if ($found_addr =~ m/address(.*)\d/){
            print "$1\n";
        }
[download]

And I bet you're getting a space in front of the 74. Your "\d" at the end is matching a single digit character and since it's at the end of your parenthesis grabbing match, it's taking the last character - excluding it from your match.

Use JavaFan's regex above and all will be well.

You're right, and JavaFan's code worked perfect. Thanks a lot

use YAPE::Regex::Explain;
print YAPE::Regex::Explain->new(
qr/address(.*)\d/
)->explain;
__END__
The regular expression:

(?-imsx:address(.*)\d)

matches as follows:

NODE                     EXPLANATION
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(?-imsx:                 group, but do not capture (case-sensitive)
                         (with ^ and $ matching normally) (with . not
                         matching \n) (matching whitespace and #
                         normally):
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  address                  'address'
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  (                        group and capture to \1:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
    .*                       any character except \n (0 or more times
                             (matching the most amount possible))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  )                        end of \1
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  \d                       digits (0-9)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
)                        end of grouping
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[download]

So .* (matching the most amount possible) followed by \d, a digit. If you want the digit to be captured, move it inside the parens.

Last question. What if the output instead of

Using domain server:
Name: 8.8.8.8
Address: 8.8.8.8#53
Aliases: 

google.com has address 74.125.113.147
[download]

Comes out on one line like this:

$ host google.com 8.8.8.8

google.com              A    74.125.113.99
[download]

My previous matching idea still cuts off the last digit. I thought using javafan's and searching for A

/A (\S+)/ and do_something($1);
[download]

Might work but it doesn't seem to. Is there an issue because of the spacing?

If you change the game, you change the win. Tell us all of the contexts in which you hope to find your desired string.

JavaFan's regex worked for your first example because you showed a short, unambiguous introduction to your goal string. /\S/ matches on non-whitespace; there's no whitespace in your first example between /has address / and your goal string. Note that the single space following the last 's' is included in the regex.

Matching on /A/ doesn't work in your second example because the introduction to your goal string is not /A/; it's /A\s+/. This would not be real smart; it's not likely to be unique.

Formulate your problem clearly. Prepare a short list of all the various forms of input data you expect to see; and for each form, desired output. Then it is easy, even possible, to construct a solution.

I'm not the guy you kill, I'm the guy you buy. —Michael Clayton

my ($address) = m{\s+ (?: address | A) \s+ (\S+)}x;

I still wonder why host should change its output format, anyway.

perl -ple'$_=reverse' <<<ti.xittelop@oivalf

Io ho capito... ma tu che hai detto?