Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

[Ahmad A. Rahman]

Hi all,

I have a problem constructing a regular expression using .net.

I have a string, separated with comma, and I want to group the string
together but, I failed to group a numeric character with decimal values.

Example string : 1, 2.3, "two"," three"

So, I want to group this string into 4 groups (1), (2.3), (two) and (three)

The best regular expression that I have so far is:
(?:^|\s*\,\s*)( (?:"(?<SubStrin g>(?:""|[^"])*)")+)|((?<Sub String>(\d))+)

But this regex will return (1), (2), (3), (two) and (three).

So, what is the right regular expression to do this? Please help.

Thanks.

[Kalpesh Shah]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Will String.Split(", ") do ?

<Kalpesh/>

[Ahmad A. Rahman]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

No. Consider this string:
string s = "1, 2.3, \"ab,\"\"c\" , \"e.ff,;$\"" ;

I want to split it into (1), (2.3), (ab,""c) and (e.ff,;$).

Got my point? Please help.


"Kalpesh Shah" <kalpesh@disc.m icrosoft.com> wrote in message
news:OV044lCvDH A.2380@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Will String.Split(", ") do ?
>
> <Kalpesh/>
>[/color]

[Sherif ElMetainy]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Hello

Try this expression
(?:^|\s*\,\s*)( ?:(?:"(?<SubStr ing>(?:""|[^"])*)"\s*)|(?:\s* (?<SubString>(? :\
s*[^\s,]+)*)\s*))

Best regards
Sherif

"Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:uGthTWBvDH A.3220@tk2msftn gp13.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> I have a problem constructing a regular expression using .net.
>
> I have a string, separated with comma, and I want to group the string
> together but, I failed to group a numeric character with decimal values.
>
> Example string : 1, 2.3, "two"," three"
>
> So, I want to group this string into 4 groups (1), (2.3), (two) and[/color]
(three)[color=blue]
>
> The best regular expression that I have so far is:
> (?:^|\s*\,\s*)( (?:"(?<SubStrin g>(?:""|[^"])*)")+)|((?<Sub String>(\d))+)
>
> But this regex will return (1), (2), (3), (two) and (three).
>
> So, what is the right regular expression to do this? Please help.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>[/color]

[Ahmad A. Rahman]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Thanx a lot Metainy!

It works. But that regex also matches invalid decimal values. Like, it still
match 1.23aa value. And same case also happened to the double-quote
character, of which I wanted it to start and end with double-quote, with no
trailing character except a comma or no char at all. Got my point?

Just to get it clear:
- 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid
- 1.23x, "abc"qwe" = invalid
- 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid

And one more thing is, any good (but free) resource of regex tutorial? ebook
or website.

Still hoping for assistance here.

Thank you.

[Sherif ElMetainy]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Hello Ahmad

Try this one
^(?:(?:(?:^|,)\ s*)(?:(?:"(?<Su bString>(""|[^"])*)")|(?<SubStr ing>\d+(?:\.\d+
)?))(?=\s*(?:$| ,))\s*)+$

Best regards,
Sherif

"Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:OujxqnIvDH A.2208@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Thanx a lot Metainy!
>
> It works. But that regex also matches invalid decimal values. Like, it[/color]
still[color=blue]
> match 1.23aa value. And same case also happened to the double-quote
> character, of which I wanted it to start and end with double-quote, with[/color]
no[color=blue]
> trailing character except a comma or no char at all. Got my point?
>
> Just to get it clear:
> - 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid
> - 1.23x, "abc"qwe" = invalid
> - 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
>
> And one more thing is, any good (but free) resource of regex tutorial?[/color]
ebook[color=blue]
> or website.
>
> Still hoping for assistance here.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
>[/color]

[Ahmad A. Rahman]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Hi ElMetainy,

That one does work, but I also need the double-quote character to be in
between the double quote.
Llike my previous post:

1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid (and by using MatchCollection on <SubString>, this
will return [1.23] and [abc"qwe])
1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
1.23xx, "abc"qwe" = invalid

Can you help me...just a little bit more? :) You almost got it right.

p/s: Sorry, I still got no time to learn regex. But I really need a quick
solution right now.

