Check out
split, it can be real helpful at times.
# real important!
use strict;
use warnings;
# this is the file where the data is
my $file = 'path_to_file';
# these are some useful variables
my $sum = 0;
my $lines = 0;
my $avgerage;
# open file
open(FH, $file) or die "File $file failed to open:";
#read file in line by line
while(<FH>) {
# get the third column and add it to $sum
$sum += (split /\s+/, $_)[2];
# update $lines
$lines++;
}
# now, to get the average, all you do is say
$average = $sum/$lines;