CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javastring
Hunter Stockdill
Hunter Stockdill

Reputation: 13

How can I check the format of string input

I'm not sure if I'm checking in the wrong area or if my code to check is wrong. I am attempting to check if employee Id is valid in format 999-A. Any help would be appreciated.

    public class Employee {
  private String name;
  private String employeeNumber;
  private String hireDate;

  // Constructor
  public Employee(String name, String employeeNumber, String hireDate){

    this.name = name;

    if(isValidEmployeeNumber(employeeNumber) == true){
      this.employeeNumber = employeeNumber;
    } else{

    }
    this.hireDate = hireDate;

  }

  // Getters and Setters

  public String getName(){
    return name;
  }

  public String getEmployeeNumber(){
    return employeeNumber;
  }

  public String getHireDate(){
    return hireDate;
  }

  public void setName(String name){
    this.name = name;
  }

  public void setEmployeeNumber(String employeeNumber){
    this.employeeNumber = employeeNumber;
  }

  public void setHireDate(String hireDate){
    this.hireDate = hireDate;
  }

  //999-X
  private boolean isValidEmployeeNumber(String employeeNumber){

    if(Character.getNumericValue(employeeNumber.charAt(4)) > 10 &
        Character.getNumericValue(employeeNumber.charAt(4)) < 22)
    {
      /*
      int cutNum = Integer.parseInt(employeeNumber.substring(0,1));

      if(cutNum <= 0 && cutNum <= 9){

        cutNum = Integer.parseInt(employeeNumber.substring(1, 2));

        if(cutNum <= 0 && cutNum <= 9){
          cutNum = Integer.parseInt(employeeNumber.substring(2, 3));

          if(cutNum <= 0 && cutNum <= 9){

              setEmployeeNumber(employeeNumber);
              return true;

          }

        }

      }*/

      return true;

    }

    return false;
  }

}

As you can see I commented out the part that I have attempted even when commenting it out the employeeNumber is coming out null. I have attempted string.matches("\d{1}\d{1}\d{1}\-\D{1}") and a few other strategies.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 64

Answers (2)

user unknown
user unknown

Reputation: 36229

\d{1} is just a more complicated way to say \d. If 070-N is valid, but 70-N isn't, 

"\d{3}-\D"

might just be what you're searching for, or

"\d\d\d-\D"

But the \D matches every non-digit, so it would match "097-?" too. And in the Java Source, you need to mask the backslash too:

 "097-X".matches ("\\d\\d\\d-[A-Z]")

Note, that the minus in the middle doesn't need masking, only in a Set, if to be taken literally: 

 "097-X".matches (".*[,\\-/].")

which can be avoided in many languages, by placing it first or last:

 "097-X".matches (".*[-,/].")
 "097-X".matches (".*[,/-].")

Upvotes: 0

beny23
beny23

Reputation: 35008

Regular expressions are a very good fit for this task:

private boolean isValidEmployeeNumber(String employeeNumber) {
    return employeeNumber.matches("[0-9]{3}-[A-Z]")
}

To break down the regular expression:

  • [0-9]{3} a number (0-9) 3 times
  • - the dash
  • [A-Z] A-Z once

anything else wouldn't be valid. Note \D would be valid for any non-number, which I don't think what you intended.

Upvotes: 1

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