"Sherif ElMetainy" <elmeteny.NOSPA M@wayout.net.NO SPAM> wrote in message
news:%23s%2342e WvDHA.1872@TK2M SFTNGP09.phx.gb l...[color=blue]
> Hello Ahmad
>
> Try this one
>[/color]
^(?:(?:(?:^|,)\ s*)(?:(?:"(?<Su bString>(""|[^"])*)")|(?<SubStr ing>\d+(?:\.\d+[color=blue]
> )?))(?=\s*(?:$| ,))\s*)+$
>
> Best regards,
> Sherif
>
> "Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:OujxqnIvDH A.2208@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl...[color=green]
> > Thanx a lot Metainy!
> >
> > It works. But that regex also matches invalid decimal values. Like, it[/color]
> still[color=green]
> > match 1.23aa value. And same case also happened to the double-quote
> > character, of which I wanted it to start and end with double-quote, with[/color]
> no[color=green]
> > trailing character except a comma or no char at all. Got my point?
> >
> > Just to get it clear:
> > - 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid
> > - 1.23x, "abc"qwe" = invalid
> > - 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
> >
> > And one more thing is, any good (but free) resource of regex tutorial?[/color]
> ebook[color=green]
> > or website.
> >
> > Still hoping for assistance here.
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> >
> >
> >[/color]
>
>[/color]

[Sherif ElMetainy]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Hello

This can be too complicated

How do I treat the double quote and comma. A ',' between double quotes is
considered a part of the string and a double quote between double quotes is
also considered a part of the string
Imagine this

1.23,"aa,ddd",1 23 this should match [1.23], [aa,ddd] and [123]

1.23,"abc"qwe," ee",124 should match [1.23], [abc"qwe,"ee] and [124] or be
considered invalid??
To take this decision you have to understand the nature of the data (for
example being able to distinguish a contact's first name from his
nickname) which is not possible with regular expressions.

This is why it is difficult to match one double quote between 2 double
quotes.

Here is where the "" resolves the ambiguity
1.23,"abc""qwe, ""ee",124 should match [1.23], [abc"qwe,"ee] and [124]
meaning that 2 consecutive double quotes within double quotes should be
treated as a one double quote which is a part of the string. The "" is
standard in formats like csv.


Best regards,
Sherif


"Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:#nHPlaYvDH A.2076@TK2MSFTN GP09.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Hi ElMetainy,
>
> That one does work, but I also need the double-quote character to be in
> between the double quote.
> Llike my previous post:
>
> 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid (and by using MatchCollection on <SubString>, this
> will return [1.23] and [abc"qwe])
> 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
> 1.23xx, "abc"qwe" = invalid
>
> Can you help me...just a little bit more? :) You almost got it right.
>
> p/s: Sorry, I still got no time to learn regex. But I really need a quick
> solution right now.
>
> "Sherif ElMetainy" <elmeteny.NOSPA M@wayout.net.NO SPAM> wrote in message
> news:%23s%2342e WvDHA.1872@TK2M SFTNGP09.phx.gb l...[color=green]
> > Hello Ahmad
> >
> > Try this one
> >[/color]
>[/color]
^(?:(?:(?:^|,)\ s*)(?:(?:"(?<Su bString>(""|[^"])*)")|(?<SubStr ing>\d+(?:\.\d+[color=blue][color=green]
> > )?))(?=\s*(?:$| ,))\s*)+$
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Sherif
> >
> > "Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:OujxqnIvDH A.2208@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl...[color=darkred]
> > > Thanx a lot Metainy!
> > >
> > > It works. But that regex also matches invalid decimal values. Like, it[/color]
> > still[color=darkred]
> > > match 1.23aa value. And same case also happened to the double-quote
> > > character, of which I wanted it to start and end with double-quote,[/color][/color][/color]
with[color=blue][color=green]
> > no[color=darkred]
> > > trailing character except a comma or no char at all. Got my point?
> > >
> > > Just to get it clear:
> > > - 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid
> > > - 1.23x, "abc"qwe" = invalid
> > > - 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
> > >
> > > And one more thing is, any good (but free) resource of regex tutorial?[/color]
> > ebook[color=darkred]
> > > or website.
> > >
> > > Still hoping for assistance here.
> > >
> > > Thank you.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >[/color]
> >
> >[/color]
>
>[/color]

[Ahmad A. Rahman]

Re: Regular expression : Grouping decimal values and double quote

Hi,

I know that it was too complicated, that's why I'm here.

