use strict;
my $str = 'static array[] ISO8859_1(array $d = [], string $s="", $f=array()) foo bar baz';
my $regex = qr/^
# Static keyword
# Declares a static method ONLY if type is also present
(?:
(static)
\s+
)?
# Return type
(?:
(
(?:[\w\|_\\\\]*\$this[\w\|_\\\\]*)
|
(?:
(?:[\w\|_\\\\]+)
# array notation
(?:\[\])*
)*+
)
\s+
)?
# Method name
([\w_]+)
# Arguments
(?:
\((.*(?=\)))\)
)?
\s*
# Description
(.*)
$/uxmsp;
if ( $str =~ /$regex/ ) {
print "Whole match is ${^MATCH} and its start/end positions can be obtained via \$-[0] and \$+[0]\n";
# print "Capture Group 1 is $1 and its start/end positions can be obtained via \$-[1] and \$+[1]\n";
# print "Capture Group 2 is $2 ... and so on\n";
}
# ${^POSTMATCH} and ${^PREMATCH} are also available with the use of '/p'
# Named capture groups can be called via $+{name}
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Perl, please visit: http://perldoc.perl.org/perlre.html