You are correct - the capturing parens are not necessary,
In that case, the originally posted code is correct:
# Split on multiple spaces using regex captured matches
my @temp_and_starts = $_ =~ /[^\s
+]+/g;
my @last_AT_fracs = <$in> =~ /[^\s
+]+/g;
my @twenty_SFs = (<$in> . <$in> . <$in> . <$in>) =~ /[^\s
+]+/g;
and my test below shows that it works:
$ perl -E '$_="This and that and other";@x= $_=~ /[^\s]+/g;; say for
+@x'
This
and
that
and
other
"The difficult we do today; the impossible takes a little longer."
