Regex capitalize first letter every word, also after a special character like a dash

Question

I use this to capitalize every first letter every word:

#(\s|^)([a-z0-9-_]+)#i

I want it also to capitalize the letter if it's after a special mark like a dash (-).

Now it shows:

This Is A Test For-stackoverflow

And I want this:

This Is A Test For-Stackoverflow

Answer 1

+1 for word boundaries, and here is a comparable Javascript solution. This accounts for possessives, as well:

var re = /(\b[a-z](?!\s))/g;
var s = "fort collins, croton-on-hudson, harper's ferry, coeur d'alene, o'fallon"; 
s = s.replace(re, function(x){return x.toUpperCase();});
console.log(s); // "Fort Collins, Croton-On-Hudson, Harper's Ferry, Coeur D'Alene, O'Fallon"

Answer 2

A simple solution is to use word boundaries:

#\b[a-z0-9-_]+#i

Alternatively, you can match for just a few characters:

#([\s\-_]|^)([a-z0-9-_]+)#i

Answer 3

If you want to use pure regular expressions you must use the \u.

To transform this string:

This Is A Test For-stackoverflow

into

This Is A Test For-Stackoverflow

You must put: (.+)-(.+) to capture the values before and after the "-" then to replace it you must put:

$1-\u$2

If it is in bash you must put:

echo "This Is A Test For-stackoverflow" | sed 's/\(.\)-\(.\)/\1-\u\2/'

Answer 4

Actually dont need to match full string just match the first non-uppercase letter like this:

'~\b([a-z])~'

Answer 5

For JavaScript, here’s a solution that works across different languages and alphabets:

const originalString = "this is a test for-stackoverflow"
const processedString = originalString.replace(/(?:^|\s|[-"'([{])+\S/g, (c) => c.toUpperCase())

It matches any non-whitespace character \S that is preceded by a the start of the string ^, whitespace \s, or any of the characters -"'([{, and replaces it with its uppercase variant.

Answer 6

my solution using javascript

function capitalize(str) {
  var reg = /\b([a-zÁ-ú]{3,})/g;
  return string.replace(reg, (w) => w.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1));
}

with es6 + javascript

const capitalize = str => 
    str.replace(/\b([a-zÁ-ú]{3,})/g, (w) => w.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1));



/<expression-here>/g

1. [a-zÁ-ú] here I consider all the letters of the alphabet, including capital letters and with accentuation. ex: sábado de Janeiro às 19h. sexta-feira de janeiro às 21 e horas
2. [a-zÁ-ú]{3,} so I'm going to remove some letters that are not big enough
   ex: sábado de Janeiro às 19h. sexta-feira de janeiro às 21 e horas
3. \b([a-zÁ-ú]{3,}) lastly i keep only words that complete which are selected. Have to use () to isolate the last expression to work.
   ex: sábado de Janeiro às 19h. sexta-feira de janeiro às 21 e horas

after achieving this, I apply the changes only to the words that are in lower case

string.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1); // output -> Output

joining the two

str.replace(/\b(([a-zÁ-ú]){3,})/g, (w) => w.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + w.slice(1));

result:
Sábado de Janeiro às 19h. Sexta-Feira de Janeiro às 21 e Horas

Answer 7

Python solution:

>>> import re
>>> the_string = 'this is a test for stack-overflow'
>>> re.sub(r'(((?<=\s)|^|-)[a-z])', lambda x: x.group().upper(), the_string)
'This Is A Test For Stack-Overflow'

read about the "positive lookbehind"

Answer 8

While this answer for a pure Regular Expression solution is accurate:

echo "This Is A Test For-stackoverflow" | sed 's/\(.\)-\(.\)/\1-\u\2/'

it should be noted when using any Case-Change Operators:

\l            Change case of only the first character to the right lower case. (Note: lowercase 'L')
\L            Change case of all text to the right to lowercase.
\u            Change case of only the first character to the right to uppercase.
\U            Change case of all text to the right to uppercase.

the end delimiter should be used:

\E

so the end result should be:

echo "This Is A Test For-stackoverflow" | sed 's/\(.\)-\(.\)/\1-\u\E\2/'

Answer 9

this will make

R.E.A.C De Boeremeakers

from

r.e.a.c de boeremeakers

(?<=\A|[ .])(?<up>[a-z])(?=[a-z. ])

using

    Dim matches As MatchCollection = Regex.Matches(inputText, "(?<=\A|[ .])(?<up>[a-z])(?=[a-z. ])")
    Dim outputText As New StringBuilder
    If matches(0).Index > 0 Then outputText.Append(inputText.Substring(0, matches(0).Index))
    index = matches(0).Index + matches(0).Length
    For Each Match As Match In matches
        Try
            outputText.Append(UCase(Match.Value))
            outputText.Append(inputText.Substring(Match.Index + 1, Match.NextMatch.Index - Match.Index - 1))
        Catch ex As Exception
            outputText.Append(inputText.Substring(Match.Index + 1, inputText.Length - Match.Index - 1))
        End Try
    Next