Splitting String from a specific pattern

Question

How could I turn this String into two different variables from a pattern?

String: "[ADDRESS] Custom address n 1"
Variable type would be "ADDRESS" and variable field would be "Custom address n 1".
Is it possible without having a complicated loop checking for each character?

Use regex parsing. One way would be to use a regex to parse the string into two groups, one containing "[...] " and the other containing the rest. Then you would be able to extract the parts into whatever you wish. — filpa, Jul 24 '18 at 20:21
`type` = anything inside `[]` (excluding them). `field` = the rest — x80486, Jul 24 '18 at 20:22
Use simple regex to get the info from the pattern. See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49246669/using-split-method-in-java-to-separate-different-inputs/49265943#49265943 — Jasper Huzen, Jul 24 '18 at 20:24

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 24 '18 at 20:23

5

You can use regex with capturing groups:

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("\\[(.*)\\] (.*)");
Matcher m = p.matcher("[ADDRESS] Custom address n 1");
if (m.find()) {
    String type = m.group(1);
    String field = m.group(2);
}

answered Jul 24 '18 at 20:23

shmosel

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@Andreas Would `.*?` have the same benefit? – shmosel Jul 24 '18 at 20:49
@shmosel No, but better than `.*`, since `.*` goes all the way to the end, then backtracks from there. According to regex101, `\[(.*)\] (.*)` is 50 steps, `\[(.*?)\] (.*)` is 24 steps, and `\[([^\]]*)\] (.*)` is 10 steps. – Andreas Jul 24 '18 at 20:59

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 24 '18 at 20:24

2

You should be using this regex:

\[([^\]]*)\](.*)

For the String "[ADDRESS] Custom address n 1",

Group 1 would be "ADDRESS"
Group 2 would be "Custom address n 1"

answered Jul 24 '18 at 20:24

jaudo

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Splitting String from a specific pattern

2 Answers2