#! perl -w 
 
use strict; 
 
undef $/; #get all textlines as one unit 
my $data = <DATA>; 
 
# then for each line (set of 6 items that you parsed) call the LINE function 
while ( $data =~ /\W*(\w+)\W+(\w+)\W+(\w+)\W+(\w+)\W+(\w+)\W+(\w+)/g ) { 
    write; 
} 
print "\n\t\t\tEnd of report\n"; 
 
 
format STDOUT_TOP = 
 
               Whatever header text you may desire 
 
@&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124;&#0124; &#0124; 
                        scalar localtime() 
 
  Item 1     Item 2     Item 3     Item 4     Item 5    Item 6 
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- 
 
. 
 
format STDOUT = 
@<<<<<<<<< @<<<<<<<<< @<<<<<<<<< @<<<<<<<<< @<<<<<<<<< @<<<<<<<<< 
$1,        $2,        $3,        $4,        $5,        $6 
. 
 
 
__END__ 
This page describes the syntax of regular expressions in Perl. 
For a description of how to use regular expressions in matching 
operations, plus various examples of the same, see discussions of m//, 
s///, qr// and ?? in Regexp Quote-Like Operators in the perlop 
manpage. 
 
Matching operations can have various modifiers. Modifiers that relate 
to the interpretation of the regular expression inside are listed 
below. Modifiers that alter the way a regular expression is used by 
Perl are detailed in Regexp Quote-Like Operators in the perlop manpage 
and Gory details of parsing quoted constructs in the perlop manpage. 
 
{/CODE} 
 
All you need (besides the formats) is to prepare your 6 item variables and do a write.  Formatting, page skips etcetera are handle fully transparantly. See the perlform manpage. 
 
When you run this little script, you get this nicely fromatted output: 
 
Code
 
               Whatever header text you may desire 
 
                    Fri Apr 28 21:35:19 2000 
 
  Item 1     Item 2     Item 3     Item 4     Item 5    Item 6 
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- 
 
This       page       describes  the        syntax     of 
regular    expression in         Perl       For        a 
descriptio of         how        to         use        regular 
expression in         matching   operations plus       various 
examples   of         the        same       see        discussion 
of         m          s          qr         and        in 
Regexp     Quote      Like       Operators  in         the 
perlop     manpage    Matching   operations can        have 
various    modifiers  Modifiers  that       relate     to 
the        interpreta of         the        regular    expression 
inside     are        listed     below      Modifiers  that 
alter      the        way        a          regular    expression 
is         used       by         Perl       are        detailed 
in         Regexp     Quote      Like       Operators  in 
the        perlop     manpage    and        Gory       details 
of         parsing    quoted     constructs in         the 
 
			End of report 
[?CODE] 
 
pp2u 
(-: Perl Power to You :-) 
 
(Comment added after I saw what happened to my report: do run this little script on your own machine: the html eats all spaces that have been generated automagically to align the columns. This results in an apparently not fromatted text. Do try it out though, and you'll see the power of the format and write combination.) 
 
[This message has been edited by gvh (edited 04-28-2000).]