note MidLifeXis <code> sub readNLines { my $lines_to_read = shift or die '....'; my @lines_read; while(<>) { push( @lines_read, $_ ); last if @lines_read == $lines_to_read; } if ( @lines_read != $lines_to_read ) { # error condition } return @lines_read; } while (@lines = readNLines(4)) { do_stuff() } </code> <p>I might even consider the question "What am I reading from the file?" - if it is a record, then I might instead change <c>readNLines</c> to <c>readRecord</c> (as well as the surrounding usage of the data). Then the concept is abstract, and if the format of a record changes, you modify the reading piece. In my opinion, <code> while ( my $record = readRecord( ... ) ) { ... } </code> tells me much more in the context that I am concerned with than <code> while ( $line1=<> && $line2=<> && $line3=<>... ) { ... } </code> </p> <p>Just my $0.02.</p> <div class="pmsig"><div class="pmsig-272364"> <p>--MidLifeXis</p> </div></div> 1007560 1007560