> free read loop perl -n > free field splitting perl -a ... $F[1/2/3/etc] > pattern/condition matching model Not quite sure what you mean, but `perl -lane

> free read loop perl -n > free field splitting perl -a ... $F[1/2/3/etc] > pattern/condition matching model Not quite sure what you mean, but `perl -lane 'print if /abc/'` is might be what you're looking for The boilerplate can be mostly eliminated with the magic incantation of `perl -lane`. The trick that makes all this work is that perl defines a whole bunch of pre-defined variables and populates them with things that might be helpful (see $_, @F, etc).