How to match a String having metacharacters using regex matches function in Java

Question

What could be the regular expression to match below String

String str = "<Element>\r\n <Sub>regular</Sub></Element>";

There is a

carriage return "\r", new line character "\n" and a space after <Element>.

My code is as below

if(str.matches("<Element>([\\s])<Sub>(.*)"))
{
     System.out.println("Matches");
}

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 02 '13 at 06:42

1

Use the "dot matches newline" switch:

if (str.matches("(?s)<Element>\\s*<Sub>(.*)"))

With the switch turned on, \s will match newline characters.

I slso fixed your regex, removing two sets of redundant brackets, and adding the crucial * after the whitespace regex.

answered Apr 02 '13 at 06:42

Bohemian

@Bohemain : As I mentioned, I have already tried using ([\\s]) is to match newline and carriage return. It does not work. – Suvasis Apr 02 '13 at 06:49
@Suvasis You tried with `[\\s]`, but you didn't provide a cardinality. In your regex, replace `[\\s]` by `\\s+` or `\\s*` (brackets are useless in this case). – sp00m Apr 02 '13 at 07:21

1 Answers1