Regex only letters except set of numbers - c#

I'm using Replace(#"[^a-zA-Z]+", "");
leave only letters, but I have a set of numbers or characters that I want to keep as well, ex: 122456 and 112466. But I'm having trouble leaving it only if it's this sequence:
ex input:
abc 1239 asm122456000
I want to:
abscasm122456
tried this: ([^a-zA-Z])+|(?!122456)

My answer doesn't applying Replace(), but achieves a similar result:
(?:[a-zA-Z]+|\d{6})
which captures the group (non-capturing group) with the alphabetic character(s) or a set of digits with 6 occurrences.
Regex 101 & Test Result
Join all the matching values into a single string.
using System.Linq;
Regex regex = new Regex("(?:[a-zA-Z]+|\\d{6})");
string input = "abc 1239 asm12245600";
string output = "";
var matches = regex.Matches(input);
if (matches.Count > 0)
output = String.Join("", matches.Select(x => x.Value));
Sample .NET Fiddle

Alternate way,
using .Split() and .All(),
string input = "abc 1239 asm122456000";
string output = string.Join("", input.Split().Where(x => !x.All(char.IsDigit)));
.NET Fiddle

It is very simple: you need to match and capture what you need to keep, and just match what you need to remove, and then utilize a backreference to the captured group value in the replacement pattern to put it back into the resulting string.
Here is the regex:
(122456|112466)|[^a-zA-Z]
See the regex demo. Details:
(122456|112466) - Capturing group with ID 1: either of the two alternatives
| - or
[^a-zA-Z] - a char other than an ASCII letter (use \P{L} if you need to match any char other than any Unicode letter).
Note the removed + quantifier as [^A-Za-z] also matches digits.
You need to use $1 in the replacement:
var result = Regex.Replace(text, #"(122456|112466)|[^a-zA-Z]", "$1");

Related

Get the middle part of a filename using regex

I need a regex that can return up to 10 characters in the middle of a file name.
filename: returns:
msl_0123456789_otherstuff.csv -> 0123456789
msl_test.xml -> test
anythingShort.w1 -> anythingSh
I can capture the beginning and end for removal with the following regex:
Regex.Replace(filename, "(^msl_)|([.][[:alnum:]]{1,3}$)", string.Empty); *
but I also need to have only 10 characters when I am done.
Explanation of the regex above:
(^msl_) - match lines that start with "msl_"
| - or
([.] - match a period
[[:alnum]]{1,3} - followed by 1-3 alphanumeric characters
$) - at the end of the line
Note [[:alnum:]] can't work in a .NET regex, because it does not support POSIX character classes. You may use \w (to match letters, digits, underscores) or [^\W_] (to match letters or digits).
You can use your regex and just keep the first 10 chars in the string:
new string(Regex.Replace(s, #"^msl_|\.\w{1,3}$","").Take(10).ToArray())
See the C# demo online:
var strings = new List<string> { "msl_0123456789_otherstuff.csv", "msl_test.xml", "anythingShort.w1" };
foreach (var s in strings)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} => {1}", s, new string(Regex.Replace(s, #"^msl_|\.\w{1,3}$","").Take(10).ToArray()));
}
Output:
msl_0123456789_otherstuff.csv => 0123456789
msl_test.xml => test
anythingShort.w1 => anythingSh
Using replace with the alternation, removes either of the alternatives from the start and the end of the string, but it will also work when the extension is not present and does not take the number of chars into account in the middle.
If the file extension should be present you might use a capturing group and make msl_ optional at the beginning.
Then match 1-10 times a word character except the _ followed by matching optional word characters until the .
^(?:msl_)?([^\W_]{1,10})\w*\.[^\W_]{2,}$
.NET regex demo (Click on the table tab)
A bit broader match could be using \S instead of \w and match until the last dot:
^(?:msl_)?(\S{1,10})\S*\.[^\W_]{2,}$
See another regex demo | C# demo
string[] strings = {"msl_0123456789_otherstuff.csv", "msl_test.xml","anythingShort.w1", "123456testxxxxxxxx"};
string pattern = #"^(?:msl_)?(\S{1,10})\S*\.[^\W_]{2,}$";
foreach (String s in strings) {
Match match = Regex.Match(s, pattern);
if (match.Success)
{
Console.WriteLine(match.Groups[1]);
}
}
Output
0123456789
test
anythingSh

