my $ip_mask = parse_ip_mask('131.202.1.[3-4]'); foreach (qw( 131.202.1.2 131.202.1.3 131.202.1.4 132.202.1.4 )) { print(ip_check($_, $ip_mask) ? "$_ matches.$/" : "$_ doesn't match.$/" ); } __END__ output ====== 131.202.1.2 doesn't match. 131.202.1.3 matches. 131.202.1.4 matches. 132.202.1.4 doesn't match.