Seems like a simple problem but I cannot seem to get it working. I have multiple sets of data contained within one string I need to get each set represented as a value in an array. The data sets in the string are variable but follow the format below: 
data_element::item::value|item::value|item::value

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This pattern could appear many time in the string, a multiple element string would appear as: 
date0_element::item::value|item::value|item::value|data1_element::item
+::value|item::value|item::value

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The only constant is the placement of the "::" and the "|". Below is some code that I've tested with (without success): 
#!/usr/bin/perl
$_="monsa::clear::1|red::23|blue::50|monsb::clear::80|red::90|blue::10
+0|";
@instances = m/(\S+::\S+::\S+\|\S+::\S+\|\S+::\S+\b)/g;
foreach $inst (@instances) {
   print "found $inst\n";
}
exit;

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What I would expect (and desire) would be seperate values for each data set instance as below: 
monsa::clear::1|red::23|blue::50
monsb::clear::80|red::90|blue::100

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But it seems to throw everything into one array value. Any thoughts?

In reply to Regular Expression Trick by Anonymous Monk

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