Here is another way of doing the same thing but without modifying the file. 
tie @array, 'Tie::File', $fname or die "Can't tie $fname: $!";
my ($first,$last) = @array[0,$#array];

untie @array;

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In reply to Re: Re: Capturing the first and last line of a file ? by linux454
in thread Capturing the first and last line of a file ? by Anonymous Monk

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