in reply to How do I read a log file that contents recurring log messages those are separated by newline characters?
This is what perl is great for.
Probably the most direct approach would be to parse each line with a regex to get the parts you care about (IE not the timestamp). Create a hash where the key is the relevant part of the line and the value is a number that you increment every time you find the same message. Notice you're not keeping the whole file in memory, just one instance of each line and a number.
--Pileofrogs
In Section
Seekers of Perl Wisdom