I have string, something like:

        $String = "aaa bbb: fffd: sdfsdf qweqd: adfsdf qwcdsfs: qwdq qchuti:
qwiojd";

Now, I want to extract everything from the start of the string, up through
the FIRST colon ":" -- in this case "aaa bbb". My regex looks like this:

        $String =~ /^(.*):/ ;

So: ^ starts at the beginning, (.*) to grab everything in the middle, and :
to match the colon.

What I am getting is, everything from the start of the string up until the
last colon. In this example:

        $1 = "aaa bbb: fffd: sdfsdf qweqd: adfsdf qwcdsfs: qwdq qchuti"

What I want is:

        $1 = "aaa bbb"

I even tried using:

        $String =~ /^(.*):{1}/ ;

Thinking the {1} would match the first occurance of :, but that didn't
change the results (I was runningn out of ideas).

Now, I could split $String on :, but I have to think that there is a better
way and I'm missing some modifier that I can't find in the FAQ or any of the
three books that have been dumped on my desk.

Any help is appreciated.

Russell J Foster
Subject, Wills, & Company
e. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
v. 630-572-0240
 

-- 
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Reply via email to