Java Regex to replace text between braces {...} including newline

Question

How do I replace text between braces {...} including newline with regex in java?

I've seen many related questions about removing text within brackets but the main problem here is that if there's a new line in the middle of the match, it sort of seems to not match.

Any help on how to do that properly is appreciated, thanks!

Example:

Input:

text 1 {
text 2
text 3
}

Output after replacement:

text1

use `System.out.println("text 1 {\ntext 2\ntext 3\n}".replaceAll("(?s)\\{.*\\}", ""));` — rock321987, May 23 '16 at 19:55
see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6500036/pattern-dotall-with-string-replaceall you can use `PATTERN.DOTALL` or prepend `(?s)` — user140547, May 23 '16 at 19:56
By virtue of the fact you state Open-Clos brace, it reeks of balance text. Otherwise, why not just match `}{`. There is no real construct in language that doesn't parse _nesting_ syntax. Java doesn't support it. Move on, nothing to see... — , May 23 '16 at 20:31

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 23 '16 at 19:53

1

Learned that . is not literally every character.

I'm using

string = string.replaceAll("\\{(.|\\n|\\r|\\t)*?\\}","");

and now it's working.

answered May 23 '16 at 19:53

bmo

147
1
11

1

Doesn't Java support the `s` modifier? Which will make `.` match any character. – Andreas Louv May 23 '16 at 19:53
use `System.out.println("text 1 {\ntext 2\ntext 3\n}".replaceAll("(?s)\\{.*\\}", ""));` – rock321987 May 23 '16 at 19:55
Well, the best way is to use a negated character class: [`"\\{[^{}]*}"`](http://ideone.com/KRUhD8) – Wiktor Stribiżew May 23 '16 at 20:45

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 23 '16 at 19:54

0

You could simply do this:

string=string.replaceAll("\\{(.|\n)*?\\}","");

I hope it helps.

answered May 23 '16 at 19:54

joel314

1,060
1
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Java Regex to replace text between braces {...} including newline

2 Answers2