#!/usr/bin/perl -w use strict; my $dataset = $ARGV[0] || 'foo1'; my @act_bsites; if ( $dataset eq 'foo1') { @act_bsites = ( '1 - 201 - 229', '2 - 201 - 229', '3 - 201 - 229', ); } elsif ( $dataset eq 'foo2') { @act_bsites = ( '1 - 201 - 218', '2 - 201 - 218', '3 - 201 - 218', '4 - 201 - 218', '5 - 201 - 218', '6 - 201 - 218', '7 - 201 - 218', ); } #..... goes on with 150 of such conditions (upto foo150). # do something with @act_bsites