re = /^
(?<FirstLine> # First line capturing group
(?<Passport>P) # Passport character capturing group (P char, length 1)
(?<PassportType>.) # Passport Type (any char, generally <, length 1)
(?<IssuingCountry>[AFG]{3}) # To be completed with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country codes (length 3)
# Or in alternative it can be checked for char only as
# (?<IssuingCountry>[A-Z<]{3}) if check state not necessary
(?<PassportOwner> # Passport owner capturing group !Does not check for length 39!
(?<Surname>[A-Z]+) # Surname, it has to be followed by <<
<<
(?<GivenName> # Given Name
(?:[A-Z]+<?)+
)
[<]+
){1}
)
\n
(?<SecondLine> # Second Line capturing group
(?<PassportNumber>[A-Z0-9<]{9}) # Passport number, length 9, padded with <
(?<CheckDigit19>[0-9]{1}) # Check digit for position 1 to 9
(?<Nationality>\g{IssuingCountry}) # Nationality, follows the same rule as match group 4
(?<DoB> # Date Of Birth
(?<DoBYear>[0-9]{2})
(?<DoBMonth>(?:0[1-9]|1[0-2]))
(?<DoBDay>(?:0[1-9]|(?:1|2)[0-9]|3[01]))
)
(?<CheckDigit1419>[0-9]) # Check digit for position 14 to 19
(?<Sex>[MF<]) # Sex (Male, Female or not defined)
(?<Expiral> # Expiral date
(?<ExpiralYear>[0-9]{2}) # W
(?<ExpiralMonth>(?:0[1-9]|1[0-2]))
(?<ExpiralDay>(?:0[1-9]|(?:1|2)[0-9]|3[01]))
)
(?<CheckDigit2227>[0-9]) # Check digit for position 22 to 27
(?<PersonalNumber>[A-Z0-9<]{14}) # Personal number padded with <
(?<CheckDigit2942>[0-9<]) # Check digit for position 29 to 42 (can be < empty)
(?<CheckDigitF>[0-9]) # Check digit
)
$/xm
str = 'P<AFGERIKSSON<<ANNA<MARIA<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
L898902C<3AFG6908061F9406236ZE184226B<<<<<14
'
subst = ''
result = str.sub(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