Question

How can I convert a scalar containing a string with newlines in an array with those lines as elements?

For example, considering this:

$lines = "line 1\nline 2\nline 3\n";

I want to retrieve this:

$lines[0] --> "line 1\n"
$lines[1] --> "line 2\n"
$lines[2] --> "line 3\n"

Ideally, I’d like to keep the newline in the aray elements.

Answer 1

Use split:

my @lines = split(/\n/m, $lines);

EDIT: to keep the newlines, split on /^/m as mentioned in the comments, or use a zero-width look-behind, as mentioned in another answer.