re = /^(?>(?>([a-f0-9]{1,4})(?>:(?1)){7}|(?!(?:.*[a-f0-9](?>:|$)){8,})((?1)(?>:(?1)){0,6})?::(?2)?)|(?>(?>(?1)(?>:(?1)){5}:|(?!(?:.*[a-f0-9]:){6,})(?3)?::(?>((?1)(?>:(?1)){0,4}):)?)?(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|1[0-9]{2}|[1-9]?[0-9])(?>\.(?4)){3}))$/im
str = '/*These should be valid*/
{Initial address}
2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:ff00:0042:8329
{After removing all leading zeroes}
2001:db8:0:0:0:ff00:42:8329
{After omitting consecutive sections of zeroes}
2001:db8::ff00:42:8329
{The loopback address}
0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001
{The loopback address be abbreviated to ::1 by using both rules}
::1
{4 other valid test cases}
::FFFF:129.144.52.38
::129.144.52.38
::FFFF:d
1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:417A
/*These 4 should be invalid*/
::FFFF:d.d.d
::FFFF:d.d
::d.d.d
::d.d'
# 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