use strict; use warnings; my ($int) = (split "!(?:INT=)?", "SLOT3=4,4,2!INT=115!VC=4!CS=270!PK=/")[1]; print "Method 1 :\t\$int: $int\n"; my ($int1) = ("SLOT3=4,4,2!INT=115!VC=4!CS=270!PK=/")=~ m/\!INT=([^\!]+)/; print "Method 2 :\t\$int: $int1\n";