Python RegEx
A RegEx, or Regular Expression, is a sequence of characters that forms a
search pattern.
RegEx can be used to check if a string contains the specified search pattern.
RegEx Module
Python has a built-in package called re, which can be used to work with Regular
Expressions.
Import the re module:
import re
RegEx in Python
When you have imported the re module, you can start using regular
expressions:
Example
Search the string to see if it starts with "The" and ends with "Spain":
import re
txt = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search("^The.*Spain$", txt)
Run example »
RegEx Functions
The re module offers a set of functions that allows us to search a string for a
match:
Function Description
findall Returns a list containing all matches
search Returns a Match object if there is a match anywhere in the string
split Returns a list where the string has been split at each match
sub Replaces one or many matches with a string
Metacharacters
Metacharacters are characters with a special meaning:
Character Description Example
[] A set of characters "[a-m]"
\ Signals a special sequence (can also be used to escape special "\d"
characters)
. Any character (except newline character) "he..o"
^ Starts with "^hello"
$ Ends with "world$"
* Zero or more occurrences "aix*"
+ One or more occurrences "aix+"
{} Excactly the specified number of occurrences "al{2}"
| Either or "falls|stay
() Capture and group
Special Sequences
A special sequence is a \ followed by one of the characters in the list below, and
has a special meaning:
Character Description Example
\A Returns a match if the specified characters are at the beginning "\AThe"
of the string
\b Returns a match where the specified characters are at the r"\bain"
beginning or at the end of a word r"ain\b"
\B Returns a match where the specified characters are present, but r"\Bain"
NOT at the beginning (or at the end) of a word r"ain\B"
\d Returns a match where the string contains digits (numbers from "\d"
0-9)
\D Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain digits "\D"
\s Returns a match where the string contains a white space "\s"
character
\S Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain a white "\S"
space character
\w Returns a match where the string contains any word characters "\w"
(characters from a to Z, digits from 0-9, and the underscore _
character)
\W Returns a match where the string DOES NOT contain any word "\W"
characters
\Z Returns a match if the specified characters are at the end of the "Spain\Z"
string
Sets
A set is a set of characters inside a pair of square brackets [] with a special
meaning:
Set Description
[arn] Returns a match where one of the specified characters ( a, r, or n) are presen
[a-n] Returns a match for any lower case character, alphabetically between a and
[^arn] Returns a match for any character EXCEPT a, r, and n
[0123] Returns a match where any of the specified digits ( 0, 1, 2, or 3) are present
[0-9] Returns a match for any digit between 0 and 9
[0-5][0-9] Returns a match for any two-digit numbers from 00 and 59
[a-zA-Z] Returns a match for any character alphabetically between a and z, lower cas
OR upper case
[+] In sets, +, *, ., |, (), $,{} has no special meaning, so [+] means: return a
match for any + character in the string
The findall() Function
The findall() function returns a list containing all matches.
Example
Print a list of all matches:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.findall("ai", str)
print(x)
Run example »
The list contains the matches in the order they are found.
If no matches are found, an empty list is returned:
Example
Return an empty list if no match was found:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.findall("Portugal", str)
print(x)
Run example »
The search() Function
The search() function searches the string for a match, and returns a Match
object if there is a match.
If there is more than one match, only the first occurrence of the match will be
returned:
Example
Search for the first white-space character in the string:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search("\s", str)
print("The first white-space character is located in position:",
x.start())
Run example »
If no matches are found, the value None is returned:
Example
Make a search that returns no match:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search("Portugal", str)
print(x)
Run example »
The split() Function
The split() function returns a list where the string has been split at each
match:
Example
Split at each white-space character:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.split("\s", str)
print(x)
Run example »
You can control the number of occurrences by specifying
the maxsplit parameter:
Example
Split the string only at the first occurrence:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.split("\s", str, 1)
print(x)
Run example »
The sub() Function
The sub() function replaces the matches with the text of your choice:
Example
Replace every white-space character with the number 9:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.sub("\s", "9", str)
print(x)
Run example »
You can control the number of replacements by specifying
the count parameter:
Example
Replace the first 2 occurrences:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.sub("\s", "9", str, 2)
print(x)
Run example »
Match Object
A Match Object is an object containing information about the search and the
result.
Note: If there are no match, the value None will be returned, instead of the
Match Object.
Example
Do a search that will return a Match Object:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search("ai", str)
print(x) #this will print an object
Run example »
The Match object has properties and methods used to retrieve information about
the search, and the result:
.span() returns a tuple containing the start-, and end positions of the match.
.string returns the string passed into the function
.group() returns the part of the string where there was a match
Example
Print the position (start- and end-position) of the first match occurrence.
The regular expression looks for any words that starts with an upper case "S":
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search(r"\bS\w+", str)
print(x.span())
Run example »
Example
Print the string passed into the function:
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search(r"\bS\w+", str)
print(x.string)
Run example »
Example
Print the part of the string where there was a match.
The regular expression looks for any words that starts with an upper case "S":
import re
str = "The rain in Spain"
x = re.search(r"\bS\w+", str)
print(x.group())
Run example »
Note: If there are no match, the value None will be returned, instead of the
Match Object.
