my $sql = "'XXXX-ax1-d.ett.amrs.bankofamerica.com','UAT','AMRS','AMS','','YYYY','ZZZZ',,,,"; print "$sql\n"; $sql =~ s/,,/,NULL,/g; print "$sql\n"; $sql =~ s/,,/,NULL,/g; ## I dont know why this is needed twice print "$sql\n"; #### $ ./test.pl 'XXXX-ax1-d.ett.amrs.bankofamerica.com','UAT','AMRS','AMS','','YYYY','ZZZZ',,,, 'XXXX-ax1-d.ett.amrs.bankofamerica.com','UAT','AMRS','AMS','','YYYY','ZZZZ',NULL,,NULL, 'XXXX-ax1-d.ett.amrs.bankofamerica.com','UAT','AMRS','AMS','','YYYY','ZZZZ',NULL,NULL,NULL,