Edumacation (I hope, anyway) by example :-)

#!/usr/bin/perl
use 5.016;
use warnings;

# 1060027
 
my $string = "aacbbbcac";
 
my $re1 = qr/((a+)?(b+)?(c))*/;
my $re2 = qr/(a.*?)(b.+?)(c)(.*)/;  # ADDED ON SUSPICION THAT OP'S REG
+EX FU 
                                    # MIGHT BE INCREMENTED BY THIS EXA
+MPLE

if ($string =~ $re1) {
  say "Here are the captures: $1, $2, $3)\n";  # ADDED line
  foreach (0..$#-) {
    printf "Group %d: <%s>\n", $_, substr($string, $-[$_], $+[$_] - $-
+[$_]);
  }
}
say "\n";

if ( $string =~ $re2 ) {
    say "USING \$re2, here are the captures \$1..\$4: $1, $2, $3, $4)\
+n";

    foreach (0..$#-) {
    printf "Group %d: <%s>\n", $_, substr($string, $-[$_], $+[$_] - $-
+[$_]);
  }
}


=head   #ONLY the "ADDED" lines are changed from OP's original

Here are the captures: ac, a, bbb)

Group 0: <aacbbbcac>
Group 1: <ac>
Group 2: <a>
Group 3: <bbb>
Group 4: <c>


USING $re2, here are the captures $1..$4: aac, bbb, c, ac)

Group 0: <aacbbbcac>
Group 1: <aac>
Group 2: <bbb>
Group 3: <c>
Group 4: <ac>

=cut
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