Regex for splitting string into a collection of two based on a pattern

Using the C# Regex.Split method, I would like to split strings that will always start with RepXYZ, Where the XYZ bit is a number that will always have either 3 or 4 characters.
Examples
"Rep1007$chkCheckBox"
"Rep127_Group_Text"
The results should be:
{"Rep1007","$chkCheckBox"}
{"Rep127","_Group_Text"}
So far I have tried (Rep)[\d]{3,4} and ((Rep)[\d]{3,4})+ but both of those are giving me unwanted results
Using Regex.Split often results in empty or unwanted items in the resulting array. Using (Rep)[\d]{3,4} in Regex.Split, will put Rep without the numbers into the resulting array. (Rep[\d]{3,4}) will put the Rep and the numbers into the result, but since the match is at the start, there will be an empty item in the array.
I suggest using Regex.Match here:
var match = Regex.Match(text, #"^(Rep\d+)(.*)$");
if (match.Success)
{
Console.WriteLine(match.Groups[1].Value);
Console.WriteLine(match.Groups[2].Value);
}
See the regex demo
Details:
^ - start of string
(Rep\d+) - capturing group 1: Rep and any one or more digits
(.*) - capturing group 2: any one or more chars other than a newline, as many as possible
$ - end of string.
A splitting approach is better implemented with a lookaround-based regex:
var results = Regex.Split(text, #"(?<=^Rep\d+)(?=[$_])");
See this regex demo.
(?<=^Rep\d+)(?=[$_]) splits a string at the location that is immediately preceded with Rep and one or more digits at the start of the string, and immediately followed with $ or _.
Try splitting on the regex pattern on either $ or _:
string input = "Rep127_Group_Text";
string[] parts = input.Split(new[] { '$', '_' }, 2);
foreach (string part in parts)
{
Console.WriteLine(part);
}
This prints:
Rep127
Group_Text

Regular expression match between string and last digit

I'm trying to come up with a regular expression matches the text in bold in all the examples.
Between the string "JZ" and any character before "-"
JZ123456789-301A
JZ134255872-22013
Between the string "JZ" and the last character
JZ123456789D
I have tried the following but it only works for the first example
(?<=JZ).*(?=-)
You can use (?<=JZ)[0-9]+, presuming the desired text will always be numeric.
Try it out here
You may use
JZ([^-]*)(?:-|.$)
and grab Group 1 value. See the regex demo.
Details
JZ - a literal substring
([^-]*) - Capturing group 1: zero or more chars other than -
(?:-|.$) - a non-capturing group matching either - or any char at the end of the string
C# code:
var m = Regex.Match(s, #"JZ([^-]*)(?:-|.$)");
if (m.Success)
{
Console.WriteLine(m.Groups[1].Value);
}
If, for some reason, you need to obtain the required value as a whole match, use lookarounds:
(?<=JZ)[^-]*(?=-|.$)
See this regex variation demo. Use m.Value in the code above to grab the value.
A one-line answer without regex:
string s,r;
// if your string always starts with JZ
s = "JZ123456789-301A";
r = string.Concat(s.Substring(2).TakeWhile(char.IsDigit));
Console.WriteLine(r); // output : 123456789
// if your string starts with anything
s = "A12JZ123456789-301A";
r = string.Concat(s.Substring(s.IndexOf("JZ")).TakeWhile(char.IsDigit));
Console.WriteLine(r); // output : 123456789
Basically, we remove everything before and including the delimiter "JZ", then we take each char while they are digit. The Concat is use to transform the IEnumerable<char> to a string. I think it is easier to read.
Try it online

Extract string that contains only letters in C#

string input = "5991 Duncan Road";
var onlyLetters = new String(input.Where(Char.IsLetter).ToArray());
Output: DuncanRoad
But I am expecting output is Duncan Road. What need to change ?
For the input like yours, you do not need a regex, just skip all non-letter symbols at the beginning with SkipWhile():
Bypasses elements in a sequence as long as a specified condition is true and then returns the remaining elements.
C# code:
var input = "5991 Duncan Road";
var onlyLetters = new String(input.SkipWhile(p => !Char.IsLetter(p)).ToArray());
Console.WriteLine(onlyLetters);
See IDEONE demo
A regx solution that will remove numbers that are not part of words and also adjoining whitespace:
var res = Regex.Replace(str, #"\s+(?<!\p{L})\d+(?!\p{L})|(?<!\p{L})\d+(?!\p{L})\s+", string.Empty); 
You can use this lookaround based regex:
repl = Regex.Replace(input, #"(?<![a-zA-Z])[^a-zA-Z]|[^a-zA-Z](?![a-zA-Z])", "");
//=> Duncan Road
(?<![a-zA-Z])[^a-zA-Z] matches a non-letter that is not preceded by another letter.
| is regex alternation
[^a-zA-Z](?![a-zA-Z]) matches a non-letter that is not followed by another letter.
RegEx Demo
You can still use LINQ filtering with Char.IsLetter || Char.IsWhiteSpace. To remove all leading and trailing whitespace chars you can call String.Trim:
string input = "5991 Duncan Road";
string res = String.Join("", input.Where(c => Char.IsLetter(c) || Char.IsWhiteSpace(c)))
.Trim();
Console.WriteLine(res); // Duncan Road

C# RegEx - get only first match in string

I've got an input string that looks like this:
level=<device[195].level>&name=<device[195].name>
I want to create a RegEx that will parse out each of the <device> tags, for example, I'd expect two items to be matched from my input string: <device[195].level> and <device[195].name>.
So far I've had some luck with this pattern and code, but it always finds both of the device tags as a single match:
var pattern = "<device\\[[0-9]*\\]\\.\\S*>";
Regex rgx = new Regex(pattern);
var matches = rgx.Matches(httpData);
The result is that matches will contain a single result with the value <device[195].level>&name=<device[195].name>
I'm guessing there must be a way to 'terminate' the pattern, but I'm not sure what it is.
Use non-greedy quantifiers:
<device\[\d+\]\.\S+?>
Also, use verbatim strings for escaping regexes, it makes them much more readable:
var pattern = #"<device\[\d+\]\.\S+?>";
As a side note, I guess in your case using \w instead of \S would be more in line with what you intended, but I left the \S because I can't know that.
depends how much of the structure of the angle blocks you need to match, but you can do
"\\<device.+?\\>"
I want to create a RegEx that will parse out each of the <device> tags
I'd expect two items to be matched from my input string:
1. <device[195].level>
2. <device[195].name>
This should work. Get the matched group from index 1
(<device[^>]*>)
Live demo
String literals for use in programs:
#"(<device[^>]*>)"
Change your repetition operator and use \w instead of \S
var pattern = #"<device\[[0-9]+\]\.\w+>";
String s = #"level=<device[195].level>&name=<device[195].name>";
foreach (Match m in Regex.Matches(s, #"<device\[[0-9]+\]\.\w+>"))
Console.WriteLine(m.Value);
Output
<device[195].level>
<device[195].name>
Use named match groups and create a linq entity projection. There will be two matches, thus separating the individual items:
string data = "level=<device[195].level>&name=<device[195].name>";
string pattern = #"
(?<variable>[^=]+) # get the variable name
(?:=<device\[) # static '=<device'
(?<index>[^\]]+) # device number index
(?:]\.) # static ].
(?<sub>[^>]+) # Get the sub command
(?:>&?) # Match but don't capture the > and possible &
";
// Ignore pattern whitespace is to document the pattern, does not affect processing.
var items = Regex.Matches(data, pattern, RegexOptions.IgnorePatternWhitespace)
.OfType<Match>()
.Select (mt => new
{
Variable = mt.Groups["variable"].Value,
Index = mt.Groups["index"].Value,
Sub = mt.Groups["sub"].Value
})
.ToList();
items.ForEach(itm => Console.WriteLine ("{0}:{1}:{2}", itm.Variable, itm.Index, itm.Sub));
/* Output
level:195:level
name:195:name
*/

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