my @f = ( 4, 2 ); print join ' ', int \$_, \$_, "$_\n" for @f;print "\n"; @f = sort @f; print join ' ', '#', int \$_, \$_, "$_\n" for @f;print "\n"; my $prev = 0; for my $next ( @f ){ if( $prev ){ die "BEEN SORTED" if $prev > \$next; } $prev = \$next; } __END__ $ perl fa 4165804 SCALAR(0x3f90ac) 4 4165980 SCALAR(0x3f915c) 2 # 4165980 SCALAR(0x3f915c) 2 # 4165804 SCALAR(0x3f90ac) 4 BEEN SORTED at fa line 8.