I have perl scalar variable "my $value1" and "my $value2" I read some values from in $value1 and $value2. Now The input can be both a string or integer. I need to compare $value1 and $value2. Now ideally if it is an integer or float then I should be doing IF($value1 == $value2). If it is a string then I should be doing IF($value1 eq $value2). Is there any way to differentiate between a string and integer or float for a perl scalar variable. Also The second IF (if ($value1 eq $value2)) works well for both integer and string. Is there any case where it fails to do that. Thanks for you reply Rahuketu Thanks Everybody for a quick reply. By your views I gather that I should write a strong regular expression to distinguish whether a given scalar is a string or integer(both -ve and +ve). <code>if($value =~ /regexp to match inetegers/){ $isInteger = 1; }else{ $isInteger = 0; }<\code> Thanks I will soon come up with a regexp to have your views.