That is good. You never want to 'eval' something that comes from an outside source. Not only do you not actually know if the data you're getting is actually the right answer, but also you are not really checking the file to see if it's formatted the way you thought it was. Programs ought to disbelieve their inputs, not blindly trust them. If there is a bug in whatever program produced that input file, your program should be the one to point out that the error exists and where; and it should recover graciously. A little more work up-front but worth it. (Let's face it: in a file of hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of millions of records, how else would you know? You wouldn't, of course.)