title: Split values from variable into two fields
body: <p>I have a variable that has two values in it separated by a semicolon. I want to get one of these values into one variable, and the other into another variable. I'm trying to do so using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>my $firstField = `echo $line | awk -F; '{print $1}'`;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But it's getting interpreted extremely oddly. How best would I do this?</p>