For a different variation on the same theme, try

$string =~ s/(?<!\\)'/\\'/g;

[download]

Though this raises the question "what if the string contains a backslash followed by a single quote?" Which makes the regex slightly more complicated, and leads back to he conclusion that quotemeta might not be such a bad idea, after all...

Update: while I'm writing silly regexes... 

$string =~ s/(?<!\\)(?=')/\\/g;

[download]

<duck>


If God had meant us to fly, he would *never* have given us the railroads.
    --Michael Flanders

In reply to Re: Re: finding ' by ChemBoy
in thread finding ' by Anonymous Monk

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