Java replace only first occurrence of a substring in a string

Question

Problem is:

I have a string: "ha bla ha ha"

Now I want to replace the first (and only the first) "ha" with "gurp":

"gurp bla ha ha"

string.replace("ha", "gurp") doesn't work, as it replaces all "ha"s.

Did you read about String#replaceFirst? or if you don't want to use regex [StringUtils#replaceOnce(..)][1][1]:(commons.apache.org/proper/commons-lang/javadocs/api-2.6/org/…, java.lang.String, java.lang.String)) — nachokk
– nachokk, Commented Feb 20, 2014 at 18:50

rgettman · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-20 18:51:07Z

9

Try the replaceFirst method. It uses a regular expression, but the literal sequence "ha" still works.

string.replaceFirst("ha", "gurp");

answered Feb 20, 2014 at 18:51

rgettman

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2 Comments

But what if you want to replace a literal dot? The OP's example is a toy one, not reflective of real world edge cases.

@Sridhar-Sarnobat "\\."

Óscar López · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-20 18:51:33Z

2

Try using replaceFirst() (available since Java 1.4), it does just what you need:

string = string.replaceFirst("ha", "gurp");

answered Feb 20, 2014 at 18:51

Óscar López

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Sridhar Sarnobat · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-26 03:47:12Z

2

You should use already tested and well documented libraries in favor of writing your own code!

StringUtils.replaceOnce("aba", "a", "")    = "ba"

(copied from How to replace string only once without regex in Java?)

answered Sep 26, 2016 at 3:47

Sridhar Sarnobat

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