Regex -> what says this regex?

Question

Is there any one who can help me interpret this regex?

var regex = /<a\s+([^>]+\s+)?href\s*=\s*('([^']*)'|"([^"]*)|([^\s>]+))[^>]*>/g;

from where you copied it? start reading about regex first? what part of the pattern confuse you? — Braj, Aug 13 '14 at 10:32
Duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/22937618/reference-what-does-this-regex-mean — Unihedron, Aug 13 '14 at 10:34

score 4 · Accepted Answer · 2014-08-13T10:43:57.293

Regex Explnation

NODE                     EXPLANATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  <a                      '<a'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \s+                      whitespace (\n, \r, \t, \f, and " ") (1 or
                           more times (matching the most amount
                           possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  (                        group and capture to \1 (optional
                           (matching the most amount possible)):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    [^>]+                    any character except: '>' (1 or more
                             times (matching the most amount
                             possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \s+                      whitespace (\n, \r, \t, \f, and " ") (1
                             or more times (matching the most amount
                             possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  )?                       end of \1 (NOTE: because you are using a
                           quantifier on this capture, only the LAST
                           repetition of the captured pattern will be
                           stored in \1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  href                     'href'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \s*                      whitespace (\n, \r, \t, \f, and " ") (0 or
                           more times (matching the most amount
                           possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  =                        '='
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  \s*                      whitespace (\n, \r, \t, \f, and " ") (0 or
                           more times (matching the most amount
                           possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  (                        group and capture to \2:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    '                        '\''
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (                        group and capture to \3:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      [^']*                    any character except: ''' (0 or more
                               times (matching the most amount
                               possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    )                        end of \3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    '                        '\''
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   |                        OR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "                        '"'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (                        group and capture to \4:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      [^"]*                    any character except: '"' (0 or more
                               times (matching the most amount
                               possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    )                        end of \4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   |                        OR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (                        group and capture to \5:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      [^\s>]+                  any character except: whitespace (\n,
                               \r, \t, \f, and " "), '>' (1 or more
                               times (matching the most amount
                               possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    )                        end of \5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  )                        end of \2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [^>]*                    any character except: '>' (0 or more times
                           (matching the most amount possible))
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  >                        '>'

Regex -> what says this regex?

1 Answers1