#!/usr/local/bin/perl use warnings; use strict; my $line = "2006-01-01,Kims,common,406,560(centrifuge,refrig.),569b,607(dark room),210-211,101(ultracentrifuge),104-105(crystal growth rooms),660(centrifuge,refrig.)"; my @fields; push @fields, $1 while $line =~ /([^,(]+(?:\([^)]*\))?)/g; my $i = 1; print join(', ', map { $i++.": $_" } @fields),"\n"; #### 1: 2006-01-01, 2: Kims, 3: common, 4: 406, 5: 560(centrifuge,refrig.), 6: 569b, 7: 607(dark room), 8: 210-211, 9: 101(ultracentrifuge), 10: 104-105(crystal growth rooms), 11: 660(centrifuge,refrig.)