=over =item chop VARIABLE X =item chop( LIST ) =item chop Chops off the last character of a string and returns the character chopped. It is much more efficient than C because it neither scans nor copies the string. If VARIABLE is omitted, chops C<$_>. If VARIABLE is a hash, it chops the hash's values, but not its keys. You can actually chop anything that's an lvalue, including an assignment. If you chop a list, each element is chopped. Only the value of the last C is returned. Note that C returns the last character. To return all but the last character, use C. See also L. =back