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Thread: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

  1. #1
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    Default How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Hi, I am learning how to use regex to split a word into syllables and then add a letter “p” and repetition after each syllable. If a syllable starts with a consonant(s), then the consonant(s) should be removed. In this case, the definition of syllable is zero or more consonants followed by a single vowel followed by zero or more consonants. For example, I have an input:
    Two peas in a pod
    The expected output:
    Twopo pepeaspas inpin apa podpod
    I have written this code, the only problem is that it does not allow spaces between words. May I ask suggestions to adjust the code? Thank you
    import java.util.Scanner;
    import java.util.regex.Matcher;
    import java.util.regex.Pattern;
     
    // A syllable is defined as: zero or more consonants followed by a single vowel followed by zero or more consonants.
    // In this case, only {aeiou} are considered vowels.
    public class Language {
        public static void main(String[] args) {
            String input = "Two peas in a pod";
            String addP = "p";
            // Test whether the regular expression matches the pattern.
            Matcher m = Pattern.compile("([^aeiou]?[aeiou])((nghhgfdgy|[^aeiou])(?![aeiou]))?", Pattern.CASE_INSENSITIVE).matcher(input);
            int s = 0;
            // Find the next expression that matches the pattern.
            while (m.find()) {
                // If the first letter of syllable starts with a vowel, then add p before repetition
                if (input.charAt(m.start()) == 'a' || input.charAt(m.start()) == 'i' || input.charAt(m.start()) == 'o'
                || input.charAt(m.start()) == 'e' || input.charAt(m.start()) == 'u') {
                    System.out.print(input.substring(s, m.end()).trim() + addP + input.substring(m.start(), m.end()).trim());
                }
                // If the first letter of syllable starts with a consonant, then add p before repetition and remove the first letter of repetition
                else {
                    System.out.print(input.substring(s, m.end()).trim() + addP + input.substring(m.start(), m.end()).substring(1).trim());
                }
            s = m.end();
            }
        }
    }
    Output:
    Twopopepeaspasinpinapapodpod
    Last edited by white canvas; November 1st, 2020 at 12:03 PM. Reason: Adding more info

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    The code is missing the import statements that are required to compile it. Please post the necessary import statements.

    Why aren't there any comments in the program that describe what it is supposed to do and what the rules are that it is trying to follow?
    Does your instructor penalize you for adding comments to the code?
    Personally I find it very useful when writing code like this that has to follow some rules that those rules are in the code as comments.
    If you don't understand my answer, don't ignore it, ask a question.

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Thank you for your suggestion. I have edited it.

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Ok, thank you.

    Can you describe what is wrong with the current output? What needs to change for it to be correct?
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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    My regular expression cannot allow space between words. When I input a word without spaces, it works well. However, when I have input with spaces, for example:
    Two peas in a pod

    My current output is:
    Twopopepeaspasinpinapapodpod

    But my expected output is (with spaces between words, following the spaces on the input):
    Twopo pepeaspas inpin apa podpod

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Ok what needs to be changed to the print statement so that the desired spaces are printed?

    I notice that there are no comments for the regular expression to explain what its different parts are supposed to do.
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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Does it mean that I need to change my print statement rather than changing the regular expression?

    [^aeiou] = Match a single character not present in the list (a,e,i,o,u) - consonant(s)
    [aeiou] = Match a single character present in the list (a,e,i,o,u) - vowel(s)
    (nghhgfdgy|[^aeiou]) = Matches a single consonant or multiple consonants
    (?![aeiou]) = Match a single character present in the list
    Last edited by white canvas; November 1st, 2020 at 12:52 PM.

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    I'm not any good with regular expressions. I never use them.

    Where would be the best place to control when a space was printed? Can a regExp be made to match the desired space so it would be printed as part of the matched String?
    Or can the print statement be changed to print the space where it is desired?

    Why are there calls to the trim() method in the print statement? That would remove spaces from the String being printed.
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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Yes, actually we can handle the spaces with regex, but I have not find the correct pattern to do it.
    Changing the print statement maybe work, I am trying to do it now. When I remove trim(), the output is close to the expected output, but still there is a problem. When I remove trim(), it prints:
    Two po pepeaspas inpin a pa podpod

    The "Two po" and "a pa" are still incorrect

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    Default Re: How to make regular expression allows spaces between words

    Start with the first thing that is wrong in the output and work on changing the code to fix it. It is better when trying to correct code to minimize the problems and work on them one at a time instead of trying to fix them all at once.
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