sub myTrim {
    my $str = shift;  #shift faster than @_ for one paramater
    $str =~ s/^\s*//; #no space at front
    $str =~ s/\s*$//; #no space at rear
    return $str;
}

##</code><code>##

    $str =~ s/^\s+//;    # no whitespace at front
    $str =~ s/\s+$//;    # no whitespace at rear