But, I think I have my way out now. I can use MatchColelction and break the
string apart between the comma, and use another regex to validate every
broken string. :)

Anyway, you've been a great help ElMetainy. Thanks a lot.

Bye.

"Sherif ElMetainy" <elmeteny.NOSPA M@wayout.net.NO SPAM> wrote in message
news:uypGwNdvDH A.560@TK2MSFTNG P11.phx.gbl...[color=blue]
> Hello
>
> This can be too complicated
>
> How do I treat the double quote and comma. A ',' between double quotes is
> considered a part of the string and a double quote between double quotes[/color]
is[color=blue]
> also considered a part of the string
> Imagine this
>
> 1.23,"aa,ddd",1 23 this should match [1.23], [aa,ddd] and [123]
>
> 1.23,"abc"qwe," ee",124 should match [1.23], [abc"qwe,"ee] and [124] or be
> considered invalid??
> To take this decision you have to understand the nature of the data (for
> example being able to distinguish a contact's first name from his
> nickname) which is not possible with regular expressions.
>
> This is why it is difficult to match one double quote between 2 double
> quotes.
>
> Here is where the "" resolves the ambiguity
> 1.23,"abc""qwe, ""ee",124 should match [1.23], [abc"qwe,"ee] and [124]
> meaning that 2 consecutive double quotes within double quotes should be
> treated as a one double quote which is a part of the string. The "" is
> standard in formats like csv.
>
>
> Best regards,
> Sherif
>
>
> "Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:#nHPlaYvDH A.2076@TK2MSFTN GP09.phx.gbl...[color=green]
> > Hi ElMetainy,
> >
> > That one does work, but I also need the double-quote character to be in
> > between the double quote.
> > Llike my previous post:
> >
> > 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid (and by using MatchCollection on <SubString>,[/color][/color]
this[color=blue][color=green]
> > will return [1.23] and [abc"qwe])
> > 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
> > 1.23xx, "abc"qwe" = invalid
> >
> > Can you help me...just a little bit more? :) You almost got it right.
> >
> > p/s: Sorry, I still got no time to learn regex. But I really need a[/color][/color]
quick[color=blue][color=green]
> > solution right now.
> >
> > "Sherif ElMetainy" <elmeteny.NOSPA M@wayout.net.NO SPAM> wrote in message
> > news:%23s%2342e WvDHA.1872@TK2M SFTNGP09.phx.gb l...[color=darkred]
> > > Hello Ahmad
> > >
> > > Try this one
> > >[/color]
> >[/color]
>[/color]
^(?:(?:(?:^|,)\ s*)(?:(?:"(?<Su bString>(""|[^"])*)")|(?<SubStr ing>\d+(?:\.\d+[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > )?))(?=\s*(?:$| ,))\s*)+$
> > >
> > > Best regards,
> > > Sherif
> > >
> > > "Ahmad A. Rahman" <jeremiahrahman @yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > > news:OujxqnIvDH A.2208@TK2MSFTN GP10.phx.gbl...
> > > > Thanx a lot Metainy!
> > > >
> > > > It works. But that regex also matches invalid decimal values. Like,[/color][/color][/color]
it[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > still
> > > > match 1.23aa value. And same case also happened to the double-quote
> > > > character, of which I wanted it to start and end with double-quote,[/color][/color]
> with[color=green][color=darkred]
> > > no
> > > > trailing character except a comma or no char at all. Got my point?
> > > >
> > > > Just to get it clear:
> > > > - 1.23, "abc"qwe" = valid
> > > > - 1.23x, "abc"qwe" = invalid
> > > > - 1.23, "abc"qwe"xx = invalid
> > > >
> > > > And one more thing is, any good (but free) resource of regex[/color][/color][/color]
tutorial?[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> > > ebook
> > > > or website.
> > > >
> > > > Still hoping for assistance here.
> > > >
> > > > Thank you.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >[/color]
> >
> >[/color]
>
>[/color]