Scalar Variables and Operators

Converting between numbers and strings

• When an arithmetic operator appears, Perl automatically converts all arguments to decimal floating point values.
• Leading whitespace is ignored.
• Trailing non-numeric characters are ignored.
• Example: 123.456yadda would be interpreted as 123.456
• If the first non whitespace character is not a numeric, the number is interpreted as zero.
• Numbers that appear with string operators become the ASCII representation of the number.
• Example: 23 . 45 would be interpreted as the string "2345".
• As a general rule, these conversions will just about always do what you need and what you expect. Just make sure you are using the right operators (numeric versus string).