Match regex pattern multiple times

Question

I'm trying to write a regex that will match a given pattern between 2 and unlimited times. Effectively I'm just trying to combine multiple line breaks in to one, if any exist at all.

Sample input:

<br><br>
<br>
ABC
<br>
<br>

Expected output:

<br>
ABC
<br>

If the regex was run on the above output then I would expect to see the exact same output.

There could be any amount of whitespace between the <br> tags.

What I've tried:

$html = preg_replace('/(?:<br>\s?){2,}/s', null, $html);

If you don't have to bother with Windows-created files (with line terminator \r\n), consider replacing matches of /\n{2,}/ with \n or /\n(?=\n)/ with an empty string (both with the multiline flag set) . — Cary Swoveland
– Cary Swoveland, Commented Jun 20, 2020 at 21:49

AbraCadaver · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-20 21:55:46Z

1

Just look for a <br> followed by optional space characters 2 or more times and replace with <br>:

$html = preg_replace('/(<br>\s*){2,}/', '<br>', $html);

You might replace with "<br>\n" if you want.

answered Jun 20, 2020 at 21:55

AbraCadaver

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