s/(?(?{rand() >= 0.1})(?!))./?/g #### use strict; use Benchmark qw(cmpthese timethese); my $str = '?' x 100_000; cmpthese(timethese(-10, { assertion => sub { $str =~ s/(?(?{rand() >= 0.1})(?!))./?/g; }, eval => sub { $str =~ s/(.)/rand() < 0.1 ? '?' : $1/eg; }, })); __END__ Benchmark: running assertion, eval for at least 10 CPU seconds... assertion: 11 wallclock secs (10.09 usr + 0.01 sys = 10.10 CPU) @ 8.51/s (n=86) eval: 11 wallclock secs (10.02 usr + 0.02 sys = 10.04 CPU) @ 3.09/s (n=31) Rate eval assertion eval 3.09/s -- -64% assertion 8.51/s 176% --