NSString replace regex

Question

I have a string like this:

NSString* msg = @"Hello this is a new message to @[123:Dr Zoidberg] and his nippers";

And I want to use -stringByReplacingMatchesInString:options:range:withTemplate: to convert this pattern to:

NSString* msg = @"Hello this is a new message to Dr Zoidberg and his nippers";

This is what I have so far:

NSString* msg = @"Hello this is a new message to @[123:Dr Zoidberg] and his nippers";
NSRegularExpression* regex = [NSRegularExpression regularExpressionWithPattern: @"????"
                                                                       options: NSRegularExpressionCaseInsensitive
                                                                         error: nil];

NSString* plainText = [regex stringByReplacingMatchesInString: msg
                                                      options: 0
                                                        range: NSMakeRange(0, [msg length])
                                                 withTemplate: @"$2"];

Can anyone help me with the @"????" pattern?

What is the template format? In @[123:Dr Zoidberg], what can replace the 123 number? — mmdemirbas
– mmdemirbas, Commented Aug 27, 2012 at 13:50

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:28:03Z

2

This was the pattern I was after: @(.*?):(.*?)]. Thanks go to this question.

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:28

CommunityBot

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answered Aug 27, 2012 at 13:49

Paul de Lange

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mmdemirbas · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-27 13:48:03Z

0

Search for @\[123:(.*?)\] and replace with \1

answered Aug 27, 2012 at 13:48

mmdemirbas

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Comments

Gabber · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-27 14:00:40Z

0

Try replacing

@\[\d+:(.+?)\]

with the \1 group

Explanation:

Match @ followed by [, then any number of digits followed by a comma. From this point get the text until you find the closing square bracket.

If there can be any kind of whitespace between the digits and the : you can use this one

@\[\d+\t*:(.+?)\]

edited Aug 27, 2012 at 14:00

answered Aug 27, 2012 at 13:46

Gabber

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4 Comments

Gabber Over a year ago

It works on notepad++. What does it match / doesn't it match? It looks a lot like the one mmdemirbas commented, maybe the problem is the square bracket at the beginning

Gabber Over a year ago

Uhu, can there be a space (or any indentation character) between 123 and :? if so you can write it in this fashion @\[\d+\t+?:(.+?)\]

Gabber Over a year ago

the ? means "don't be greedy with the +", in this case in fact you can omit it (my mistake, I'll edit the answer)

Gabber Over a year ago

Think I understood: you must replace withTemplate: @"$2" with withTemplate: @"$1" telling to use the first replacing group, not the second

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