As you no doubt realize by now, Perl has some really odd features, and the DATA file handle is one of them. This file handle lets you store read-only data in the same file as your Perl script, which might come in handy if you need to send both code and data to someone via e-mail.
When using the DATA file handle, you don't need to open or close the file handle-just start reading from the file handle using the diamond operator. The following simple example shows you how to use the DATA file handle. The mothod is simple enough:
The Perl to do this is (data.pl):
@lines = <DATA>; foreach (@lines) { print("$_"); } __END__ Line one Line two Line three
This program displays the following:
Line one Line two Line three