regex problem using Pattern class
Hi everybody,
I am using the Pattern class to create a pattern which has to match "Sanofi-Aventis" (without the quotes). The pattern is created like this:
Pattern p = Pattern.compile("(?i)(" + Pattern.quote(match) +")");
It is then matched as follows:
Matcher m = p.matcher(retval);
String retval = m.replaceAll("<font color=\"#CCCCCC\"><strong>$1</strong></font>");
I have printend the value of "match" and of "Pattern.quote(match)", and they look like this:
[quote]
match: Sanofi-Aventis
Pattern.quote(): \QSanofi-Aventis\E
[/quote]
However, "Sanofi-Aventis" does not get matches in the text. Words / Strings without a "-" work fine, so I guess I am doing something wrong with respect to the dash. Can anybody help me out?
Best regards,
Jethro
[930 byte] By [
Jethroa] at [2007-11-27 5:45:32]
This is my entire code:
public static String colorOccurences(String p_text, ArrayList<String> p_matches, String p_HTMLColorCode)
{
String retval = p_text;
// Color the matches.
for (String match : p_matches)
{
Pattern p = Pattern.compile("(?i)(" + Pattern.quote(match) + ")");
Matcher m = p.matcher(retval);
retval = m.replaceAll("<font color=\"" + p_HTMLColorCode + "\"><strong>$1</strong></font>");
}
return retval;
}
I also fixed my problem: the "p_matches" array also contained the String "Sanofi", this shorter String was matched first. I will look into this.
Best regards,
Jethro
Hi there,
I now sort the p_matches ArrayList on String length to make sure I find the longest possible match. Besides that I am now using the CASE_INSENSITIVE flag instead of "(?i)". This is my final code:
public static String colorOccurences(String p_text, ArrayList<String> p_matches, String p_HTMLColorCode)
{
String retval = p_text;
// Sort the matches ArrayList on String length, starting with the longest String.
Collections.sort(p_matches, new StringLengthComparator());
// Color the matches.
for (String match : p_matches)
{
Pattern p = Pattern.compile("(" + Pattern.quote(match) + ")", Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE);
Matcher m = p.matcher(retval);
retval = m.replaceAll("<font color=\"" + p_HTMLColorCode + "\"><strong>$1</strong></font>");
}
return retval;
}
/**
* Comparator object for Strings. Orders by length of String from large to small,
* then alphabetically.
*/
private static class StringLengthComparator implements Comparator
{
public int compare(Object x,Object y)
{
if(x instanceof String && y instanceof String)
{
String xstr = (String) x, ystr = (String) y;
if(xstr.length() == ystr.length()) return xstr.compareTo(ystr);
else if(xstr.length() < ystr.length()) return 1;
else return -1;
}
else return 0;
}
}
Best regards,
Jethro
