How to match text in […] with NSRegularExpression

Question

what would be the NSRegularExpression to match the text between the "[" and the "]" in the following example:

"[this is some] text i would [like] to [parse] with NSRegularExpression"

Thx in advance :)

Answer 1

Like a Daniel answer right pattern is \\\\[(.*?)\\\\] Let me explain why.

1. \\\\[ is mean "open-bracket" symbol. Double slash allow to use special symbol [
2. All in ( ) allow to union as atomic sequence
3. . — any symbol without special * ? + [ ( ) { } ^ $ | \\ . /! * ? + [ ( ) { } ^ $ | \\ . /!
4. *? — symbol entry 0 or more times. Match as few times as possible.
5. \\\\] — close-bracket

Answer 2

Not sure about NSRegularExpression, but I suspect it's like other regular expressions in terms of greediness. So, if there could be multiple [words] or [phrases in brackets] that you want to capture in the same string, you'll have to make sure the regex isn't greedy.

Maybe something like (broken up across a few lines for clarity:)

\[                     // find an opening square bracket
  ([^]]+)              // find one or more characters that ARE NOT a square bracket
\]                     // find the corresponding closing square bracket

Answer 3

您的模式应为\\[(.*?)\\]