Regex.Match Method (String)
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Searches the specified input string for the first occurrence of the regular expression specified in the Regex constructor.
Namespace: System.Text.RegularExpressions
Assembly: System (in System.dll)
Syntax
'Declaration
Public Function Match ( _
input As String _
) As Match
public Match Match(
string input
)
Parameters
- input
Type: System.String
The string to search for a match.
Return Value
Type: System.Text.RegularExpressions.Match
An object that contains information about the match.
Exceptions
Exception | Condition |
---|---|
ArgumentNullException | input is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic). |
Remarks
You can determine whether the regular expression pattern has been found in the input string by checking the value of the returned Match object's Success property. If a match is successful, the returned Match object's Value property contains the substring from input that matches the regular expression pattern. If no match is found, its value is String.Empty.
This method returns the first substring in input that matches the regular expression pattern. You can retrieve subsequent matches by repeatedly calling the returned Match object's NextMatch method. You can also retrieve all matches in a single method call by calling the Regex.Matches(String) method.
Examples
The following example finds regular expression pattern matches in a string, then lists the matched groups, captures, and capture positions.
Imports System.Text.RegularExpressions
Module Example
Public Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
Dim text As String = "One car red car blue car"
Dim pat As String = "(\w+)\s+(car)"
' Instantiate the regular expression object.
Dim r As Regex = New Regex(pat, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase)
' Match the regular expression pattern against a text string.
Dim m As Match = r.Match(text)
Dim matchcount As Integer = 0
Do While m.Success
matchcount += 1
outputBlock.Text += "Match" & (matchcount) & vbCrLf
Dim i As Integer
For i = 1 To 2
Dim g As Group = m.Groups(i)
outputBlock.Text += "Group" & i & "='" & g.ToString() & "'" & vbCrLf
Dim cc As CaptureCollection = g.Captures
Dim j As Integer
For j = 0 To cc.Count - 1
Dim c As Capture = cc(j)
outputBlock.Text += "Capture" & j & "='" & c.ToString() _
& "', Position=" & c.Index & vbCrLf
Next
Next
m = m.NextMatch()
Loop
End Sub
End Module
' This example displays the following output:
' Match1
' Group1='One'
' Capture0='One', Position=0
' Group2='car'
' Capture0='car', Position=4
' Match2
' Group1='red'
' Capture0='red', Position=8
' Group2='car'
' Capture0='car', Position=12
' Match3
' Group1='blue'
' Capture0='blue', Position=16
' Group2='car'
' Capture0='car', Position=21
using System;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
class Example
{
public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
{
string text = "One car red car blue car";
string pat = @"(\w+)\s+(car)";
// Compile the regular expression.
Regex r = new Regex(pat, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
// Match the regular expression pattern against a text string.
Match m = r.Match(text);
int matchCount = 0;
while (m.Success)
{
outputBlock.Text += "Match" + (++matchCount) + "\n";
for (int i = 1; i <= 2; i++)
{
Group g = m.Groups[i];
outputBlock.Text += "Group" + i + "='" + g + "'" + "\n";
CaptureCollection cc = g.Captures;
for (int j = 0; j < cc.Count; j++)
{
Capture c = cc[j];
outputBlock.Text += "Capture" + j + "='" + c + "', Position=" + c.Index + "\n";
}
}
m = m.NextMatch();
}
}
}
//This example displays the following output:
// Match1
// Group1='One'
// Capture0='One', Position=0
// Group2='car'
// Capture0='car', Position=4
// Match2
// Group1='red'
// Capture0='red', Position=8
// Group2='car'
// Capture0='car', Position=12
// Match3
// Group1='blue'
// Capture0='blue', Position=16
// Group2='car'
// Capture0='car', Position=21
Version Information
Silverlight
Supported in: 5, 4, 3
Silverlight for Windows Phone
Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0
XNA Framework
Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0
Platforms
For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.
See Also