Regular Expressions 101

Save & Manage Regex

  • Current Version: 1
  • Save & Share
  • Community Library

Flavor

  • PCRE2 (PHP)
  • ECMAScript (JavaScript)
  • Python
  • Golang
  • Java
  • .NET 7.0 (C#)
  • Rust
  • PCRE (Legacy)
  • Regex Flavor Guide

Function

  • Match
  • Substitution
  • List
  • Unit Tests
Sponsors
An explanation of your regex will be automatically generated as you type.
Detailed match information will be displayed here automatically.
  • All Tokens
  • Common Tokens
  • General Tokens
  • Anchors
  • Meta Sequences
  • Quantifiers
  • Group Constructs
  • Character Classes
  • Flags/Modifiers
  • Substitution
  • A single character of: a, b or c
    [abc]
  • A character except: a, b or c
    [^abc]
  • A character in the range: a-z
    [a-z]
  • A character not in the range: a-z
    [^a-z]
  • A character in the range: a-z or A-Z
    [a-zA-Z]
  • Any single character
    .
  • Alternate - match either a or b
    a|b
  • Any whitespace character
    \s
  • Any non-whitespace character
    \S
  • Any digit
    \d
  • Any non-digit
    \D
  • Any word character
    \w
  • Any non-word character
    \W
  • Non-capturing group
    (?:...)
  • Capturing group
    (...)
  • Zero or one of a
    a?
  • Zero or more of a
    a*
  • One or more of a
    a+
  • Exactly 3 of a
    a{3}
  • 3 or more of a
    a{3,}
  • Between 3 and 6 of a
    a{3,6}
  • Start of string
    ^
  • End of string
    $
  • A word boundary
    \b
  • Non-word boundary
    \B

Regular Expression
Processing...

