CODEWITHSUNDEEP
regex
jacquisu
jacquisu

Reputation: 13

create expression with a dash/or ignore all values after the 5th digit

I need to use an expression in a string to look for a range of postcodes

The expression I already have works when the postcode has 5 numbers

e.g.

Postcode range 30000-39999

String USAPostcodeExp = @"^[0-3][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]$";

this works with the postcode 31234

but some of the postcodes have 5 digits a dash and 4 digits

e.g. postcode 31234-1234

and these are not been recognised from the script.

Only the first 5 digits are relevant to our needs

So how do I write it so either it accounts for the extra dash and 4 digits

OR it ignores anything after the 5th digit.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 42

Answers (1)

Jerry
Jerry

Reputation: 71538

You can add a word boundary to your current regex instead of using a $:

@"^[0-3][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]\b";

Also, you mentioned the range was 30000 to 39999, so shouldn't that be:

@"^3[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]\b";

Instead?

Shortened to:

@"^3[0-9]{4}\b";

The above will do the second option: ignore everything after the 5th digit (but still ensure that it is a 5 digit code within the required range).

If you want to match the additional part, you can use an optional group:

@"^3[0-9]{4}(?:-[0-9]{4})?$";

Upvotes: 1

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