Regex for specific word

Question

I was trying to write a regular expression for "[beginning word][specific word][ending word]" and making it case insensitive. But for some reason it doesn't seem to work.

I'm doing it in java, hence the extra "\".

For example, if I wanted to match the word "crazy" my regex would be:

/\\bcrazy\\b/i

My java code in which I call the regular expression where it doesn't match anything is:

textToMakeHarder = textToMakeHarder.replaceAll("/\\bcrazy\\b/i", "super crazy");

Not sure, but maybe end of line does not match end of word. Have you tried "super crazy me"? — SJuan76
– SJuan76, Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 17:57
if textToMakeHarder = "Dragons dance crazy." it's supposed to replace "crazy" with "super crazy." I've tried it on dance and crazy with a couple different things to replace it with, but it's just not replacing them at all. replaceAll accepts (Regex patternToMatch, String toReplaceThePatternWhenMatched) — Nelaina
– Nelaina, Commented Aug 31, 2012 at 18:00

Kash · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-31 18:01:55Z

6

Try this:

  String textToMakeHarder = "I am a crazy person and he is also a crazy person. Are you crazycrazy too?";
  Pattern re = Pattern.compile("\\bcrazy\\b",Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE);
  Matcher m = re.matcher(textToMakeHarder);
  textToMakeHarder = m.replaceAll("super crazy");

Result:

I am a super crazy person and he is also a super crazy person. Are you crazycrazy too?

answered Aug 31, 2012 at 18:01

Kash

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2 Comments

Nelaina Over a year ago

Ahhh, this is probably what I need! Let me try this and see if it works.

Nelaina Over a year ago

Yep. It's interesting that the /i stuff doesn't work. I got it fully working with this though. Thanks!

Jon Lin · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-31 18:04:28Z

3

Get rid of the / and /i, and use a Pattern to get case insensitivity:

Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("\\bcrazy\\b",Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE);
Matcher match = pattern.matcher(textToMakeHarder);

textToMakeHarder = match.replaceAll("super crazy");

answered Aug 31, 2012 at 18:04

Jon Lin

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Comments

Kumar Vivek Mitra · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-31 18:16:45Z

2

Pattern pat = Pattern("\\bcrazy\\b",Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE);
Matcher mat = pat.matcher("Your_Input");

while(mat.find()){

   mat.replaceAll("super crazy");

}

edited Aug 31, 2012 at 18:16

answered Aug 31, 2012 at 17:59

Kumar Vivek Mitra

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4 Comments

Nelaina Over a year ago

I do need it to check that it has the beginning and ending of a word. For example, in the sentence "Are you sure you care?" I don't want the "are" part of "care" replaced by synonyms of "are." When I make "crazy" as a pattern can I still add the regular expression values for /\\bcrazy\\b/i around it to ensure it's not part of another word, and is case insensitive?

Ankur Over a year ago

this will also match acrazya, which should not be matched

Kumar Vivek Mitra Over a year ago

@CorayThan and Ankur Sorry dear, i just missed out the \\b , i am editing it now.

CosmicGiant Over a year ago

Keep in mind you need a look-ahead (?=\\b+) and a look-behind (?<=\\b+) for word boundaries. --- That code, as is, would find any matches to the pattern, including when they are not words themselves but are contained within the input as something else. --- For example: The phrase "Invalid input makes this program inoperable." has quite a potential for errors...A search for the word "valid" gives a match within "invalid"...If the search is for "in", hell breaks loose: "invalid input makes this program inoperable".

Desislav Kamenov · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-04 05:05:21Z

1

You'd want to try this simpler version:

String textToMakeHarder = "foo bar is CraZY tonight".replaceAll("(?i)\\bcrazy\\b", "super crazy");

Output is:

foo bar is super crazy tonight

Using the short modifier (?i) for case-insensitive search.

Reference to offficial Java 7 docs for Patterns

edited Sep 4, 2012 at 5:05

answered Aug 31, 2012 at 18:27

Desislav Kamenov

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