Name "main::counts" used only once: possible typo at ./re-code.pl line 20. 0: 12; @counts = (0) 1: 34; @counts = (0) 2: 56; @counts = (0) @main::counts = (6) #### { my $num = 0; $main::num = 5; # this instead of the regex print $num; # prints 0 } print $num; # prints 5 # or under use strict print $main::num; # prints 5 as well