#!/usr/bin/perl -w # use warnings!
use strict;

# suck the entire file into an array, rather than just 
# putting it into a file.
open(DATA," basicdez.dat") || die "Cannot open datfile: $!\n";
my @data = <DATA>;
close(DATA);

# remove your eof element.  If you can help it, take it out of the 
# dat file completely, so you can remove this line of code.
@data = @data[0..@data-1];

# name and scope your loop variable
for my $data (@data)
{
   # remove those pesky quotes.  If you can help it, take those out
   # of the dat file too!  If i remember correctly, they are
   # needed in vb; however, Perl isn't a weak language like
   # vb is.  It can handle raw text ;)  You should delimit 
   # your text with a single obscure character (the standard
   # obscure character (the standard for flat dbs is the
   # pipe | symbol.)
   # However, given your data as it is now, this will work:
   $data =~ s/" "/""/g;
   $data =~ s/""/|/g;
   $data =~ tr/"//d;

   # split on the newly created pipe delimited entry.
   my($first_name,$last_name,$address,$city,$state,$phone)
   = split /\|/, $data;
   print "$first_name,$last_name\n";
   print "$address\n";
   print "$city, $state\n";
   print "$phone \n";
}