#!/usr/bin/perl -Tw use strict; $result = "43 P"; #comes from somewhere else in the program interpret_clock($result); sub interpret_clock { $_[0] =~ s/43 F/Tunnel 1\/2 Hr FT/o; $_[0] =~ s/43 P/Tunnel 1\/2 Hr PT/o; $_[0] =~ s/45 F/Tunnel No Lunch FT/o; $_[0] =~ s/45 P/Tunnel No Lunch PT/o; $_[0] =~ s/F/Full Time No Clock/o; $_[0] =~ s/O/On Call No Clock/o; $_[0] =~ s/P/Part Time No Clock/o; $_[0] =~ s/T/Temporary No Clock/o; } print $result;