It seems to me that both ton's solution and his alternative solution are incorrect:
<<< $ perl foresttest.pl Hole 'forest' forest.pl: Running test 1 ... (args: 7 9 6 3) Unexpected STDOUT: Expected: ** ** * * * ******* *@ ******* * * * ** ** * * * * **** but got: @@ @@ @ @ @ @@@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@@ @ @ @ @@ @@ @ @ @ @ @@@@ >>> What gives? Regards, Shlomi Fish ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Shlomi Fish [EMAIL PROTECTED] Home Page: http://t2.technion.ac.il/~shlomif/ An apple a day will keep a doctor away. Two apples a day will keep two doctors away. Falk Fish