my $flag_pic = 0; #### $flag_pic+="1"; #### $flag_pic+=1; #### if ( ($row->{image_name_1} ne "") eq ($pics[0] ne "") ) { $flag_pic += "1"; } if ( ($row->{image_name_2} ne "") eq ($pics[1] ne "") ) { $flag_pic += "1"; } #and all the way to image_name_4