You could use unpack similar to the following (as long as the fields are fixed width) :

my $data = qq!'a','b, and c','d '!;
my ($a,undef,$b,undef,$c) = unpack("a3a1a10a1a3",$data);
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If the fields are not fixed width, unpack may not be the bext way to go.

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i had a memory leak once, and it ruined my favorite shirt.