my ($len,$substring) = ($string =~ /^(\d+) ((??{"(?s).{$1}"}))/s);

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See perlre on (?imsx-imsx).

Makeshifts last the longest.

In reply to Re: Using previous match in the same matching regexp (now with newlines!) by Aristotle
in thread Using previous match in the same matching regexp (now with newlines!) by cyberconte

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