It doesn't matter to Perl if you store alphanumerics or numbers or both in scalar. When you want to perform a numeric function on the scalar, Perl treats the data in it as numeric. When you want to perform an alphanumeric on it, it treats the data as alphanumerics. e.g $data = "one"; $new = "$data + 10"; print $new; You could use a regular expression to check the data. Here is some commented sample code # Initialize the scalar and store the string $data -----Original Message----- From: Rajanikanth Dandamudi [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 30 August 2001 16:35 To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: Doubt Hello, My doubt is "How do you identify whether a perl scalar variable contains a numeric value or alphanumeric string?" . I had gone through the explanation available at the URL http://www.cpan.org/doc/FMTEYEWTK/is_numeric.html , but I didn't understand that explanation. Thanks in advance. Thanks and Regards, Rajanikanth --------------------------Confidentiality--------------------------. This E-mail is confidential. It should not be read, copied, disclosed or used by any person other than the intended recipient. Unauthorised use, disclosure or copying by whatever medium is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this E-mail in error please contact the sender immediately and delete the E-mail from your system. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]