Question

I have an input file with the following syntax:

00000 INFO  [IVS ] reset receiver  
00000 INFO  [IVS ] reset transmitter  
00331 INFO  [IVS ] sync detected     

Data Required in the form

frame=0000  
info=INFO  
TYPE=[IVS ]  
message=reset receiver  

($frame,$info,$type,$message)=split(what would be the argument?);

note: space after IVS before bracket, so cant use space as the separator.

Answer 1

I agree with @hobbs but you should use the expanded format for complex regular expressions:

while( my $line = <DATA> ){
  chomp $line;

  my ( $frame, $info, $type, $message ) = 
    $line =~ m{
      \A        # start at the beginning of the string
      (\d+)     # capture a string of digits        --> $frame
      \s+       # skip the white space
      (\S+)     # capture a string of non-spaces    --> $info
      \s+       # skip the white space
      (         # start a capture                   --> $type
        \[      #   capture an opening bracket
        [^\]]*  #   capture everything that's not a closing bracket
        \]      #   capture the closing bracket
      )         # end the capture
      \s+       # skip the white space
      (.*)      # capture the remainder of the line --> $message
    }msx;

  print "\$frame   = $frame\n";
  print "\$info    = $info\n";
  print "\$type    = $type\n";
  print "\$message = $message\n";
  print "\n";
}

__DATA__
00000 INFO  [IVS ] reset receiver
00000 INFO  [IVS ] reset transmitter
00331 INFO  [IVS ] sync detected