Another way to find out the order:
my $test_string="1b22a3d3c";

my @ordered;
push(@ordered, $1) while $test_string =~ /([abcd])/cg;

pos($test_string) = 0; # reset m//cg offset

[download]

Update: Used capture as per ikegami's reply.

Update #2: This may be better:
my %seen;
my @order = grep { !$seen{$_}++ } $test_string =~ /([abcd])/g;

[download]

In reply to Re: How to replace greedy alternation? by repellent
in thread How to replace greedy alternation? by adamcrussell

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