DB<17> $line = "ID=1 First=John Last=Doe AGE=42";

  DB<18> $word = qr/[a-zA-Z]+/;

  DB<19> ($id, $first, $last, $age) = $line =~ /^ID=(\d+)\s+First=($word)\s+Last=($word)\s+AGE=(\d+)\s*$/;

  DB<20> x ($id, $first, $last, $age)
0  1
1  'John'
2  'Doe'
3  42