use warnings; use strict; while () { if (/do_(add|delete)/) { print "Found: $_"; } } #### __DATA__ A line of stuff with do_add in it. A line of stuff with do_delete in it. Another line of stuff. The last line of stuff. It has do_add and do_delete. Found: A line of stuff with do_add in it. Found: A line of stuff with do_delete in it. Found: The last line of stuff. It has do_add and do_delete.