Java Regular Expressions

Question

I am trying to write something like this:

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("Mar\\w");
Matcher m = p.matcher("Mary");

String result = m.replaceAll("\\w");

The result would ideally be "y". Any ideas?

Answer 1

Your question is not so clear, but I think you want to use a lookahead:

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("Mar(?=\\w)");
Matcher m = p.matcher("Mary");
String result = m.replaceAll("");

See it online: ideone

Or you could use a capturing group:

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("Mar(\\w)");
Matcher m = p.matcher("Mary");
String result = m.replaceAll("$1");

See it online: ideone