You're a victim of operator precedence - the ! has higher precedence than =~ - so your expression evaluates as if ((!$test_string)=~/$regex/), which is false.

Either use !~, as already suggested, or use parenthesis around the whole match if (!($test_string =~/$regex/)).

You do not need to use the /e modifier!

regards,
tomte

An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.
-- Albert Camus

In reply to Re: regular expressions with ! by Tomte
in thread regular expressions with ! by egunnar

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