People are always forgetting they can write subs.

sub split0($;$$) {
   my $pattern = shift;
   my $s       = @_ ? shift : $_;
   my $limit   = @_ ? shift : -2;

   return $s if $limit == 0;
   return split($pattern, $s, $limit == -2 ? 0 : $limit);
}
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sub split0($;$$) {
   @_ == 1 && return split($_[0]);
   @_ == 2 && return split($_[0], $_[1]);
   $_[2] == 0 && return $_[1];
   return split($_[0], $_[1], $_[2]);
}
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