@a = sort { my ($a1, $a2, $a3) = ( $a =~ m/(\d+)(\D+)(\d+)/ ); my ($b1, $b2, $b3) = ( $b =~ m/(\d+)(\D+)(\d+)/ ); $a1 <=> $b1 || $a2 cmp $b2 || $a3 <=> $b3 } @a;