Do not use prototypes in Perl. They don't do what you think, and they do a lot of things that you don't want.
For details read [link|http://library.n0i.net/programming/perl/articles/fm_prototypes/|FMTYEWTK About Prototypes].
Cheers, Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)