Re^3: Matching multiple digits

[halley]

None of my books have anything about using the substitution regexp with two sets of braces.

Using braces isn't what made the solution possible. Using braces is just a stylistic choice. Using the "e" modifier after the replacement is what made the solution possible.

s/this/that/

is equivalent to any of these:

s{this}{that}
s(this)(that)
s#this#that#

For more on the "e" modifier, see perlre.

If you want to learn what is possible in Perl, start reading the perldoc. Honestly it sounds silly, but take any kind of reference works to the toilet with you (like perldoc printouts), and read them whenever you are NOT trying to solve a problem. You'll gain familiarity with many features, and you'll be able to go back for more details when you need them at your desk.

[skoney]

Thanks, halley! I'm going to look more closely at the e modifier. I think it would have helped me in another situation I had a while ago. I downloaded and printed perlre, perlop, and perlretut, and will put them in a "bathroom binder", complete with it's own highlighter so I can find the important stuff later on. I've already found something in perltut that I think will be very helpful for future reference when I'm trying to figure out what I did - the x modifier. I always thought it referred to more regexps and since I have enough trouble dealing with the basic ones I just ignored it. Who knew? Thanks for the insight!