Assigning REGEX Match to a separate variable?

mmartin has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hello Monks,

I have what is probably a simple question for you all.
How can I set a separate variable to the output of a REGEX match...?

The line I'm looking at is part of an XML file, and looks something like this(below):

                <String name="changeTypeName">Modified</String>"
[download]

I've tried the following but I'm getting an integer as the new variable's data instead of the string:
FYI: the array "@reportData" holds all the file's lines...


### The final result of this should be the string "Modified" from the 
+example line given above...

for (my $x = 0; $x <= $#reportData; $x++)
{
    if ($reportData[$x] =~ /^(\s+)(\<String name="changeTypeName"\>)/)
    {
        (my $changeType) = $reportData[$x] =~ /\>[A-z]+\</;

#        my $changeType = $reportData[$x] =~ /\>[A-z]+\</;

#        $reportData[$x] =~ /\>[A-z]+\</;
#        my $changeType = $reportData[$x];

#        my $changeType = $1 if $reportData[$x] =~ /\>[A-z]+\</;

        print "Change Type is = $changeType\n";
    }
}
[download]

While looping through the array it finds the correct line, so the "if statement" is working correctly. But I can't seem to get the value of the REGEX match within the "if statement" to be assigned to the variable $changeType...?

If anyone has any suggestion, please let me know.

Thanks in Advance,
Matt

Comment on Assigning REGEX Match to a separate variable? Select or Download Code

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Re: Assigning REGEX Match to a separate variable? by choroba (Cardinal) on Apr 02, 2012 at 16:47 UTC
From perlop: ... searches a string for a pattern match, and in scalar context returns true if it succeeds... ... Matching in list context If the "/g" option is not used, "m//" in list context returns a list consisting of the subexpressions matched by the parentheses in the pattern, i.e., ($1, $2, $3...). (Note that here $1 etc. are also set, and that this differs from Perl 4's behavior.) When there are no parentheses in the pattern, the return value is the list "(1)" for success. ... The "/g" modifier ... In list context, it returns a list of the substrings matched by any capturing parentheses in the regular expression. If there are no parentheses, it returns a list of all the matched strings, as if there were parentheses around the whole pattern. So, just use `my ($changeType) = $reportData[$x] =~ /\>([A-z]+)\</;` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Assigning REGEX Match to a separate variable? by mmartin (Monk) on Apr 02, 2012 at 16:54 UTC
Hey choroba, Thanks for your quick reply!! "perlop" that's the perldoc I was looking for... Searched every where for that. Thanks. Ok, cool so using the parenthesis allows you to pull out the actual matched string (i.e. $1) instead of getting just a true or false... Good deal... It worked! Thanks! Thanks Again, Matt	[reply]