Regular Expressions 101

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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
No Match

r"
"
gm

Test String

Code Generator

Language

Generated Code

import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class Example { public static void main(String[] args) { final String regex = "^DATE:.*((?:\\n(?!AREA:).*)+)"; final String string = "AREA: OMBEYI MARKET, ST. RITA RAMULA\n\n" + "DATE: Thursday 25.03.2021, TIME: 9.00 A.M. = 5.00 P.M.\n\n" + "Ombeyi Mk, Kiliti Mkt, Masogo Mkt, Miwani, Kasongo, Onyango Midika, St. Rita Ramula, Onyalo\n" + "Biro, Yawo Pri, Obino, Rutek, Keyo Pri & adjacent customers.\n\n" + "AREA: NYAMACHE FACTORY\n\n" + "DATE: Thursday 25.03.2021, TIME: 830 A.M. - 3.00 P.M.\n\n" + "Nyamache Fact, Suguta, Gionseri, Igare, Kionduso, Nyationgongo, Enchoro, Kebuko, Emenwa, Maji\n" + "Mazuri, Borangi & adjacent customers.\n\n" + "AREA: SUNEKA MARKET, RIANA MARKET\n\n" + "DATE: Thursday 25.03.2021, TIME: 8.00 A.M. - 3.00 P.M.\n\n" + "Suneka Mk, Riana Mk, Kiabusura, Gesonso, Chisaro, Sugunana, Nyamira Ndogo & adjacent\n" + "customers.\n\n" + "AREA: ITIATI, GITUNDUTI\n\n" + "DATE: Thursday 25.03.2021, TIME: 9.00 A.M. = 2.00 P.M.\n\n" + "General China, Gachuiro, Gathuini Pri, Itiati Campus, Kianjugum, Gikore, Kihuri TBC, Gitunduti &\n" + "adjacent customers."; final Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex, Pattern.MULTILINE); final Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(string); while (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