stringregexp patterns in other languages

[gcue]

is there a difference in pattern syntax between stringregexp and regexp in say VBA?

reason why i am asking is because i have a pattern that works in autoit but doesnt seem to work in VBA.

i know this isnt a vba help forum but im working between autoit and vba and wanted to see if the patterns are compatible

Private Function FixLink(s As String)
    
    'BEGIN : create and set regular expression
       Dim regEx As Object
       Set regEx = CreateObject("vbscript.regexp")
           With regEx
               .IgnoreCase = True
               .MultiLine = False
               .Pattern = "^(?:.*?\K[^\\]+){3}"
               .Global = True
           End With


           FixLink = regEx.Replace(s, UCase(Environ("USERNAME")))


    MsgBox (s & Chr(10) & FixLink)
 
End Function

 

[guinness]

Did you try my regular expression?

[gcue]

yea it would crash vb - i simply replaced the pattern with this one and it didnt crash but it also didnt work

so yea since both arent working.. thats why im wondering what the differences in pattern syntax are

[guinness]

I tested my regular expression in C# and it worked fine.

[mikell]

K is not supported in C# (neither probably in vba)

Better use this

$sNewPath = StringRegExpReplace($sFilePath, '(([^\\]+\\){2})[^\\]+' , '$1' & $sUserName)

though StringSplit remains the simplest way

$sNewPath = StringReplace($sFilePath, StringSplit($sFilePath, "\")[3], $sUserName)

[gcue]

interesting.. so there are pattern differences - sounds like they're minor tho?

mikell that works and replaces where it should BUT it also replaces in more places where it shouldn't

so like in the example here:

Local $sUserName = "xavier"

Local $sFilePath = "c:usersqwertytestdeezmorestuffin the end.xls"

it becomes something like this

c:usersxaviertestdeezxavierstuffxavier

Edited May 1, 2014 by gcue

[mikell]

Sorry, I forgot the anchor

StringRegExpReplace($sFilePath, '^(([^\\]+\\){2})[^\\]+' , '$1' & $sUserName )

[gcue]

gorgeous!  

i even cried a little

so how did you know what was compatible with what language.. is there documentation you have somewhere?

thank you VERY much!!!

[gcue]

again works great...

except i noticed that it will replace

C:program filesquerty... also

can i specify it for just C:usersqwerty...

thanks again!

[jchd]

gcue,

Every regular expression engine has its own set of metacharacters, anchors, conditions, etc. While there is many basic conventions in common between engines, there are a number of important or more subtle differences. You have to refer to the reference documentation for the engine you use.

AutoIt uses the PCRE library as discussed at some length in our help file, but more advanced features and many details are to be found in the PCRE reference documentation. We're lucky: PCRE is among the top most comprehensive libraries available and certainly the most prevalent.

[gcue]

i tried both of these but neither worked.  so i can only replace when the path is c:users....

"^(([^\\users]+\\){2})[^\\]+"

"^(([^\\]+users\\){2})[^\\]+"

"^(([^\\]+\\users){2})[^\\]+"

[mikell]

The pattern I posted is non-specific, so it will work on the 3rd element of any path

If you need to be very specific i.e. with a path starting with 'c:users' only, then you must use a specific pattern too

So is the one guinness posted before, or this simple one

StringRegExpReplace($sFilePath, '^(c:\\users\\)[^\\]+' , '$1' & $sUserName)

Edited May 2, 2014 by mikell

[Jury]

on this page:

http://www.regular-expressions.info/tutorial.html

under the heading:

Different Regular Expression Engines

you'll find some information for various engines and each tutorial gives information also i.e.:

http://www.regular-expressions.info/unicode.html

Edited May 4, 2014 by Jury

[gcue]

 

The pattern I posted is non-specific, so it will work on the 3rd element of any path

If you need to be very specific i.e. with a path starting with 'c:users' only, then you must use a specific pattern too

So is the one guinness posted before, or this simple one

StringRegExpReplace($sFilePath, '^(c:\\users\\)[^\\]+' , '$1' & $sUserName)

 

works great!!!!

many thanks - again!

[gcue]

on this page:

http://www.regular-expressions.info/tutorial.html

under the heading:

Different Regular Expression Engines

you'll find some information for various engines and each tutorial gives information also i.e.:

http://www.regular-expressions.info/unicode.html

 

thanks for the references =)