CODEWITHSUNDEEP
regex
ShreyasD
ShreyasD

Reputation: 115

Non capturing group in regex not working as expected

Trying to write a simple regex to match either of the following formats: XX-XXXXXX-XX-XX-XX or XX-XXXXXX-XX-XX-XX-XX where X is a number (0-9) or an alpha character (case insensitive).

I have tested the following expression:

/[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{6}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}(?:-[0-9A-Za-z]{2})/

where the final -XX is a non capturing group.

I am trying to test against the following entries: 

0F-F5G67E-H4-j6-j7
0F-F5G67E-H4-j6-j7-8J

But, it only matches the second one.

Heres the link for testing: http://regexr.com/3eebe

I will appreciate if any pro regexers can lend a hand.

Thanks

Upvotes: 0

Views: 133

Answers (4)

Ben
Ben

Reputation: 16

Mark the group as optional by adding a ? at the end:

/[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{6}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}(?:-[0-9A-Za-z]{2})?/

Upvotes: 0

Serge Ts
Serge Ts

Reputation: 13

You forgot to add ? (meaning "zero or one time") after your group /[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{6}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}(?:-[0-9A-Za-z]{2})?/

Also, add g flag to match both groups in your testing environment.

And finally, why not just combine last three groups together: /[\w]{2}-[\w]{6}(?:-[\w]{2}){3,4}/g?

Upvotes: 1

A l w a y s S u n n y
A l w a y s S u n n y

Reputation: 38502

You are missing a ? following the non-capturing group so add a ? and set the g flag 

[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{6}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}(?:-[0-9A-Za-z]{2})?

Upvotes: 0

Thomas Ayoub
Thomas Ayoub

Reputation: 29431

Next time you can use quantifier {3,4}:

[0-9A-Za-z]{2}-[0-9A-Za-z]{6}(?:-[0-9A-Za-z]{2}){3,4}

View it Online

Upvotes: 0

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