While your db may have other problems (which others have made suggestions about) I'll answer with one method of doing what you are asking for. Load your file into @array. Then start from the top of the array looking for a match on your first key. The first match is the starting index for your output. Next, use a reverse for loop, ie start at the last line of the array and decrement by one, until you get a match. That is the last line you want to output. Then simply print out everything from your first index to your second index. A quick fix that will hold off the dogs while you are learning to program a real dbi.