? is the modifier that says do a minimal match vs. a maximal match. Run the following code:

my $x = "aabaab";
my ($y1) = $x =~ /([ab]+)/;
my ($y2) = $x =~ /([ab]+?)/;
print "$x -> '$y1' '$y2'\n";
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Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.