while () { my $string = $_; my $stmt_tr = substr($_,126,10); if ((substr($string,126,1) =~ m/5/) && (substr($string,98,8) =~ m/20081112/)) { #### while ( my $string = ) { my $stmt_tr = substr $string, 126, 10; if ( substr( $string, 126, 1 ) == 5 && substr( $string, 98, 8 ) == 20081112 ) {