Regex - counting the number of colons in a string












2















New here so apologise if i miss out any critical information!



I've been using https://regex101.com/ to try and build some regex for the following -



I want to use some regex code to either return true if the number of colons in a text string is 3 and false if it is 4 or more, for example the following text string should return false -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17



but this should return a match -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38



Alternatively I had been looking at other methods to get a relevant response such as ddDddDddD i.e. if there is a letter straight after a digit return a true value but i'm really struggling trying to get it to work.



Any help on either option would be appreciated as either would flag what I need.



Many thanks!






regex count expression







share|improve this question























  • Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:30













  • What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

    – JGNI
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

    – Mark Baijens
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @MarkBaijens - True.

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:33
















2















New here so apologise if i miss out any critical information!



I've been using https://regex101.com/ to try and build some regex for the following -



I want to use some regex code to either return true if the number of colons in a text string is 3 and false if it is 4 or more, for example the following text string should return false -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17



but this should return a match -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38



Alternatively I had been looking at other methods to get a relevant response such as ddDddDddD i.e. if there is a letter straight after a digit return a true value but i'm really struggling trying to get it to work.



Any help on either option would be appreciated as either would flag what I need.



Many thanks!






regex count expression







share|improve this question























  • Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:30













  • What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

    – JGNI
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

    – Mark Baijens
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @MarkBaijens - True.

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:33














2












2








2








New here so apologise if i miss out any critical information!



I've been using https://regex101.com/ to try and build some regex for the following -



I want to use some regex code to either return true if the number of colons in a text string is 3 and false if it is 4 or more, for example the following text string should return false -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17



but this should return a match -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38



Alternatively I had been looking at other methods to get a relevant response such as ddDddDddD i.e. if there is a letter straight after a digit return a true value but i'm really struggling trying to get it to work.



Any help on either option would be appreciated as either would flag what I need.



Many thanks!






regex count expression







share|improve this question














New here so apologise if i miss out any critical information!



I've been using https://regex101.com/ to try and build some regex for the following -



I want to use some regex code to either return true if the number of colons in a text string is 3 and false if it is 4 or more, for example the following text string should return false -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17



but this should return a match -



Bin Not Out at:12:54:38



Alternatively I had been looking at other methods to get a relevant response such as ddDddDddD i.e. if there is a letter straight after a digit return a true value but i'm really struggling trying to get it to work.



Any help on either option would be appreciated as either would flag what I need.



Many thanks!






regex count expression




regex count expression






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked Nov 13 '18 at 11:26









JamesJames

132




132













  • Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:30













  • What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

    – JGNI
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

    – Mark Baijens
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @MarkBaijens - True.

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:33



















  • Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:30













  • What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

    – JGNI
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

    – Mark Baijens
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:32











  • @MarkBaijens - True.

    – Fredrik Pihl
    Nov 13 '18 at 11:33

















Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

– Fredrik Pihl
Nov 13 '18 at 11:30







Just count the colons. Using python as an example len("yourstring".split(":"))

– Fredrik Pihl
Nov 13 '18 at 11:30















What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

– JGNI
Nov 13 '18 at 11:32





What happens if you have one or two colons in the string?

– JGNI
Nov 13 '18 at 11:32













@FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

– Mark Baijens
Nov 13 '18 at 11:32





@FredrikPihl you will need a -1 on that. If you split on a string with 1 : the length is 2.

– Mark Baijens
Nov 13 '18 at 11:32













@MarkBaijens - True.

– Fredrik Pihl
Nov 13 '18 at 11:33





@MarkBaijens - True.

– Fredrik Pihl
Nov 13 '18 at 11:33












3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















0














To match the format in your example data containing 3 times a colon, you might use:



^[^rn:]*:d{2}:d{2}:d{2}[^rn:]*$


Regex demo



That would match





  • ^ Assert start of the string


  • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


  • (?::d{2}){3} Match a colon followed by 2 digits and repeat that 3 times


  • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


  • $ Assert the end of the line


If the values to want to match are in 24h format, you might use this regex



^[^rn:]*:(?:2[0-3]|[01]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9])[^rn:]*$


Regex demo






share|improve this answer





















  • 1





    That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

    – James
    Nov 13 '18 at 16:16



















0














A simple regex that matches strings containing 3 and only 3 colon:



^([^:]*:){3}[^:]*$


DEMO






share|improve this answer































    -1














    Using Perl one liner



    > cat colon.dat
    
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17
    
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38
    
> perl -ne ' { while(m/(:)/g){$x++} print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
    
false
    
true
    
>


    or more elegantly



    > perl -ne ' { $x++ while(m/(:)/g) ; print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
    
false
    
true
    
>





    share|improve this answer























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      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      0














      To match the format in your example data containing 3 times a colon, you might use:



