Regex.Replace - HELP!

Question

I am trying to do what should be a simple pattern match and replace:

Regex.Replace(sUserSettings, @"Name={could_be_anything};", "Name=Tim;");

I have been try along the lines of:

Regex.Replace(sUserSettings, @"Name=\*[];", "Name=Tim;");

No joy - where am I going wrong?

BoltClock · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-12 20:26:58Z

1

[] matches nothing.

To match anything (ungreedily), use .*?:

Regex.Replace(sUserSettings, @"Name=\*.*+?;", "Name=Tim;");

Now, I'm not sure why you need to match an asterisk first (\*). If it doesn't matter, you can leave it out:

Regex.Replace(sUserSettings, @"Name=.*?;", "Name=Tim;");

answered Apr 12, 2011 at 20:19

BoltClock

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2 Comments

Why do you have the \* in there? That matches a literal *.

I think that was part of his original attempt at .+? behavior. Judging by his sample input, anyway.

gunr2171 · Accepted Answer · 2023-05-02 14:04:31Z

1

Regex.Replace( sUserSettings, @"(^|;)Name=[^;]*(;)?", "$1Name=Tim$2" )

This allows you to replace it even if it's at the beginning or end end of the string without a trailing ;.

gunr2171

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answered Apr 12, 2011 at 20:24

Paul Alexander

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