my $string = "1\r\n 2 \n";
while ($string = /(.)/g) {
  print "Encountered character: $1\n";
}

##</code><code>##

Encountered character: 1
Encountered character: \r
Encountered character: \n
Encountered character: \s
Encountered character: 2
Encountered character: \s
Encountered character: \n