Don't ever guess again.

use YAPE::Regex::Explain;
die YAPE::Regex::Explain->new(qr/.*${name}-*/)->explain;
__END__
The regular expression:

(?-imsx:.*-*)

matches as follows:

NODE                     EXPLANATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(?-imsx:                 group, but do not capture (case-sensitive)
                         (with ^ and $ matching normally) (with . not
                         matching \n) (matching whitespace and #
                         normally):
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  .*                       any character except \n (0 or more times
                           (matching the most amount possible))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  -*                       '-' (0 or more times (matching the most
                           amount possible))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
)                        end of grouping
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[download]

update:
In case you were wondering where the (?-imsx:.*-*) comes from, well perl -e"print qr/asdf/", perl -e"print ref qr/a/" and since ${name} is not defined anywhere in the above snippet, that part don't show up in the explanation. Here's an alternative

use YAPE::Regex::Explain;
my $name = 'asdf';
die YAPE::Regex::Explain->new(qr/.*${name}-*/)->explain;
__END__
The regular expression:

(?-imsx:.*asdf-*)

matches as follows:

NODE                     EXPLANATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(?-imsx:                 group, but do not capture (case-sensitive)
                         (with ^ and $ matching normally) (with . not
                         matching \n) (matching whitespace and #
                         normally):
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  .*                       any character except \n (0 or more times
                           (matching the most amount possible))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  asdf                     'asdf'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  -*                       '-' (0 or more times (matching the most
                           amount possible))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
)                        end of grouping
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[download]

____________________________________________________
** The Third rule of perl club is a statement of fact: pod is sexy.

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