note ioannis No need to calculate start time: it is always available through $^T (see perlvar).<p> <code> print time - $^T; </code> And for programs with so few liners, there is probably little need for <i>use strict</i>, <i>use warnings</i>, meaningful variable names, etc,. ( Some posters seem too vocal on such matters; with a little more encouragement, they might also advise on the java-way of doing things.) 553529 553532