use strict; open (FH,"/usr/local/bin/perld/derektapes") or die "cannot open FH: $! \n"; my @a=(); my $i=0; my $ct=0; my $or_string=" or "; my $w_param="-w '"; my $b_param="barcode="; while () { chomp $_; $a[$i]=$_; $i++; } print $w_param; print $b_param; print $a[0];