Getting file contents into a single variable (Larry Wall, Programming Perl) saves enormous time in handling text files.
=pod
  Embellish as you will (slurpall(), etc.
  This example only does one file at a time.)
  When I do this fast or in-line, many times I have
    accidentally left out the concatenation dot in ( .= ). 
    Depending on your buffer size and file size, it can
    be a transient error that is a PITA. "Remember
    the dot". Better, package it. Reading a file a buffer
    at a time, rather than a line at a time, though, makes
    slurpping an invaluable tool of the trade (... $/="";).
  Usage:
  $html = slurp("index.html");
=cut


sub slurp {
  my $tls = $/;
  $/="";
  open X, $_ or return "No $_\n";
  my $slurp .= $_ while (<X>);
  close X;
  $/ = $tls;
  return $slurp;
}

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In reply to slurp by Vane

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