If you don't trust binary files then maybe a better way will be, to use DBI and CSV like that:

tie %line, 'Tie::RDBM', "CSV:f_dir=/whatever/log", {table => 'anyfilen
+ame', create => 1} or die "no tie $!\n";
[download]

Then you get a human readable file, which is editable.

-----------------------------------
--the good, the bad and the physi--
-----------------------------------
[download]