my @fred = qw(42 43 44 45); my ($q, $x, $y, $z) = grep /\d+/, @fred; print "$q $x $y $z\n"; #### 42 43 44 45 #### ($q, $x, $y) = grep /\d+/, @fred; print "$q $x $y\n"; #### 42 43 44 #### ($q, $x) = grep /\d+/, @fred; print "$x\n"; #### 42 43 #### ($q) = grep /\d+/, @fred; print "$q\n"; #### 42