(cLive ;-) Re: How do I count characters

[cLive ;-)]

If you can't use davorgs advice above, you can use this:

my $string = "This is a test string containing fifty-four characters";

# for example, we'll set limit at 25
my $limit = 25;

my @lines = ();

push @lines, $_ for ($string =~  /\s*(.{0,$limit}\b)gs);

# regex explanation
\s*        - match any leading spaces
(          - start match
.          - match any character
{0,$limit} - up to $limit times
)          - end match
\b         - followed by a word boundary

# modifiers
g - global (match as many times as you can)
s - treat whole string as a single line.

hth

cLive ;-)

[Juerd]

You could of course embed the comments into the regex itself, with the /x modifier:

/
    \s*              # Leading whitespace
    (                # Save match group
        .            # Any character
        {0,$limit}   # Up to $limit times
    )                # End of match group
    \b               # Word boundary
/gsx                 # Global, single line, extended

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