      ^[^rn:]*:d{2}:d{2}:d{2}[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo



      That would match





      • ^ Assert start of the string


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • (?::d{2}){3} Match a colon followed by 2 digits and repeat that 3 times


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • $ Assert the end of the line


      If the values to want to match are in 24h format, you might use this regex



      ^[^rn:]*:(?:2[0-3]|[01]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9])[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo






      share|improve this answer





















      • 1





        That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

        – James
        Nov 13 '18 at 16:16
















      0














      To match the format in your example data containing 3 times a colon, you might use:



      ^[^rn:]*:d{2}:d{2}:d{2}[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo



      That would match





      • ^ Assert start of the string


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • (?::d{2}){3} Match a colon followed by 2 digits and repeat that 3 times


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • $ Assert the end of the line


      If the values to want to match are in 24h format, you might use this regex



      ^[^rn:]*:(?:2[0-3]|[01]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9])[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo






      share|improve this answer





















      • 1





        That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

        – James
        Nov 13 '18 at 16:16














      0












      0








      0







      To match the format in your example data containing 3 times a colon, you might use:



      ^[^rn:]*:d{2}:d{2}:d{2}[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo



      That would match





      • ^ Assert start of the string


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • (?::d{2}){3} Match a colon followed by 2 digits and repeat that 3 times


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • $ Assert the end of the line


      If the values to want to match are in 24h format, you might use this regex



      ^[^rn:]*:(?:2[0-3]|[01]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9])[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo






      share|improve this answer















      To match the format in your example data containing 3 times a colon, you might use:



      ^[^rn:]*:d{2}:d{2}:d{2}[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo



      That would match





      • ^ Assert start of the string


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • (?::d{2}){3} Match a colon followed by 2 digits and repeat that 3 times


      • [^rn:]* Negated character class to match not 0+ times a carriage return, newline or a colon


      • $ Assert the end of the line


      If the values to want to match are in 24h format, you might use this regex



      ^[^rn:]*:(?:2[0-3]|[01]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9]):(?:[0-5]?[0-9])[^rn:]*$


      Regex demo







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited Nov 13 '18 at 16:17

























      answered Nov 13 '18 at 14:57









      The fourth birdThe fourth bird

      21k71326




      21k71326








      • 1





        That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

        – James
        Nov 13 '18 at 16:16














      • 1





        That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

        – James
        Nov 13 '18 at 16:16








      1




      1





      That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

      – James
      Nov 13 '18 at 16:16





      That is great, just what I was after, thank you very much for your help.

      – James
      Nov 13 '18 at 16:16













      0














      A simple regex that matches strings containing 3 and only 3 colon:



      ^([^:]*:){3}[^:]*$


      DEMO






      share|improve this answer




























        0














        A simple regex that matches strings containing 3 and only 3 colon:



        ^([^:]*:){3}[^:]*$


        DEMO






        share|improve this answer


























          0












          0








          0







          A simple regex that matches strings containing 3 and only 3 colon:



          ^([^:]*:){3}[^:]*$


          DEMO






          share|improve this answer













          A simple regex that matches strings containing 3 and only 3 colon:



          ^([^:]*:){3}[^:]*$


          DEMO







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Nov 13 '18 at 12:39









          TotoToto

          65.1k175698




          65.1k175698























              -1














              Using Perl one liner



              > cat colon.dat
              
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17
              
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38
              
> perl -ne ' { while(m/(:)/g){$x++} print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
              
false
              
true
              
>


              or more elegantly



              > perl -ne ' { $x++ while(m/(:)/g) ; print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
              
false
              
true
              
>





              share|improve this answer




























                -1














                Using Perl one liner



                > cat colon.dat
                
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17
                
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38
                
> perl -ne ' { while(m/(:)/g){$x++} print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                
false
                
true
                
>


                or more elegantly



                > perl -ne ' { $x++ while(m/(:)/g) ; print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                
false
                
true
                
>





                share|improve this answer


























                  -1












                  -1








                  -1







                  Using Perl one liner



                  > cat colon.dat
                  
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17
                  
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38
                  
> perl -ne ' { while(m/(:)/g){$x++} print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                  
false
                  
true
                  
>


                  or more elegantly



                  > perl -ne ' { $x++ while(m/(:)/g) ; print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                  
false
                  
true
                  
>





                  share|improve this answer













                  Using Perl one liner



                  > cat colon.dat
                  
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38Wrong Colour Bin at:12:43:17
                  
Bin Not Out at:12:54:38
                  
> perl -ne ' { while(m/(:)/g){$x++} print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                  
false
                  
true
                  
>


                  or more elegantly



                  > perl -ne ' { $x++ while(m/(:)/g) ; print $x==3 ? "truen":"falsen"  ; $x=0 } ' colon.dat
                  
false
                  
true
                  
>






                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Nov 13 '18 at 11:33









                  stack0114106stack0114106

                  2,4161417




                  2,4161417






























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