#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;

my $terms	= 'tree crow black blue green stars';
my $color	= '#CC0000';
my $string1= qq!\tthe black crow is sitting in the <font color="blue">tree</font> looking at the green stars!;
my $string2= qq!\tthe black crow is sitting in the blue tree looking at the green stars!;

print 'Terms: '.$terms.$/x2;
print 'text1:'.$/.$string1.$/;
print 'parsed1:'.$/.HTMLhighlight($terms,$string1,$color).$/;
print 'text2:'.$/.$string2.$/;
print 'parsed2:'.$/.HTMLhighlight($terms,$string2,$color).$/;

sub HTMLhighlight {
  my($searchterms,$instr,$color) = @_;
  my (@terms)=split(/\ /,$searchterms);
  foreach my $i (0..$#terms) {
	$instr =~ s/(?!<.*)($terms[$i])(?!.*>)/<b style=\"background:$color\">$1<\/b>/gi;
  }
  return $instr;
}

# a easier way to do the same thing =]
sub HTMLhighlight2 {
	my ($searchterms,$instr,$color) = @_;
	$searchterms =~ s/\s+/|/g;
	$instr =~ s#($searchterms)#<b style="background:$color">$1</b>#gi;
	return $instr;
}