Your data has newline characters at the end of each element. For example, you think you are looking at... 

ABCD
EFGH
GHIJ

[download]

But what you've really got in your array is: 

ABCD\n
EFGH\n
GHIJ\n

[download]

The first print statement prints one element, with a newline. The second statement prints a single tab on the new line. On the next iteration, the next field is printed on that same new line, and another newline is output. Then another tab, from the next new line, and so on. So you're always starting over with a new line, and always tabbing from the beginning of that new line.

You should be chomping the data. If you don't really care or need for it to have newline characters in it, chomp them as the data is slurped into the array.

Try this: 

my @array;
while ( my $line = <STDIN> ) {
    chomp $line;
    push @array, $line;
}
#.... later on...
foreach ( @array ) {
    print "$_\t";
}

[download]

A slightly more obfuscated way of printing the list, while avoiding using a foreach (or for) loop could be: 

{
    local $, = "\t";
    print @array, "\n";
}

[download]

The preceeding example sets the output field separator, contained in $, to the tab character. Just don't forget to switch it back or you'll have a mess in other places in the program.

Hope this helps...

UPDATE: Egads, too early in the morning. Code has been fixed. Thanks for the head's up. Duh!

Dave

"If I had my life to do over again, I'd be a plumber." -- Albert Einstein

In reply to Re: print datafields separated by tab by davido
in thread print datafields separated by tab by bandya

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