my $output = "phones_out.txt"; open(OUT,"+>$output"); my $PHONE_FILE = $ARGV[0] || 'phones.txt'; my @COLOURS = ; my $GET_MODEL = qr{\A ( [^\n]+ ) }x; open my $PHONES, '<', $PHONE_FILE or die "Cannot open $PHONE_FILE\n"; Case Cover"; while (my ($phn) = <$PHONES> =~ $GET_MODEL) { Do something (matches phone models to colours) }