#!/usr/bin/perl -l my $para = "xyz-xyz-xyz-xyz-v09.11-e020xyz-xyz-xyz-"; if ($para =~ m/(v\d{2}\.\d{2})-([a-z]\d{3})/) { my ($part1, $part2) = ($1, $2); # the variables $1 and $2 are created automatically after a successful match print "$part1, $part2"; # v09.11, e020 }