note
ZZamboni
Here's my take, a non-recursive version, at 66 characters:
<code>
sub a {
$_=shift;do{$_=join'',sort/./g;$i++}while($_=(reverse)-$_)!=495;$i
#23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456
}
</code>
<b>Update #1:</b> Ah, by borrowing an idea from [MeowChow]'s
solution, I can shave off one character :-)
<code>
sub a {
$_=shift;do{$_=join'',sort/./g;$_=(reverse)-$_;$i++}until/495/;$i
#2345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345
}
</code>
<b>Update #2:</b> Changed [shift] to [pop], another 2 characters off.
Thanks [srawls]!
<code>
sub a {
$_=pop;do{$_=join'',sort/./g;$_=(reverse)-$_;$i++}until/495/;$i
#23456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123
}
</code>
<p>--<A HREF="/index.pl?node=ZZamboni&lastnode_id=1072">ZZamboni</A>
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