My gut feeling is that depending on having the input file correctly padded is a bad call, especially if there are humans involved in the process. Better to pad the output as is appropriate.

OTOH if the data is _guaranteed_ to be padded correctly then your point is good and I would utilize it. Anything that minimizes the amount of code required is a Good Thing in my book.

Just my $0.02 :-)

Yves / DeMerphq
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