I was just thinking... say you have: 
$x = "a b c d e f g";
($y) = (split(/\s+/,$x))[0];

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Does perl optimize the split and only grab the first field (the 'a') and not continue breaking up the line after that? (I know this may not be the best place to ask this question, but I couldn't find a better one.)

In reply to is split optimized? by Anonymous Monk

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