in reply to Text::CSV_XS -- Bug or wrong usage?

I'd have to agree with you that this seems like a bug in Text::CSV_XS. Maybe an email to the authors CPAN address is called for. 

#! perl -slw
use strict;
use Text::CSV_XS;

while(my $Row =<DATA>) {
    my $csv = Text::CSV_XS->new({
        'quote_char'  => '',
        'escape_char' => chr(92),
        'sep_char'   => ':',
        'binary'    => 1
    });

    if($csv->parse($Row)) {
        my @fields = $csv->fields();
        print "@fields";
    }
}

__DATA__
0005:A:A2:\\\\string 04\\\\
0005:A:A2:\\\string 04\\\\
0005:A:A2:\\string 04\\\\
0005:A:A2:\string 04\\\\

[download]

Output

C:\test>246265
0005 A A2 \string 04\\
0005 A A2 \string 04\\
0005 A A2 string 04\\
0005 A A2 string 04\\

[download]
Examine what is said, not who speaks.
1) When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2) The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible
3) Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Arthur C. Clarke.

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom