re = /[-]{1}[1]{0,1}\s*cot\s*[\(]*\s*x\s*[\)]*\s*\+\s*[a-z]{1}\s*/m
str = '-cot(x) + c'
# Print the match result
str.match(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