I understand that split creates an array from a string
No, split creates a list.

What is the difference between a list and an array?

So @array = split(/\s+/, $_) splits the $_ varible at whitespaces and places the results in array. @array =split does the same.
No, split with no arguments does something similar but not quite the same as split( /\s+/, $_ ). You will only notice the difference if the string in $_ has leading whitespace.

my ($subdir, @keywords) = split; assigns the list returned from split to the list in the parentheses. If any of the variables in the parentheses is an array or a hash it will receive the remaining items in the list and any variables following said array or hash will not receive anything. This is all explained in the documentation.

perldoc perldata

In reply to Re: what does my ($subdir, @keywords) = split; do. by Anonymous Monk
in thread what does my ($subdir, @keywords) = split; do. by richill

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