% cat flatfile.pipe
COL1   | someother data|122343221|blahbalhbalh

##</code><code>##

% cat flatfile.colon
COL1   : someother data:122343221:blahbalhbalh

##</code><code>##

% cat splitit.pl
#!/sur/bin/perl

use Getopt::Std;

getopts( 'c:' );

while(<>) {
   chomp;
   (@columns) = split /$opt_c/;
}

foreach $col (@columns) {
    print "[$col]\n";
}

##</code><code>##

% ./splitit.pl -c':' < flatfile.colons

##</code><code>##

[COL1   ]
[ someother data]
[122343221]
[blahbalhbalh]

##</code><code>##

% ./splitit.pl -c'|' < flatfile.pipes

##</code><code>##

[C]
[O]
[L]
[1]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[|]
[ ]
[s]