Replace a exact string using Regex in ruby

Question

Consider the the following text

The capital asset as defined in section 2(14) is an exhaustive definition which encompasses all properties of any kind with certain exceptions but the key word is that the property should be "held" section 2.

Now I want to find section 2, for the same I have written the following Regex:

/\bsection+\.*\s+2\b/i

But it is also matching section 2 of section 2(14). I just want it to only match the exact text, not the part of text which is matching with the regex. I know I need to modify the regex, but what are the changes required?

That's one example, but can you describe in words generally what you want your regex to match and what you don't want it to match? What characterizes the "section 2" in "section 2(14)" versus "section 2." at the end that indicates it should not be matched? — lurker
– lurker, Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 18:15
@lurker It matching section 2 from section 2(14), it should not match section from section 2(14) — Deepti Kakade
– Deepti Kakade, Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 18:19
Yes, I understand that. By why? What is it about "section 2(14)" that makes you not want to match it? You need to have some specification/rule you can describe for matching in order to devise a regex. — lurker
– lurker, Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 18:20
So, you want it to match anything that contains the search string, and is followed only by a space or a dot? — JuanBoca
– JuanBoca, Commented Oct 24, 2015 at 18:21

JuanBoca · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-24 21:17:13Z

2

Try with \bsection+\.*\s+2([ .,;?|!])/i . This will only match with section 2 if it is followed by a space or a punctuation mark different than (.

edited Oct 24, 2015 at 21:17

answered Oct 24, 2015 at 18:30

JuanBoca

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1 Comment

Wiktor Stribiżew Over a year ago

[ |.|,|;|?|!] = [ .,;?|!]. Character classes are not groups.

ekhaliki · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-24 18:29:21Z

0

/\bsection+.*\s+2\b([[:punct:]]|\s/

basically you would want the word to end with whitespace or a punctuation.

answered Oct 24, 2015 at 18:29

ekhaliki

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