my $equation = '979x + 87y - 8723z = 274320';
my @parts = ($equation =~ /^(?:(.*?)([xyz]))+/i);

##</code><code>##

@parts = ('979', 'x', ' + 87', 'y', ' - 8723', 'z');

##</code><code>##

@parts = (' - 8723', 'z');

##</code><code>##

my $equation = '979x + 87y - 8723z = 274320';
my @parts = ($equation =~ /^(?:(.*?)([xyz]))+(.*)=(.*)$/i);

##</code><code>##

@parts = ('979', 'x', ' + 87', 'y', ' - 8723', 'z', ' ', ' 274320');

##</code><code>##

@parts = (' - 8723', 'z', ' ', ' 274320');