Use Regexp::Common: 
  use Regexp::Common qw /URI/;
  
  my $re_a_tag = qr/<a\s+.*?>.*<\/a>/si ;
  
  my $html = q`
    some link:
    <a href="http://www.perl.com">www.perl.com</a>
    http://www.perlmonks.com
    by!
  `;
  
  my @chunks = split(/($re_a_tag)/si , $html) ;
  
  foreach my $chunks_i ( @chunks ) {
    next if $chunks_i =~ /$re_a_tag/ ;
    $chunks_i =~ s/($RE{URI}{HTTP})/<a href="$1">$1<\/a>/gsi ;
  }
   
  $html = join('' , @chunks) ;
  print "$html\n" ;

[download]
Output: 
    some link:
    <a href="http://www.perl.com">www.perl.com</a>
    <a href="http://www.perlmonks.com">http://www.perlmonks.com</a>
    by!

[download]
Enjoy!

By gmpassos

In reply to Re: How to recognize url in text and convert to hyperlink, unless already in anchor by Anonymous Monk
in thread How to recognize url in text and convert to hyperlink, unless already in anchor by Anonymous Monk

Title:
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