AnonyMonk:   Note that you will never capture the  C character in the string (if this is what you want to do) because the  $str =~ /^(L+)/ expression will always match first in
    if ($str =~ /^(L+)/ or $str =~ /^(L+C)/) { ... }
for the strings you give as examples. If you want the  C captured, reverse the order of the matches
    if ($str =~ /^(L+C)/ or $str =~ /^(L+)/) { ... }
or much better yet IMHO, just use a single regex with an optional  C match
    if ($str =~ /^(L+C?)/) { ... }
(See the  ? quantifier in perlre.)