Format of a string

[Terenz]

How i can know if a string has a predefinite "rule"?

Example i have a string with 2 numbers, a slash, 3 numbers, a space, 2 letters, a slash, 3 letters

So i'd like to know if a string follow this rule.

Thanks

[Melba23]

Terenz,

You will need to use a "Reguar Expression" - the AutoIt function you need to use is StringRegExp. In this case you would need a pattern like:

 

d{2}d{3}sw{2}w{3}

And as it seems you have not had the pleasure of using these little buggers before, be prepared for your brain to begin bleeding as you get to grips with them.

M23

[Terenz]

Yes is my first time with regular expression, i'll check your example and the help for StringRegExp but seems a little complicated

If i have some doubt i'll post here.

[jdelaney]

Use a regexp:

$string1 = "11/123 aS/asa" ; will pass
$string2 = "1a/123 as/asa" ; will not pass
$regexp = "\d{2,2}/\d{3,3}\s[A-z]{2,2}/[A-z]{3,3}"

$return1 = CheckStringFormat($string1, $regexp)
$return2 = CheckStringFormat($string2, $regexp)
ConsoleWrite($return1 & @CRLF)
ConsoleWrite($return2 & @CRLF)

Exit

Func CheckStringFormat($sString,$sRegExp)
    Local $bReturn = False
    If StringRegExp($sString,$sRegExp,0) Then $bReturn = True
    Return $bReturn
EndFunc

Edited November 27, 2013 by jdelaney

[Terenz]

Well i have a question

Melba has write d{2}, does it mean 2 digit

jdelaney has write d{2,2}, why there is a difference? I don't understand it

[jdelaney]

Try it out, there is no diference.  One states the min, and max count (since they are the same number, it's redundant), the other shows the expected count.

Don't use the w, though.  That will return alpha and num chars (also _ ). [A-z] will return only alpha chars.

Edited November 27, 2013 by jdelaney

[Melba23]

Terenz,

My version is shorthand for jdelaney's - both say "exactly that number".

I always point people to this site to begin to learn about RegExes. I am afraid they are far too big a subject to cover in a thread like this, even if I felt remotely qualified to do so.

M23

[Terenz]

I know both work but i have just try to understand why use two different method ( {2} and {2,2} ) for the same numeric string, there are different approach and i think this is not good for a regex noob like me

Yes [A-z] fit well my string

[corgano]

http://gskinner.com/RegExr/

I've blabbed about it before, probably will again. this site is AMAZING for regular expression testing and creation. You can mouseover symbols at the top and it will tell you what they mean, it will show you groups, what it matches, what it returns. It even has a list of bits and peices in the right hand side that;s amazingly useful. RegExp is standardizes so you can copy paste that into autoit's stringregexp() function.

Tips: mode 3 for stringregexp() will return all the results as an array, and adding (?i) in front of the pattern makes it case insensitive. Happy Regexing

Edit: I also recently learned that when you have a set, say d, you can follow it by {2,6} to match between 2 and 6 times  

Edited November 27, 2013 by corgano

[jchd]

corgano,

The site you recommend may be pretty but it doesn't implement the same regular expression flavor as AutoIt uses (namely: PCRE).

[mikell]

$regexp = '\d\d/\d{3}\h[[:alpha:]]{2}/[[:alpha:]]{3}'

h instead of s because a vertical space in the string will not provide an expected match - probably

Edited November 27, 2013 by mikell

[corgano]

corgano,

The site you recommend may be pretty but it doesn't implement the same regular expression flavor as AutoIt uses (namely: PCRE).

Can you give me an example? Everything I have had in there works in autoit, with the exception of the in-string flags which are different

[jchd]

More precisely, actionscript uses ECMA specifications but AutoIt uses the PCRE engine.

Hex input syntax differ. ECMA doesn't support Unicode character properties (AutoIt beta and next release will), subroutines, conditionals, recursion, ...

There are too many important differences to list exhaustively.

So yes this tool will deliver the same results as AutoIt for the simplest patterns but will turn in turmoil for general use.

[corgano]

Thanks for the info! It's been good enough for me so far, I thought other people might find it useful when they start out with regexp. I like how simple it is.

So ECMA is older / less advanced than PCRE? that would mean things in regexr will work in autoit but autoit patterns might not work in regexr right? Do you know of a similar tool that supports all of the PCRE regex features? 

I found this one but It's a bit more complicated to use. Nice diagrams though

Edited November 28, 2013 by corgano

[jchd]

ECMA and PCRE are simply not fully compatible.

There are some available on this forum and a good link in my signature (pcretest for instance).