Hello all!

I'm trying to parse something *like* the following string...

joe(lots of spaces) 0.0000E(one space)000 (spaces) 9.0720E-001 (lots of spaces) d23(lots of spaces) 9.0208E-001(no space)

I would like to capture the following like so: "joe", "0.00E 000" "d23" "9.0720E-001". The reason I say *like* is because I have a script needs to parse strings like the above, but not always the same. These strings are generated, and I have a whole lot of them to parse :( I can't for the life of me figure out a regex to work...The strings have these characteristics:

1. Starts with some string, a name

2. Followed by a whole bunch of space (amount of spacing between each "group of characters" is irregular, but always more than just a single space)

3. Followed by an integer written in scientific form. They will either look like this: #.####E(space)### or this: #.####E-###. The integer is always a decimal integer taken to 4 decimal points ("decimal points"...is this the right term? I've been out of school for too long...)

4. More spacing

5. Followed by another scientific integer written in the same scientific form as described above

6. Followed by a whole bunch of spacing (again irregular, but always more than just a single space)

7. Followed by a text and/or integer "mashup word" (like d9s00 or e893 or 887.9 or irtw, etc) of unknown length

8. Followed again by a whole bunch spaces

9. Followed by another scientific integer

10. End of string. No spaces follow the last "word"

I've been trying all sorts of things all day and the closest thing I've managed was this: @words = split(/\s\s\S/, $some_string). This gets me the first three "words" ("joe", "0.00E 000", and "d23"), but not the last. I'm stumped, any help? Eternally grateful

In reply to How to extract these groups of characters? by Anonymous Monk

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