s{
   /\*         ##  Start of /* ... */ comment
   [^*]*\*+    ##  Non-* followed by 1-or-more *'s
   (
     [^/*][^*]*\*+
   )*          ##  0-or-more things which don't start with /
               ##    but do end with '*'
   /           ##  End of /* ... */ comment
 
 |         ##     OR  various things which aren't comments:
 
   (
     "           ##  Start of " ... " string
     (
       \\.           ##  Escaped char
     |               ##    OR
       [^"\\]        ##  Non "\
     )*
     "           ##  End of " ... " string
 
   |         ##     OR
 
     '           ##  Start of ' ... ' string
     (
       \\.           ##  Escaped char
     |               ##    OR
       [^'\\]        ##  Non '\
     )*
     '           ##  End of ' ... ' string
 
   |         ##     OR
 
     .           ##  Anything other char
     [^/"'\\]*   ##  Chars which doesn't start a comment, string or escape
   )
 }{defined $2 ? $2 : ""}gxse;