Test String

Code Generator

Generated Code

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class Example { public static void main(String[] args) { final String regex = "<(?:Attendance)[^>]+\\sBookingReference\\=\\\"0317000067\\b[^>]*>"; final String string = "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\"?>\n" + "<!--MSW.MAPS.Extractor, Version=10.6.301.17, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null-->\n" + "<!--Started at 2017-03-29 10:35:03Z-->\n" + "<HealthRosterExtract>\n" + " <HDR FileName=\"TA__MSW_MN1802_000009.DAT\" CreationDate=\"20170329103503\" SystemSourceCode=\"MSW\" TrustIdentifier=\"\" PeriodType=\"M\" ProcessType=\"N\" ExtractType=\"AttendanceAndAbsence\" HistoricPeriods=\"0\" CostCentreSource=\"Duty\" InhibitSubjectiveCodes=\"False\" ExcludeVPD=\"False\" AggregrateTimeAndAttendanceData=\"False\" SequenceNumber=\"9\" PayChannel=\"Generic Bank\" ExtractRunID=\"762\" OrgUnit=\"DL Ward\" ExtractBatch=\"\" IsTestExtract=\"False\" TaxPeriod=\"2\" PeriodValidFrom=\"20170201000000\" PeriodValidTo=\"20170228000000\" /><ATT><Attendance EffectiveDate=\"\" OperationType=\"Add\" StaffNumber=\"87654321\" AssignmentNumber=\"87654321\" Surname=\"Bank\" Forenames=\"Generic\" EarnedDate=\"20170227\" ElementName=\"Band 5 Mon - Fri H\" ElementValueName1=\"Units to Pay\" ElementValueOption1=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText1=\"Pay Hours\" ElementValueName2=\"Rate of Pay\" ElementValueOption2=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText2=\"18.32\" ElementValueName3=\"\" ElementValueOption3=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText3=\"\" ElementValueName4=\"\" ElementValueOption4=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText4=\"\" ElementValueName5=\"\" ElementValueOption5=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText5=\"\" ElementValueName6=\"\" ElementValueOption6=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText6=\"\" ElementValueName7=\"\" ElementValueOption7=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText7=\"\" ElementValueName8=\"\" ElementValueOption8=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText8=\"\" CostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreName=\"Dom Ward\" DutyCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PostingCostCentreCode=\"\" PostingCostCentreName=\"\" PostingCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PayHours=\"7.50\" WorkHours=\"7.50\" Occurances=\"1.00\" NegotiatedRate=\"0.00\" SubjectiveCode=\"\" DateWorked=\"20170227\" GradeExternalReference=\"Band5RN\" UnitExternalReference=\"\" AllowanceUnits=\"0\" ExternalAbsenceType=\"\" ExternalAbsenceCode=\"\" ExternalAbsenceReference=\"\" DutyAssignmentStartDateTime=\"20170227070000\" DutyAssignmentEndDateTime=\"20170227150000\" BreakdownStartDateTime=\"20170227070000\" BreakdownEndDateTime=\"20170227150000\" UnavailabilityStartDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityEndDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityHasOverlappingCancelledDuties=\"False\" DutyCancelReason=\"\" BookingReference=\"0317000043\" BookingMethod=\"ManualManagerAssignment\" /><Attendance EffectiveDate=\"\" OperationType=\"Add\" StaffNumber=\"76543211\" AssignmentNumber=\"76543211\" Surname=\"Bank\" Forenames=\"Daily\" EarnedDate=\"20170228\" ElementName=\"Band 5 Mon - Fri D\" ElementValueName1=\"Units to Pay\" ElementValueOption1=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText1=\"Occurrence\" ElementValueName2=\"Rate of Pay\" ElementValueOption2=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText2=\"200\" ElementValueName3=\"\" ElementValueOption3=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText3=\"\" ElementValueName4=\"\" ElementValueOption4=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText4=\"\" ElementValueName5=\"\" ElementValueOption5=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText5=\"\" ElementValueName6=\"\" ElementValueOption6=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText6=\"\" ElementValueName7=\"\" ElementValueOption7=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText7=\"\" ElementValueName8=\"\" ElementValueOption8=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText8=\"\" CostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreName=\"Dom Ward\" DutyCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PostingCostCentreCode=\"\" PostingCostCentreName=\"\" PostingCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PayHours=\"7.50\" WorkHours=\"7.50\" Occurances=\"1.00\" NegotiatedRate=\"0.00\" SubjectiveCode=\"\" DateWorked=\"20170228\" GradeExternalReference=\"Band5RN\" UnitExternalReference=\"\" AllowanceUnits=\"0\" ExternalAbsenceType=\"\" ExternalAbsenceCode=\"\" ExternalAbsenceReference=\"\" DutyAssignmentStartDateTime=\"20170228070000\" DutyAssignmentEndDateTime=\"20170228150000\" BreakdownStartDateTime=\"20170228070000\" BreakdownEndDateTime=\"20170228150000\" UnavailabilityStartDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityEndDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityHasOverlappingCancelledDuties=\"False\" DutyCancelReason=\"\" BookingReference=\"0317000045\" BookingMethod=\"ManualManagerAssignment\" /> \n\n" + "<Attendance EffectiveDate=\"\" OperationType=\"Add\" StaffNumber=\"76543211\" AssignmentNumber=\"76543211\" Surname=\"Bank\" Forenames=\"Daily\" EarnedDate=\"20170228\" ElementName=\"Band 5 Mon - Fri D\" ElementValueName1=\"Units to Pay\" ElementValueOption1=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText1=\"Occurrence\" ElementValueName2=\"Rate of Pay\" ElementValueOption2=\"FixedValue\" ElementValueText2=\"200\" ElementValueName3=\"\" ElementValueOption3=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText3=\"\" ElementValueName4=\"\" ElementValueOption4=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText4=\"\" ElementValueName5=\"\" ElementValueOption5=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText5=\"\" ElementValueName6=\"\" ElementValueOption6=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText6=\"\" ElementValueName7=\"\" ElementValueOption7=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText7=\"\" ElementValueName8=\"\" ElementValueOption8=\"NotInUse\" ElementValueText8=\"\" CostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreCode=\"12345\" DutyCostCentreName=\"Dom Ward\" DutyCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PostingCostCentreCode=\"\" PostingCostCentreName=\"\" PostingCostCentreExternalRef=\"\" PayHours=\"7.50\" WorkHours=\"7.50\" Occurances=\"1.00\" NegotiatedRate=\"0.00\" SubjectiveCode=\"\" DateWorked=\"20170228\" GradeExternalReference=\"Band5RN\" UnitExternalReference=\"\" AllowanceUnits=\"0\" ExternalAbsenceType=\"\" ExternalAbsenceCode=\"\" ExternalAbsenceReference=\"\" DutyAssignmentStartDateTime=\"20170228070000\" DutyAssignmentEndDateTime=\"20170228150000\" BreakdownStartDateTime=\"20170228070000\" BreakdownEndDateTime=\"20170228150000\" UnavailabilityStartDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityEndDateTime=\"\" UnavailabilityHasOverlappingCancelledDuties=\"False\" DutyCancelReason=\"\" BookingReference=\"0317000067\" BookingMethod=\"ManualManagerAssignment\" /></ATT> <FTR RecordCount=\"2\" PayHoursTotal=\"15.00\" StaffNumbersCount=\"2\" AssignmentNumbersCount=\"2\" BookingReferencesCount=\"2\" HashTotal=\"0\" /></HealthRosterExtract><!--Finished at 2017-03-29 10:35:04Z-->"; final Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex); final Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(string); if (matcher.find()) { System.out.println("Full match: " + matcher.group(0)); for (int i = 1; i <= matcher.groupCount(); i++) { System.out.println("Group " + i + ": " + matcher.group(i)); } } } }

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 Java, please visit: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/util/regex/Pattern.html