The perl split function is handy for breaking up a string into several values.  For example if you are reading lines from a file and want to split that line into some different values, manipulate them, and spit them into a new file.  If you're lucky, the line is delimited by something like a ^ (carrot) charcater.

So, source line is something like: 

Various logic and code bits to help you with various scripting tasks.