hi jim, thanks for helping me out!
the string that i'm matching though is $_, not $temperature. $_ holds a filename, like "100.energy", and i'd like to extract the "100" from the filename and put it in $temperature. doesn't $temperature =~ s/(\d+).*/$1/; assume that $temperature is the object holding "100.energy"? note that i'm being greedy here -- this DOES work: /(\d+).*/; # match "100" in $_ $temperature = $+; # put it in $temperature i just want to do it in a single line. :) also, i'd like to do it without destroying the contents of $_ if possible. pete begin Jim Angstadt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > --- Peter Jay Salzman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > <snip> > > /(\d+).*/; > > $temperature = $+; > > $1 holds the \d+ matching, because it has parens. > Multiple sets of parens will match $1, $2, ... based > on the left to right order of the parens. > > If $temperature already had one or more digits \d+ and > some other junk, replace digits and junk with digits: > > $temperature =~ s/(\d+).*/$1/; > > Note, if $temperature has a newline character in the > middle somewhere, then .* will not match it. > > --- > Jim > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! > http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ > _______________________________________________ > vox-tech mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox-tech -- The mathematics [of physics] has become ever more abstract, rather than more complicated. The mind of God appears to be abstract but not complicated. He also appears to like group theory. -- Tony Zee's `Fearful Symmetry' PGP Fingerprint: B9F1 6CF3 47C4 7CD8 D33E 70A9 A3B9 1945 67EA 951D _______________________________________________ vox-tech mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox-tech