An alternative to moritz's solution, you could do this: 

@{ $aref } = split(/\D+/,"1,2xxx4:17");

[download]

It says "store the result of the split into the array referenced by $aref". If $aref is undefined or an ArrayRef already, this works, even with strict and warnings. 

$ perl -w -Mstrict -MData::Dumper -e 'my $x; @{$x} = split /\s/, "the 
+one true"; print Dumper($x)'
$VAR1 = [
          'the',
          'one',
          'true'
        ];

[download]

If $aref is a different kind of reference, then you will get a fatal "Not an ARRAY reference". 

$ perl -w -Mstrict -MData::Dumper -e 'my $x = {}; @{$x} = split /\s/, 
+"the one true"; print Dumper($x)'
Not an ARRAY reference at -e line 1.

[download]
<–radiant.matrix–>
Ramblings and references
“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.” — Herm Albright
I haven't found a problem yet that can't be solved by a well-placed trebuchet

In reply to Re: split and assign to arrayref in one go? by radiantmatrix
in thread split and assign to arrayref in one go? by rovf

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.