Extract word out of string using regex

Question

I want to extract certain word out of a string using regex.

I got this code now and it works perfectly when i search for *

public static string Tagify(string value, string search, string htmlTag, bool clear = false)
    {
        Regex regex = new Regex(@"\" + search + "([^)]*)\\" + search);
        var v = regex.Match(value);

        if (v.Groups[1].ToString() == "" || v.Groups[1].ToString() == value || clear == true)
        {
            return value.Replace(search, "");
        }

        return value.Replace(v.Groups[0].ToString(), "<" + htmlTag + ">" + v.Groups[1].ToString() + "</" + htmlTag + ">");
    }

But now I need to search for **, but unfortunately this does not work How can I achieve this?

Could you provide some more exact specs and examples? Certainly, sounds like the simplest is @"\*\*(.*?)\*\*", but the most efficient is@"\*\*([^*]*(?:\*(?!\*)[^*]*)*)\*\*" — Wiktor Stribiżew
– Wiktor Stribiżew, Commented Aug 3, 2016 at 9:18
Why ([^)]*) inside? Do you mean you want to exclude any ) in between **s? — Wiktor Stribiżew
– Wiktor Stribiżew, Commented Aug 3, 2016 at 9:22
@WiktorStribiżew that was it :D I just have to put a \ before every character. Thank you — apero
– apero, Commented Aug 3, 2016 at 9:22
@WiktorStribiżew no I do not, I am not good in regex this is code from all around the web — apero
– apero, Commented Aug 3, 2016 at 9:24

Wiktor Stribiżew · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-03 09:27:40Z

1

I think the simplest solution is to use lazy dot matching in a capturing group.

Replace

Regex regex = new Regex(@"\" + search + "([^)]*)\\" + search);

with

Regex regex = new Regex(string.Format("{0}(.*?){0}", Regex.Escape(search)));

Or in C#6.0

Regex regex = new Regex($"{Regex.Escape(search)}(.*?){Regex.Escape(search)}");

Regex.Escape will escape any special chars for you, no need to manually append \ symbols.

answered Aug 3, 2016 at 9:27

Wiktor Stribiżew

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1 Comment

apero Over a year ago

Thank you very much! This is it.

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