my $screen = ' ' x ($rows * $columns); foreach my $row (0 .. $rows-1) { my $rowText = substr($screen, $row*$columns, $columns); } # sets text, returns old text. sub setTextAt { my $x = shift; my $y = shift; my $text = join('', @_); substr($screen, $y * $columns + $x, length($text), $text); }