#!/usr/bin/perl -wT
use strict;
use CGI;
my %defaultRecord = ( interaction_site => undef,
                       TITLE => undef,
                       channel => undef,
                       target_cell =>undef,
                       c_end => undef,
                    ,);


my $blankRecord = new CGI(\%defaultRecord);

$blankRecord->param(-name => 'channel',
                    -value => 'Sodium channel',
                   ,);

open(SAVERECORDHERE,'>','savedrecord.dat') or die "crapola $!";

$blankRecord->save(SAVERECORDHERE);

close(SAVERECORDHERE);
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SAVING THE STATE OF THE SCRIPT TO A FILE:     $query->save(FILEHANDLE) This will write the current state of the form to the provided filehandle. You can read it back in by providing a filehandle to the new() method. Note that the filehandle can be a file, a pipe, or whatever!

The format of the saved file is:

        NAME1=VALUE1
        NAME1=VALUE1'
        NAME2=VALUE2
        NAME3=VALUE3
        =
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   use CGI;
   open (OUT,">>test.out") || die;
   $records = 5;
   foreach (0..$records) {
       my $q = new CGI;
       $q->param(-name=>'counter',-value=>$_);
       $q->save(OUT);
   }
   close OUT;
   # reopen for reading
   open (IN,"test.out") || die;
   while (!eof(IN)) {
       my $q = new CGI(IN);
       print $q->param('counter'),"\n";
   }
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Now you can concentrate on finishing your app, instead of parsing flat-files ... also, an alternative to the above CGI thingy might be to use windows ini style records, something like

[recordorsomething]
key = value
k0ey = valuee

[recordothersomething]
k = v
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What I also like to do, as opposed to using a flat-file, is to add DB_File to the mix, which along with CGI.pm, makes for better than flatfile, and as always,makes for an easy to parse, quick to write with the security of familiarity, solution.

Happy Coding!

update:
It has been brought to my attention, that gdnew is using a very peculiar dataformat, sorta like:

COMMERCIAL SUPPLIERS
SEQUENCE            
                     /exon="1-120"
                     /intron=" "
//
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Now my question is for you gdnew, where did you get the idea to use such a bizzare format?

 

______crazyinsomniac_____________________________ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. perl -e "$q=$_;map({chr unpack qq;H*;,$_}split(q;;,q*H*));print;$q/$q;"

#!/usr/local/bin/perl

use strict;

# pull everything into a string
my $str = join("",<DATA>);

# dump the newlines
$str =~ s/\n/ /g;

# loop through the records (// delimited)
foreach (split(m!//!,$str)) {
  last unless /\S/;                       # skip that pesky last blank
+ record
  my ($title,@flags) = split(m!/!);       # break out the fields (/ de
+limited)
  $title =~ s/\s+/ /g;                    # kill extra whitespace
  print "References:$title\n";            # print the title
  foreach (@flags) {                      # loop through the fields
    my ($key,$value) = split(/=/);        # split into pairs
    $value =~ s/\s+/ /g;                  # kill extra whitespace
    print ucfirst($key)."\t$value\n";     # print each one
  }
  print "\n";
}

__DATA__
TITLE     An excitatory scorpion toxin with a distinctive feature: an
            additional alpha helix at the C terminus and its implicati
+ons
            for interaction with insect sodium channels
             /interaction_site="Q8, N9, Y10, N11, C12, F17, W38, R58, 
+V59 and K62 form the putative bioactive
                surface in mature toxin (Zilberberg et al., 1997)."
             /channel="Sodium channel"
             /target_cell="Insect specific (Excitatory)"
             /c_end="Free"
//
TITLE     Cloning and Sequencing of an Excitatory Insect-Selective Neu
+rotoxin
            BmKIT cDNA from Buthus martensii Karsch
            /interaction_site="Sequential deletions of C-terminal resi
+dues suggested Ile73 and Ile74 for toxicity. {Oren et al., 1999}"
            /channel="Sodium channel"
            /c_end="Free"
//
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#!/usr/local/bin/perl

use strict;

my $str; # holds the records

#loop through the data
while (<DATA>) { 
  chomp;                                    # kill newlines
  if (m!//!) {                              # we have a record
    my ($title,@flags) = split(m!/!,$str);  # break out the fields(/ d
+elimited)
    $title =~ s/\s+/ /g;                    # kill extra whitespace
    print "References:$title\n";            # print the title
    foreach (@flags) {                      # loop through the fields
      my ($key,$value) = split(/=/);        # split into pairs
      $value =~ s/\s+/ /g;                  # kill extra whitespace
      print ucfirst($key)."\t$value\n";     # print each one
    }
    print "\n";
    $str = "";                              # zero the input buffer
  } else {
    $str .= " " . $_;                       # accumulate data
  }
}

__DATA__
TITLE     An excitatory scorpion toxin with a distinctive feature: an
            additional alpha helix at the C terminus and its implicati
+ons
            for interaction with insect sodium channels
             /interaction_site="Q8, N9, Y10, N11, C12, F17, W38, R58, 
+V59 and K62 form the putative bioactive
                surface in mature toxin (Zilberberg et al., 1997)."
             /channel="Sodium channel"
             /target_cell="Insect specific (Excitatory)"
             /c_end="Free"
//
TITLE     Cloning and Sequencing of an Excitatory Insect-Selective Neu
+rotoxin
            BmKIT cDNA from Buthus martensii Karsch
            /interaction_site="Sequential deletions of C-terminal resi
+dues suggested Ile73 and Ile74 for toxicity. {Oren et al., 1999}"
            /channel="Sodium channel"
            /c_end="Free"
//
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