Fix array literal slices with ranges and 0 decrement operations

src/main/java/org/perlonjava/codegen/Dereference.java

@@ -695,7 +695,25 @@ public static void handleArrowArrayDeref(EmitterVisitor emitterVisitor, BinaryOp
         emitterVisitor.ctx.mv.visitVarInsn(Opcodes.ASTORE, leftSlot);
 
         ArrayLiteralNode right = (ArrayLiteralNode) node.right;
-        if (right.elements.size() == 1) {
+
+        // Check if all elements are safe for single-element optimization
+        // (i.e., they can be evaluated in SCALAR context without needing LIST context expansion)
+        boolean allSafeForSingleElement = true;
+        for (Node elem : right.elements) {
+            // Ranges (.. operator) need LIST context to expand to multiple indices
+            if (elem instanceof BinaryOperatorNode binOp && "..".equals(binOp.operator)) {
+                allSafeForSingleElement = false;
+                break;
+            }
+            // Array slices need LIST context
+            if (elem instanceof OperatorNode opNode && opNode.operator.startsWith("@")) {
+                allSafeForSingleElement = false;
+                break;
+            }
+            // Most other nodes (NumberNode, StringNode, IdentifierNode, $var, $var[0], etc.) are safe
+        }
+
+        if (allSafeForSingleElement && right.elements.size() == 1) {
             // Single index: use get/delete/exists methods
             Node elem = right.elements.getFirst();
             elem.accept(emitterVisitor.with(RuntimeContextType.SCALAR));
@@ -741,7 +759,7 @@ public static void handleArrowArrayDeref(EmitterVisitor emitterVisitor, BinaryOp
                 emitterVisitor.ctx.javaClassInfo.releaseSpillSlot();
             }
         } else {
-            // Multiple indices: use slice method (only for get operation)
+            // Multiple indices or non-literal elements: use slice method (only for get operation)
             if (!arrayOperation.equals("get")) {
                 throw new PerlCompilerException(node.tokenIndex, "Array slice not supported for " + arrayOperation, emitterVisitor.ctx.errorUtil);
             }

src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/RuntimeArrayProxyEntry.java

@@ -17,6 +17,24 @@ public class RuntimeArrayProxyEntry extends RuntimeBaseProxy {
     // Index associated with this proxy in the parent array
     private final int key;
 
+    /**
+     * Gets the parent RuntimeArray.
+     *
+     * @return the parent RuntimeArray
+     */
+    public RuntimeArray getParent() {
+        return parent;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Gets the key (index) for this proxy entry.
+     *
+     * @return the index in the parent array
+     */
+    public int getKey() {
+        return key;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Constructs a RuntimeArrayProxyEntry for a given index in the specified parent array.
      *

src/main/java/org/perlonjava/runtime/RuntimeArraySizeLvalue.java

@@ -35,4 +35,36 @@ public RuntimeScalar set(RuntimeScalar value) {
         parent.setLastElementIndex(value);
         return this;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Performs pre-decrement on the array size ($#array--).
+     *
+     * @return The updated array size after decrement.
+     */
+    @Override
+    public RuntimeScalar preAutoDecrement() {
+        RuntimeArray parent = lvalue.arrayDeref();
+        RuntimeScalar currentSize = new RuntimeScalar(parent.lastElementIndex());
+        RuntimeScalar newSize = new RuntimeScalar(currentSize.getInt() - 1);
+        parent.setLastElementIndex(newSize);
+        this.value = newSize.value;
+        this.type = newSize.type;
+        return newSize;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Performs post-decrement on the array size ($#array--).
+     *
+     * @return The original array size before decrement.
+     */
+    @Override
+    public RuntimeScalar postAutoDecrement() {
+        RuntimeArray parent = lvalue.arrayDeref();
+        RuntimeScalar originalSize = new RuntimeScalar(parent.lastElementIndex());
+        RuntimeScalar newSize = new RuntimeScalar(originalSize.getInt() - 1);
+        parent.setLastElementIndex(newSize);
+        this.value = newSize.value;
+        this.type = newSize.type;
+        return originalSize;
+    }
 }