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From: abe@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Vic Abell)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: need help with {n} and bracketing
Message-ID: <7171@mace.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 5 Apr 91 16:36:51 GMT
Organization: Purdue University
Lines: 22

The following Perl program:

	if ("one two three four\n" =~ /^((\w+\s+){3})/) {
		print '"', $1, "\" \"", $2, "\" \"", $3, "\" \"", $4, "\"\n";
	} else {
		print "No match!\n";
	}

produces:

	"one two three " "three " "" ""

I expected:

	"one two three " "one " "two " "three "

Can anyone help me understand why the "((\w+\s+){3})" matching and
bracketing expression didn't create four special Perl variables?
It appears that only the final match of the thrice-matched inner
part -- "(\w+\s+){3}" -- is being assigned to a special variable.

Vic Abell <abe@mace.cc.purdue.edu>