Java Regex matcher validation

Question

I tried to do it myself. with JAVA 1.7

String value="12345_-6zA";
Boolean result= value.matches("[a-zA-Z0-9_-]");
System.out.println(result);

I also Tried

String value="12345a";
Boolean result= value.matches("[a-zA-Z0-9_-]")
System.out.println(result);

But both gives me result "False" , the String value only contained the char the regex said. I cant figure out why it returned false.

anubhava · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-08 16:43:17Z

4

You are missing quantifier + which would make sure to match 1 or of those characters in your character class:

Use this:

boolean result = value.matches("[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+");

Or even better:

boolean result = value.matches("[\\w-]+");

Since \w is equivalent of [a-zA-Z0-9_]

answered May 8, 2014 at 16:43

anubhava

790k67 gold badges603 silver badges671 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Answer 1