Match Pattern with shortest string pattern instead of longest string .*

[PhillipBrooks]

A sometimes overlooked feature of Match Regular Expression is that you can resize and index the capture groups.

Use .*? for a lazy match...

[pauldavey]

As posted by PhillipBrooks,

you can use Match Regular Expression with the following pattern: .*? to use non-greedy matching (also you can use .+? and {2,5}? ).

Online help: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371361L-01/lvhowto/regular_expression_patterns/

[ben64]

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@PhillipBrooks wrote:

A sometimes overlooked feature of Match Regular Expression is that you can resize and index the capture groups.

Use .*? for a lazy match...

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Philip, if you don't put ab in a capture group you only need to expand the output for (.*?).

To remove the empty spaces before cd and after ef the following regex can be used: ab\s*(.*?)\s*ab (or use TrimWhitespace.vi at the output).

If you want to capture all sequences between ab pairs you need to use a lookahead (the second ab pair will not be part of the match), If we have the following sequence: uv tk ab cd ef ab gh jk ab lm op ab

Your regex will match cd ef and lm op ignoring gh jk

Using the following regex ab(.*?)(?=ab) you will match all sub-sequences between ab pairs

Ben64

Ben64

[altenbach]

Suddenly the code is about as complex as my version using "scan strings for tokens" above... 😄

[Darin.K]

With a known delimiter I would probably lean Spreadsheet string to array.  That said:

[altenbach]

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@Darin.K wrote:

That said:

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I knew that Dr. Regex would come up with a very long line of gibberish that does exaclty what the OP wanted. 😄

[DavidBoyd]

Someday, if i should happen to have a massive aneurysm at my desk, and so, exit this world for the next, I can guarantee that there will be unfinished regex code on a block diagram on my monitor.

[PhillipBrooks]

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@DavidBoyd wrote:

Someday, if i should happen to have a massive aneurysm at my desk, and so, exit this world for the next, I can guarantee that there will be unfinished regex code on a block diagram on my monitor.

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All regular expressions by definition are unfinished and subject to improvement or simplification.