Any negative number would do. From perldoc -f split:

"If LIMIT is specified and positive, splits into no more than that many fields (though it may split into fewer). If LIMIT is unspecified or zero, trailing null fields are stripped (which potential users of pop() would do well to remember). If LIMIT is negative, it is treated as if an arbitrarily large LIMIT had been specified."

--
<http://www.dave.org.uk>

"Perl makes the fun jobs fun
and the boring jobs bearable" - me