How to create regex to extract some html elements from document

Question

I am new to make regex and I want to know how to make a perfect regex that can do exactly its job.

This is an example:

I want to extract all elements that match this one from HTML document

<span class="st">
    <em>Echo</em> Reservoir, <em>UT</em>, 
    local weather including current conditions, extended forecasts,
    alerts, <em>Utah</em> weather map and more.
</span>

and want to bring text only sometimes. Is it possible? Thanks.

Which language? Please pick one... "Want to bring text only sometimes" means what? — Tim Williams, Mar 16 '16 at 05:37
Is there a visual basic HTML parsing library you suggest Jaromanda X ? — Mohamed Hana, Mar 16 '16 at 05:38
I've answered your question but you should really clear up what language you are asking for and clarify what you need to extract from the HTML. — Dean Ward, Mar 16 '16 at 05:43
@MohamedHana why have you specified PHP, VB *and* Javascript? Specify just one. — Dean Ward, Mar 16 '16 at 05:49

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:59

0

There are many reasons not to use regex to parse and extract things from HTML but I'll leave it to bobince to explain them: RegEx match open tags except XHTML self-contained tags

It would be better to use a dedicated HTML parser to perform the task. A quick Google search suggests PHP HTML Parser for PHP which also includes several examples.

If you're using VB.NET then use HtmlAgilityPack.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:59

Community

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answered Mar 16 '16 at 05:38

Dean Ward

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Thanks Dean, I will give it a look. – Mohamed Hana Mar 16 '16 at 05:42

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 16 '16 at 05:49

0

I have used Simple HTML DOM on numerous PHP projects. It will do exactly what you want.

http://simplehtmldom.sourceforge.net

answered Mar 16 '16 at 05:49

ryantxr

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How to create regex to extract some html elements from document

2 Answers2