# shebang and use <whatever> lines here

my $opts = getoptions();

my $master_conf = $opts->{conf};

# do something with $master_conf here (validation perhaps)

my $json_data = extract_json($master_conf);
my $decoded_json_obj = decode_json($json_data);

# do something with $decoded_json_obj here

# subroutine definitions here