c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -le
"my $s = 'eks---wye';
 ;;
 my $found = my ($x, $y) = $s =~ m{ \A (eks) .* (wye) \z }xms;
 if ($found) {
   print qq{A: found '$x' and '$y'};
   }
 else {
   print 'A: found nada';
   }
 ;;
 $s = uc $s;
 ;;
 if (my ($xx, $yy) = $s =~ m{ (EKS) .* (WYE) }xms) {
   print qq{B: found '$xx' and '$yy'};
   }
 else {
   print 'B: found nada';
   }
"
A: found 'eks' and 'wye'
B: found 'EKS' and 'WYE'