Thread: Regular Expression pattern - complex pattern syntax

Yes, it is possible. Simply analyze what is needed:

What can any character before the last one be? Well, it can be any single character except for a semi-colon, or a backslash directly followed by a semi-colon. The pattern then must end with a semi-colon character, or the end of the string. Because these are already consumed in the section before looking for the last character, you don't need to even take it into consideration when writing the pattern for the last character.

Once you have all the patterns matched, simply trim off the last character if the second to last character isn't a backslash.

Alternatively, you can leave off any check for what the ending pattern character should be, and instead advance the position to start the next pattern search to include that gap of 1. This removes the need to trim the last "free-standing" semicolon at the end.

Hello SmartAndy,

Welcome to the Java Programming Forums.

Please only post each thread once. I have removed your duplicate thread.

Regarding your question, take a look at this tutorial: http://www.javaprogrammingforums.com...explained.html

Other useful links:

Kvalley's RegEx Creator

Regular Expression Tester