my $word;
{
  # Memory is cheap...for some applications
  local $/ = undef;
  open( FILE, "< $file" ) or die( "Ack: $!" );
  my $whole_file = <FILE>;
  close FILE;
  # Assume whitespace delimiting 
  ( $word ) = $whole_file =~ /TARGET\s*=\s*(\S+)/;
}
# $word is now set to our value or undefined