#!/usr/bin/perl

my $x = '1,2,3,4,5,6,7';
my @x = split (/,/, $x, 3);
my @y = (split (/,/, $x, 4))[0 .. 2];

{
        local $"="', '";
        print "'@x'\n";
        print "'@y'\n";
}
----------
'1', '2', '3,4,5,6,7'
'1', '2', '3'
[download]

I want to keep 3 good elements. Split to 4 and keep the first 3.

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Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.