I would just like to explain a bit about giving up on regex calisthenics. The problem is trying to match a "recursive pattern" another example of which would be matching balanced parenthesis which is a Perl FAQ.

p =~ ()
p =~ (p)
p =~ pp

[download]

The faq and answer are here: Can I use Perl regular expressions to match balanced text?

Ron

In reply to Re^2: When the only tool you have is a screwdriver... by mr_ron
in thread When the only tool you have is a screwdriver... by ExReg

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