push @strings, 'nospace';
push @strings, 'trailingspace      ';
push @strings, '      leadingspace';
push @strings, 'internal space';
push @strings, '    surroundedbyspace    ';
push @strings, '    spaces every    where    ';

for my $wtf (@strings)
{
    print "Before: '$wtf'\n";
    $wtf =~ s/\s*(.*?)\s*/$1/;
    print "After: '$wtf'\n\n";
}