Regex getting String in between parenthesis

Question

I am just learning about using Regex and it does seem a bit complicated to me.

I am trying to parse this String in Java:

new Array(new Array('1','Hello'),new Array('2','World (New) Again'),new Array('3','Now'));

I want the output to end up as these matches:

'1','Hello'
'2','World (New) Again'
'3','Now'

I tried a few pattern, but the best I can get is that I get:

'1','Hello'
'2','World (New
) Again'
'3','Now'

This is my code:

Pattern pattern2 = Pattern.compile("([^\\(]*[']*['][^\\)]*[']*)");
s = "new Array(new Array('1','Hello'),new Array('2','World (New) Again'),new Array('3','Now'));";
Matcher matcher = pattern2.matcher(s);

while(matcher.find()){
    String match = matcher.group(1);
    System.out.println(match); 
}

For syntax parsing, regex is not the best tool. It's likely to be feasible in your case, but very fragile. You should implement your own parser. — Mena
– Mena, Commented Oct 3, 2014 at 12:38
"I tried a few pattern," WHat did you try? And you're trying to count balanced parentheses which regexps are not suited to. As @Mena says, parse the strings some other way — The Archetypal Paul
– The Archetypal Paul, Commented Oct 3, 2014 at 12:38

Avinash Raj · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-03 12:59:01Z

1

The below code will work if the json string format is like the above.

String s = "new Array(new Array('1','Hello'),new Array('2','World (New) Again'),new Array('3','Now'));";
Pattern regex = Pattern.compile("[(,]new\\sArray\\(((?:(?!\\),new\\sArray|\\)+;).)*)\\)");
 Matcher matcher = regex.matcher(s);
 while(matcher.find()){
        System.out.println(matcher.group(1));
 }

Output:

'1','Hello'
'2','World (New) Again'
'3','Now'

DEMO

answered Oct 3, 2014 at 12:59

Avinash Raj

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2 Comments

fngaserin Over a year ago

Avinash, this work. Thanks. I am also aware that this may not work if there is multiple space in between the commas?

Avinash Raj Over a year ago

then add \s* where the spaces are located. If you Still can't figure it out, then provide a sample string. I will try.

Bohemian · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-03 20:41:26Z

0

You need to split making sure there are no close brackets between the close/open pairs:

You can do the whole thing in one line:

String[] parts = str.replaceAll("^(new Array\\()*|\\)*;$", "").split("\\)[^)]*?Array\\(");

Some test code:

String str = "new Array(new Array('1','Hello'),new Array('2','World (New) Again'),new Array('3','Now'));";
String[] parts = str.replaceAll("^(new Array\\()*|\\)*;$", "").split("\\)[^)]*?Array\\(");
for (String part : parts)
    System.out.println(part);

Output:

'1','Hello'
'2','World (New) Again'
'3','Now'

edited Oct 3, 2014 at 20:41

answered Oct 3, 2014 at 12:50

Bohemian♦

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1 Comment

fngaserin Over a year ago

However, I cannot strip the open/close brackets in the quote.

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