$string = 'abcdefghijklfghijklabcdefg';
$c = 0;
while ( ++$c && $string =~ m/(e(.*?fg){$c})/ ) {
  print "$1\n";
}
__OUTPUT__
efg
efghijklfg
efghijklfghijklabcdefg
[download]

if( $string =~ /e/g ) {
  my $start_pos = pos($string) - 1;
    while ($string =~ /fg/g) {
      print substr($string, $start_pos, pos($string) - $start_pos) , "
+\n";
    }
}

# outputs
efg
efghijklfg
efghijklfghijklabcdefg
[download]

Or if you want to catch 'e.*gh' for every 'e':

$string = 'abcdefghijklfghijklabcdefg';
while( $string =~ /e/g ) {
  my $start_pos = pos($string) - 1;
  while ($string =~ /fg/g) {
      print substr($string, $start_pos, pos($string) - $start_pos) , "
+\n";
  }
  pos($string) = $start_pos + 1;
}
# outputs
efg
efghijklfg
efghijklfghijklabcdefg
efg
[download]

see perldoc perlretut, perldoc -f pos

hi ccn,
Thanks a ton. I got the solution.

Regards
Sameet

your string: abcdefghijklfghijklabcdefg

Here is one example s/e.*fg/eXfg/;
abcdeXfg
As you see it took e, followed by anything, followed by fg and is greedy.

This is a little more like I think you want s/efg/eXfg/g;
abcdeXfghijklfghijklabcdeXfg
This looks for efg, the g modifier tells it to keep looking (global)

or perhaps you meant this s/e[^e]*fg/eXfg/g;
abcdeXfghijklabcdeXfg
This is e followed by zero or more non e characters followed by fg, searched for multiple times.

here is a generic search for p1 followed by p2, by p3, with things that are not the patterns in between. s/p1[^(p1)(p2)(p3)]*p2[^(p1)(p2)(p3)]*p3/X/g;
then I guess you just count the X's or use them as markers for further processing or whatever else you needed.

cheers.

$mystr =~ s/whatever/e.*fg/g;
[download]

mystr: abcdwhateverhijklfghijklabcdwhatever
[download]

$mystr =~ s/whatever/e.*fg/g while ( $mystr =~ /e.*fg/);
[download]

Solutions involving substitution are not what the OP wants. How about this:

  my @results = $mystr =~ /(efg)/g;
[download]

Taken literally, "e followed by fg" is efg. If other characters may come between, try:

  my @results = $mystr =~ /(e.*?fg)/g;
[download]



pbeckingham - typist, perishable vertebrate.

Thats wrong, since the example has more 'fg' as 'e' so every hit starts at the first e and ends at x's 'fg'.

$input = 'xxxxefghijklfghijklabcdefg';
__OUTPUT__
efg
efghijklfg
efghijklfghijklabcdefg
[download]

Boris