title: How do I read paragraphs at a time with Perl?
body: <p>When I write</p>
  
  <pre><code>#!/usr/bin/perl -w
  use strict;
  
  while( &lt;DATA&gt; ) {
      print "\n-------------------------\n\n";
      print;
      &lt;&gt;;
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>after each "return" I get one line.</p>
  
  <p>Why don't I get with the next script after each "return" one paragraph?</p>
  
  <pre><code>#!/usr/bin/perl -w
  use strict;
  
  local $/ = "";
  
  while( &lt;DATA&gt; ) {
      print "\n-------------------------\n\n";
      print;
      &lt;&gt;;
  }
  
  __DATA__
  line one
  line two
  line three
  line four
  line five
  
  line six
  line seven
  line eigth
  line nine
  
  line ten
  line eleven
  line twelve
  </code></pre>