I prefer readable code over concise one, but since you asked for it

    
# http://perlmonks.org/?node_id=1180396
use strict;
use warnings;

my $sa = 'random,junk no,one,cares about(I,Want,This,stuff) but, (not,
+this) stuff which&might have-random characters';

my $new= $sa =~ s/
           (?: ^ .*? \( )? # swallow start till first opening paren
           ( [^,)]+ )      # match words (non-delimiters)
           ,?              # swallow delimiter
           (?: \) .* $  )? # swallow first closing paren till EOL

        / $1 #/xgr;

print "#$new";

[download]
# I # Want # This # stuff #

[download]

NB: I wouldn't use this.

Cheers Rolf
(addicted to the Perl Programming Language and ☆☆☆☆ :)
Je suis Charlie!

In reply to Re: Restrict a match within a string (updated comments) by LanX
in thread Restrict a match within a string by SavannahLion

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.