re = /(?<d> [0-9] [-_ –.]* ){4} # subpattern definition
(?=
\g<d>{4} (?: \g<d> (?: \g<d>{3} )? )? # allowed digit sequences
(?: \g<d>+ (*SKIP) (*F) )? # skip the substring if digits remain
)
\g<d>* (?= \g<d>{4} ) # backtrack until there're 4 digits at the end/x
str = 'valid:
12345678
123456789
123456789012
123-456789
123 45 6789
123 – 45 – 6789
invalid:
1234567
1234567890
12345678901
1234567890123
'
# Print the match result
str.scan(re) do |match|
puts match.to_s
end
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 Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html