$s = "23,452,789 views";; $s =~ m[((?:\d+,)?(?:\d+,)?\d+) views] and ( $n = $1 ) =~ s[,][]g and print $n;; 23452789 $s = "452,789 views";; $s =~ m[((?:\d+,)?(?:\d+,)?\d+) views] and ( $n = $1 ) =~ s[,][]g and print $n;; 452789 $s = "789 views";; $s =~ m[((?:\d+,)?(?:\d+,)?\d+) views] and ( $n = $1 ) =~ s[,][]g and print $n;; 789