(I realize I'm responding to an old post) #! /bin/sh # the shell script can be arbitrarily long echo $SHELL echo line filtered by pearl | perl -x $0 exit # the previous line must not be removed (this is a void in the script as the shell nor perl will execute) # the following must not be removed #! perl # it can also be the full path of perl - the -x only looks for a #! and perl on the line though. # the following perl script must be come last but can be arbitrarily long while (<>) { s/pearl/perl/; }