Question

How do I convert the following string

"str 1<tab>str 2<tab>str 3<tab>str 4..........<tab>str n<tab and some whitespace>"

to

"*str 1*<tab>*str 2*<tab>*str 3*<tab>*str 4*..........<tab>*str n*<tab and some whitespace>"

where str could be “Stack – overflow” or “Super : User” i.e words containing some space and special characters.

I know we can use split and work this out. Is there a way using only =~ s///.. ?

Thanks in advance !

Trinity

Answer 1

$str =~ s/([^\t]+)/*$1*/g;  # Wrap all non-tab groups with '*'s

To deal with the ‘special characters’, simply add it to the list of unwanted items:

$str =~ s/([^\t:-]+)/*$1*/g;