I suggest you rewrite your sample to include a little of the problematic data you have and to show us what you actually want to see in the output. Consider:

use strict;
use warnings;

while (my $line = <DATA>) {
    next if $line !~ /<stuff>/;

    print $line;
}

__DATA__
Date Time <stuff> 3344 123456789
Date Time could be good
Date Time <otherstuff> 4321
Date Time <sohappy> this is really great

[download]

Prints:

Date Time <stuff> 3344 123456789

[download]
True laziness is hard work

In reply to Re: String evaluation of log files by GrandFather
in thread String evaluation of log files by Wes_M

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