In your match try to use the special regexp anchors ^ and $:

  if ($input =~ /^[0-9]$/) {
    print "input was a single digit number\n";
  } else {
    print "input wasn't a single digit number\n";
  }
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From the Perl regular expression tutorial (perlre), the "^" and "$" are defined as:

^   Match the beginning of the line
$   Match the end of the line (or before newline at the end)
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Unless they are used, Perl will look for a match anywhere within your $input string! ;-)

Update: threw in some perldoc definitions for your viewing pleasure :)

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# Under Construction
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