This talk is too short (20 minutes) to tell you all about how the Perl regex engine works---that would take years, and cost millions of lives. Instead, witness three very brief case studies of how it handles certain specific features. You've probably always suspected that the Perl regex engine concealed filthy secrets and nasty surprises and these three features are noteworthy for being particularly disgusting.

Barf bags will be provided.

Outline:

• How "use re 'eval'" works
• What you wish you didn't know about /o
• Unpleasant Surprise Feature