A regular expression, specified as a string, must first be compiled into
an instance of this class. The resulting pattern can then be used to create
a Matcher
object that can match arbitrary
character sequences
against the regular
expression. All of the state involved in performing a match resides in the
matcher, so many matchers can share the same pattern.
Instances of this class are immutable and are safe for use by multiple
concurrent threads. Instances of the Matcher
class are not safe for
such use.
Summary of regular-expression constructs
Construct |
Matches |
|
Characters |
x |
The character x |
\\ |
The backslash character |
\0n |
The character with octal value 0n
(0 <= n <= 7) |
\0nn |
The character with octal value 0nn
(0 <= n <= 7) |
\0mnn |
The character with octal value 0mnn
(0 <= m <= 3,
0 <= n <= 7) |
\xhh |
The character with hexadecimal value 0xhh |
\uhhhh |
The character with hexadecimal value 0xhhhh |
\t |
The tab character ('\u0009') |
\n |
The newline (line feed) character ('\u000A') |
\r |
The carriage-return character ('\u000D') |
\f |
The form-feed character ('\u000C') |
\a |
The alert (bell) character ('\u0007') |
\e |
The escape character ('\u001B') |
\cx |
The control character corresponding to x |
|
Character classes |
[abc] |
a, b, or c (simple class) |
[^abc] |
Any character except a, b, or c (negation) |
[a-zA-Z] |
a through z
or A through Z, inclusive (range) |
[a-d[m-p]] |
a through d,
or m through p: [a-dm-p] (union) |
[a-z&&[def]] |
d, e, or f (intersection) |
[a-z&&[^bc]] |
a through z,
except for b and c: [ad-z] (subtraction) |
[a-z&&[^m-p]] |
a through z,
and not m through p: [a-lq-z](subtraction) |
|
Predefined character classes |
. |
Any character (may or may not match line terminators) |
\d |
A digit: [0-9] |
\D |
A non-digit: [^0-9] |
\s |
A whitespace character: [ \t\n\x0B\f\r] |
\S |
A non-whitespace character: [^\s] |
\w |
A word character: [a-zA-Z_0-9] |
\W |
A non-word character: [^\w] |
|
POSIX character classes (US-ASCII only) |
\p{Lower} |
A lower-case alphabetic character: [a-z] |
\p{Upper} |
An upper-case alphabetic character:[A-Z] |
\p{ASCII} |
All ASCII:[\x00-\x7F] |
\p{Alpha} |
An alphabetic character:[\p{Lower}\p{Upper}] |
\p{Digit} |
A decimal digit: [0-9] |
\p{Alnum} |
An alphanumeric character:[\p{Alpha}\p{Digit}] |
\p{Punct} |
Punctuation: One of !"#$%&'()*+,-./:;<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~ |
\p{Graph} |
A visible character: [\p{Alnum}\p{Punct}] |
\p{Print} |
A printable character: [\p{Graph}] |
\p{Blank} |
A space or a tab: [ \t] |
\p{Cntrl} |
A control character: [\x00-\x1F\x7F] |
\p{XDigit} |
A hexadecimal digit: [0-9a-fA-F] |
\p{Space} |
A whitespace character: [ \t\n\x0B\f\r] |
|
Classes for Unicode blocks and categories |
\p{InGreek} |
A character in the Greek block (simple block) |
\p{Lu} |
An uppercase letter (simple category) |
\p{Sc} |
A currency symbol |
\P{InGreek} |
Any character except one in the Greek block (negation) |
[\p{L}&&[^\p{Lu}]] |
Any letter except an uppercase letter (subtraction) |
|
Boundary matchers |
^ |
The beginning of a line |
$ |
The end of a line |
\b |
A word boundary |
\B |
A non-word boundary |
\A |
The beginning of the input |
\G |
The end of the previous match |
\Z |
The end of the input but for the final
terminator, if any |
\z |
The end of the input |
|
Greedy quantifiers |
X? |
X, once or not at all |
X* |
X, zero or more times |
X+ |
X, one or more times |
X{n} |
X, exactly n times |
X{n,} |
X, at least n times |
X{n,m} |
X, at least n but not more than m times |
|
Reluctant quantifiers |
X?? |
X, once or not at all |
X*? |
X, zero or more times |
X+? |
X, one or more times |
X{n}? |
X, exactly n times |
X{n,}? |
X, at least n times |
X{n,m}? |
X, at least n but not more than m times |
|
Possessive quantifiers |
X?+ |
X, once or not at all |
X*+ |
X, zero or more times |
X++ |
X, one or more times |
X{n}+ |
X, exactly n times |
X{n,}+ |
X, at least n times |
X{n,m}+ |
X, at least n but not more than m times |
|
Logical operators |
XY |
X followed by Y |
X|Y |
Either X or Y |
(X) |
X, as a capturing group |
|
Back references |
\n |
Whatever the nth
capturing group matched |
|
Quotation |
\ |
Nothing, but quotes the following character |
\Q |
Nothing, but quotes all characters until \E |
\E |
Nothing, but ends quoting started by \Q |
|
Special constructs (non-capturing) |
(?:X) |
X, as a non-capturing group |
(?idmsux-idmsux) |
Nothing, but turns match flags on - off |
(?idmsux-idmsux:X) |
X, as a non-capturing group with the
given flags on - off |
(?=X) |
X, via zero-width positive lookahead |
(?!X) |
X, via zero-width negative lookahead |
(?<=X) |
X, via zero-width positive lookbehind |
(?<!X) |
X, via zero-width negative lookbehind |
(?>X) |
X, as an independent, non-capturing group |
Copyright 2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved