to concatenate both files. But may be it's better that your sub handles one file at a time and you call it from within a loop...

--bwana147

Ok, all you guys rock for all of the help. I changed;

my $mail = "@_";
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to

my $mail = @_[0];
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This seems to work because I actually have a foreach loop in the main. It is getting past the open but not the close on the filehandle. I basically get the same message: Cannot close C:/windows/desktop/ tmp/test.f2mail,Bad file descriptor. Where ever there is confusion to be had... I'll be there.

which should be my $mail = $_[0];

I suggest you put -w after your path to perl at the top of the file (#!/usr/bin/perl or whatever) which will pick up on stuff like that.

"Argument is futile - you will be ignorralated!"

Perhaps it might work better in windows if you break it down into simpler elements, for instance


sub parse_mail (
  my @mail;
  @mail = @_;
    foreach my $mail ( @mail ) {
        open (MAIL,$mail) || die "Cannot open $mail, $!";
        push @mailf, <MAIL>;
        chomp (@mailf);
        close (MAIL) || die "Cannot close $mail, $!";
    }

    return @mailf;    
}
[download]


I realize that you have set up a shortcut in the code, but I have found perl works better in Windows if I avoid shortcuts in the code, I don't know why.

MadraghRua
yet another biologist hacking perl....

Whats the deal with this line:

foreach my $mail ( @mail ) {
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or this :

my @mail;
@mail = @_;
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Why not just say:

foreach my $mail (@_) {
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and using $mail as the looping element of @mail is kind of silly... I dont know that perl would even let you do that (at least not with strict and warnings).

--
Laziness, Impatience, Hubris, and Generosity.