my $line1 = <>; chomp($line1); my $line2 = <>; chomp($line2); while (<>) { chomp($_); my $line3 = $_; if ($line2 =~/(SOMETHING)/) { my $something = $1; $line1 =~ /(DATE)/; my $date = $1; $line3 =~ /(SOMETHINGELSE)/; my $somethingElse = $1; print "$something,$date,$somethingElse\n"; } $line1 = $line2; $line2 = $line3; }