$coords_found_flag = 0; open(KMLFILE, $kml_file) or die("cannot open file : $kml_file $! "); while ($line = ) { if ($line =~ m/(.*)<\/name>/) { $current_name = $1; $coords_found_flag = 0; } elsif ($line =~ m/(.*)<\/coordinates>/ && $coords_found_flag == 0) { $coords{$current_name} = $1; $coords_found_flag = 1; } } close(KMLFILE);