If you use the third split parameter it will do the trick. A value of 5 works for your example, but any value larger also works which is useful if you are not sure how many fields there are: 

print "'$_'" for split '[*]{2}', $s, 100;;
'123'
'abc'
''
''
''

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In reply to Re: Split a string with multiple trailing delimeters? by BrowserUk
in thread Split a string with multiple trailing delimeters? by haolecoder

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