my @aFields = split(/[\s:;]+/, $line); my $rscode = $aFields[1]; #assignment to document field use my @aRsFields = split(/[-_]/, $rscode); my $sRsNo = $aRsFields[0]; # 1st array element my $s619Thingy = $aRsFields[1]; # 2nd array element my $s291Thingy = $aRsFields[-1]; # last array element