A real example would get answers that address the real problem.

Of course, in your case a "real example" would have been a real annoyance for most monks, but a better description of the real problem in the OP would have been nice -- e.g., pointing out that you already tried split, and explaining why you're still looking for a better solution.

At 16:41 EDT, whatever replied to BrowserUK:

Thanks for your input.

Then at 17:33 EDT, whatever replies to another monk:

... given the amount of snot that flies around here ... (in response to a three-line example illustrating the essential problem) ... i've received, in response, an outpouring of ...

"Mucosal tsunami" indeed. I'd be curious whether you actually tried BrowserUK's suggestions, and if so, whether they helped at all. But instead of talking about that, you choose to waste everyone's time with a silly tantrum and finish with:

i won't bother again.

How fortunate for the rest of us.

(fixed a couple grammar typos)

i don't give a rat's ass if you have ten thousand other ways to extract some field or another out of a tab-delimited string -- that's not what i asked.

You're being a jerk. You already knew the answer to your "very simple question" was "no", so we took it to mean you wanted a solution to your problem.

Thanks for your exit.