re = /^(?:#|\/\/)_+NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_BEGIN_+(?:\n.*)*?\n(?:#|\/\/)_+NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_END_+\n*/m
str = 'i want this
#____NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_BEGIN________
not this
nor this
#________NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_END____
and this
//____NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_BEGIN__
not this again
nor this again
//__________NOT_FOR_CUSTOMER_END____
and this again'
subst = ''
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
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