Regex string with "$" symbol

Question

I was using StringBuilder.Replace() to change some "keywords" to my own methods, but since it doesn't match the whole word I need to find a way to replace it correctly.

string example = "Hey $name! Welcome to $namewebsite!";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(example);
sb.Replace("$name", "getName()");
sb.Replace("$namewebsite", "getWebSiteName()");
return sb;

Above the output will be "Hey getName()!, Welcome to getName()website!", so I'm trying to use RegEx to match the whole word.

string example = "Hey $name! Welcome to $namewebsite!";
example = Regex.Replace(example, "\b$name\b", "getName()");
example = Regex.Replace(example, "\b$namewebsite\b", "getWebSiteName()");
return example;

But since the "keyword" has the symbol "$" it doesn't work, at least that's what I think, because it doesn't replace any of the "keywords".

Of course it's just a small example of my code, I have like 30+ keywords starting with "$" to replace to methods names.

Put a backslash in front of the $ to escape it, i.e. use "\$". Or alternatively Regex.Escape("$name") — CodesInChaos
– CodesInChaos, Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 17:02
When I use te Regex.Escape("$name") it keep replacing the $namewebsite to getName()website — Kyore
– Kyore, Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 17:53

DavidG · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-23 17:12:08Z

1

The issue here doesn't need to be solver with RegEx. It's the order in which you are doing the replacements. This is because the first search is a substring of the second. Switch them round and it will work.

string example = "Hey $name! Welcome to $namewebsite!";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(example);
sb.Replace("$namewebsite", "getWebSiteName()");
sb.Replace("$name", "getName()");
return sb;

Working example: https://ideone.com/kHwHUT

Another way to solve this would be to put a delimiter at the END of the search string as well as the start. For example:

string example = "Hey $name$! Welcome to $namewebsite$!";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(example);
sb.Replace("$name$", "getName()");
sb.Replace("$namewebsite$", "getWebSiteName()");
return sb;

edited Feb 23, 2015 at 17:12

answered Feb 23, 2015 at 17:05

DavidG

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Comments

rory.ap · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-23 17:02:42Z

0

The symbol $ is a special character in regular expressions which denotes the end of a string. You need to escape it if you want to use it as a literal:

Try using \$ instead of $.

For more information: http://regexlib.com/CheatSheet.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

answered Feb 23, 2015 at 17:02

rory.ap

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