Regular Expressions Library¶
VerbalExpressions¶
Description¶
A library that helps construct difficult regular expressions in natural language, using common verbs and terms instead of unfriendly character sequences
Methods¶
IsEmail(string)¶
Description
Checks whether the value of the input parameter represents a valid e-mail address or not.
Return Type : bool
Static : Yes
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to check |
Syntax
if(RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions.IsEmail("someone@email.com") == false){
ShowMessage("Please, enter a valid e-mail address");
}
IsUrl(string)¶
Description
Checks whether the value of the input paramenter represents a valid URL or not.
Return Type : bool
Static : Yes
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to check |
Syntax
if(RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions.IsUrl("https://www.zappdev.com") == false){
ShowMessage("Please, enter a valid URL.");
}
StringMatchesPattern(string, string)¶
Description
Checks whether the string passed as an input parameter matches the specified pattern
Return Type : bool
Static : Yes
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be checked |
| pattern | string | The pattern to be applied |
Syntax
string email = "someone@email.com";
string emailPattern = "[A-Z0-9a-z._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\\.[A-Za-z]{2,64}";
if(RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions.StringMatchesPattern(email, emailPattern)){
ShowMessage("Please, enter a valid e-mail address.");
}
StartOfLine()¶
Description
Make the expression start at the beginning of the line
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
expressions = expressions.StartOfLine().Then("apple").Anything();
DebugLib.Logger.Assert(expressions.IsMatch("apple"), "The line starts with [apple]");
DebugLib.Logger.Assert(!expressions.IsMatch("pineapple"), "The line does not start with [apple]");
EndOfLine()¶
Description
Mark the expression to end at the last character of the line
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string lorem = "Lorem ipsum\n Dolor sit amet.";
lorem = expressions.EndOfLine().Replace(lorem, "<br/ >");
//Outputs: Lorem ipsum<br /> Dolor sit amet. <br/>
Anything()¶
Description
Adds zero or more expressions that result from the previous rule
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
expressions = expressions.StartOfLine().Then("apple").Anything();
Something()¶
Description
Adds one or more expressions that result from the previous rule
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
expressions = expressions.StartOfLine().Then("apple").Something();
Then(string)¶
Description
Finds and adds the requested string in the expression
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be looked for |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
expressions = expressions.StartOfLine().Then("apple").Anything();
Maybe(string)¶
Description
Adds a string to the expression, that might appear zero or one times
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be looked for |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string greeting = "Hello, my name is Mr. Slim Shady";
bool isMister = expressions.Maybe("Mr.").Maybe("Mister").IsMatch(greeting);
Or(string)¶
Description
Adds an alternative expression to be matched
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be looked for |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string link = "http:////www.zappdev.com";
//Is link if starts with http, maybe with https, or ftp
bool isLink = expressions.Then("http").Maybe("s").Then(":").Or("ftp:////").IsMatch(link);
AnythingBut(string)¶
Description
Adds any string except for the one passed as the parameter. Might add nothing
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be avoided |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users";
if(expressions.AnythingBut("Id").IsMatch(sqlSelect) == false){
ShowMessage("The query has so much more than an Id!");
}
SomethingBut(string)¶
Description
Adds one or more strings that do not match the value passed as the parameter
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The string to be avoided |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname, ParentId FROM Users";
if(expressions.AnythingBut("Id").IsMatch(sqlSelect) == false){
ShowMessage("The query will retrieve at least one Id!");
}
LineBreak()¶
Description
Adds the line break expression ( )
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string lorem = "Lorem ipsum \r\n dolor sit amet \r\n";
lorem = expressions.LineBreak().Replace(lorem, "<br />");
Tab()¶
Description
Adds the tab character expression ( )
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string lorem = "Lorem ipsum\t dolor sit amet\t";
lorem = expressions.Tab().Replace(lorem, " ");
Word()¶
Description
Adds an expresion that matches a whole word
Return Type : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string s = "I love apples, but hate pineapples";
if(expressions.Anything().Then("apples").Word().IsMatch(s)){
ShowMessage("Found the word 'apples'! ");
}
IsMatch(string)¶
Description
Checks whether the string matches the pattern passed as a parameter
Return Type : bool
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | string | The pattern to be looked for |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string s = "I love apples, but hate pineapples";
if(expressions.Anything().Then("apples").Word().IsMatch(s)){
ShowMessage("Found the word 'apples'! ");
}
Replace(string, string)¶
Description
In a specified input string replace everything matched, with the replacement
Return Type : string
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Input | string | The string to be altered |
| Replacement | string | The value with which all found inputs should be altered |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string lorem = "Lorem ipsum \r\n dolor sit amet \r\n";
lorem = expressions.LineBreak().Replace(lorem, "<br />");
GetMatch(string)¶
Description
Executes the Verbal Expression against the supplied input and retrieves a single string that matches the expression. Throws a System.Exception, should anything go wrong.
Return Type : string
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| input | string | The string that contains the expression to be matched |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users";
string anythingButId = expressions.AnythingBut("Id").GetMatch(sqlSelect);
ShowMessage(anythingButId); //Shows 'SELECT'
GetMatch(string, string)¶
Description
Executes the Verbal Expression against the supplied input and retrieves a single string that matches the expression. Should anything go wrong (an exception is thrown, the pattern cannot be constructed etc.), all exceptions are suppressed and the defaultValue is returned as the match.
Return Type : string
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| input | string | The string that contains the expression to be matched |
| defaultValue | string | The default value to be returned, should anything go wrong |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users";
//Here, our expression contains nothing (no verb). It will throw an exception
string noExpression = expressions.GetMatch(sqlSelect, "Something went horribly wrong...");
ShowMessage(noExpression); //Shows the default value 'Something went horribly wrong...'
GetMatches(string)¶
Description
Executes the Verbal Expression against the supplied input and retrieves all strings that match the expression. Throws a System.Exception, should anything go wrong.
Return Type : Collection
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| input | string | The string that contains the expression to be matched |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users";
Collection[string] anythingButId = expressions.AnythingBut("SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users").GetMatches(sqlSelect);
string result = string.Join( ", ", anythingButId);
ShowMessage(result); //Shows 'SELECT'
GetMatches(string, Collection[string])¶
Description
Executes the Verbal Expression against the supplied input and retrieves all strings that match the expression. Should anything go wrong (an exception is thrown, the pattern cannot be constructed etc.), all exceptions are suppressed and the defaultValue is returned as the matches.
Return Type : Collection
Static : No
Namespace : RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions
Parameters
| Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| input | string | The string that contains the expression to be matched |
| defaultValues | Collection | The default matches list to be returned, should anything go wrong |
Syntax
RegExpLib.VerbalExpressions expressions;
string sqlSelect = "SELECT Id, Name, Surname FROM Users";
Collection[string] defaultValues;
defaultValues.Add("SELECT");
defaultValues.Add("FROM");
Collection[string] anythingButId = expressions.GetMatches(sqlSelect, defaultValues);
string result = string.Join( ", ", anythingButId);
ShowMessage(result); //Shows 'SELECT, FROM'