Lets presume i have a text like "Ipod batteries for Apple Ipod PDAs. Replacement batteries from Laptops for Less.com.url" in scalar $name. Now i don't want to display this string this long, i'd like to shorten it instead. To be more specific, i want to display only 1 - 20 characters and no more. I tried using 
$_ = "Ipod batteries for Apple Ipod PDAs. Replacement batteries from L
+aptops for Less.com.url";

/^(.{1, 20}).*/;
$shortened_string = $1;

[download]
but that doesn't work? I think this is common procedure for a lot of forums to shorten long URLs, but i have not found suitable snippet for my own use yet.

In reply to how to shorten given string? by mellin

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