I have a text file <INPUT.txt> with pipe-delimited data and a footer
row.  All the rows have 36 fields of data, delimited by '|' (pipes),
except for the last (footer) row.

I need a perl script that:

(1) Reads the text file row-by-row and checks to see that there are 36
fields (separated by 35 pipes).

(2) If the row has 36 fields (or 35 pipes), write the row to another
text file <OUTPUT.txt>.  If the row does not have exactly 36 fields,
skip to the next row until the end of the file.

Alternatively (but less desirably), I will also accept a script that:

(1)  Reads through the data file <INPUT.txt> row-by-row.
(2)  Writes each row to an output file <OUTPUT.txt> except for the last row.

The script below should do the trick.

Save it in a file, say fields.pl (remember to chmod +x the file if
you're on Linux/UNIX) and use it like so (skip the "./" if you're NOT
on Linux/UNIX):

./fields.pl INPUT.txt > OUTPUT.txt

Here's the script:

#!/usr/bin/perl -n
                                                                                
print if ((split /\|/) == 36);

As a bonus, here's a script that prints all the lines from a file
except the last one (use it the same way):

#!/usr/bin/perl -n
 
print unless eof;

Both of these scripts work great, Vladimir!  Thanks for your help.

Please feel free to formally answer the question and claim the compensation.