#!\usr\bin\perl

use strict;
my $myDirectory;
my $parent;

$myDirectory = "/dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4/dirLast//";

# with '/' after dirLast
($parent) = $myDirectory =~ m#(.+)/#;
print "$parent\n";

# without '/' after dirLast
($parent) = $myDirectory =~ m#(.+)//#;
print "$parent\n";

exit;