import java.util.regex.Matcher;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class Example {
public static void main(String[] args) {
final String regex = "(?(DEFINE) # start DEFINE block\n"
+ " # pre-define quant subroutine \n"
+ " (?<quant>many|some|five)\n\n"
+ " # pre-define adj subroutine\n"
+ " (?<adj>blue|large|interesting) \n\n"
+ " # pre-define object subroutine\n"
+ " (?<object>cars|elephants|problems) \n\n"
+ " # pre-define noun_phrase subroutine\n"
+ " (?<noun_phrase>(?&quant)\\ (?&adj)\\ (?&object)) \n\n"
+ " # pre-define verb subroutine\n"
+ " (?<verb>borrow|solve|ressemble)\n"
+ ") # end DEFINE block\n\n"
+ "##### The regex matching starts here #####\n"
+ "(?&noun_phrase)\\ (?&verb)\\ (?&noun_phrase)";
final String string = "five blue elephants solve many interesting problems\n"
+ "many large problems ressemble some interesting cars";
final Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex, Pattern.COMMENTS);
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