while (@a = split /\t|$/, ){ $a[0] =~ /\d/ ? print "K $a[0] : " : next; print "positive number\n" and next if $a[1] == $a[2]; print "negative number\n" and next if $a[1] == $a[3]; print "author didn't specify that option\n"; } __DATA__ K I B S 1 2 2 3 2 4 3 4 3 5 5 2 4 9 1 3