in reply to Read in a file containing the criteria for a program when it runs

You may want to use array of arrays (AoA) to parse and store this file. For example, 
#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;
use Data::Dumper;

my @filter;

<>; # read one line from the file/stdin

while (<>) { # read other lines
 chomp; # remove "\n" from the end of the line
 push @filter,[(split /\t/,$_)]; # create an array of the line by spli
+tting it by <TAB>, make a reference of it and push the reference to t
+he @filter array
}

@filter = sort { $a->[4] <=> $b->[4] } @filter; # sort the array by 5t
+h element of embedded arrays

print Dumper \@filter;

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(EDIT: add chomp)
Sorry if my advice was wrong.
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Re^2: Read in a file containing the criteria for a program when it runs
by dkhalfe (Acolyte) on Jul 18, 2012 at 18:37 UTC

    This method is also great. I know that I can print any specific clump of data. Ex.  print Dumper \@filter[0] to get the first clump of data in the array. My question is, can I (and if I can, how can I) pull out the individual elements in the array. Ex. 

     
$VAR1 = \[
            '1000_Genomes',
            '<=',
            '0.03',
            'filter ',
'           '1
          ];

    [download]
    is the output I get when I print  Dumper \@filter[0] . I need to be able to use each individual element (1000_Genomes, <=, 0.03, etc..) separately throughout my program. Should I store these values in variables or what? Thanks for your assistance!!!!
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[d/l]
[select]

      You can access elements by their nubmers. For example, print $filter[0]->[0],"\n" should print 1000_Genomes.

      -> is necessary because @filter array contents are not real arrays, but references to arrays.

      Sorry if my advice was wrong.
[reply]
[d/l]
[select]

        Would it be safe to use references to arrays in a program that will eventually sort through a TON of data? Also, through using references to array, I should be able to call on the individual elements when running my code, correct? Thank you so much. You have really helped me out!

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