How to match the beginning of a String in Java?

Question

I want to match an HTML file:

If the file starts with spaces and then an end tag </sometag> , return true .

Else return false .

I used the "(\\\\s)*</(\\\\w)*>.*" , but it doesn't match \\n </p>\\n </blockquote> ... .

Answer 1

Thanks to Gabe's help. Gabe is correct. The . doesn't match \\n by default. I need to set the DOTALL mode on.

To do it, add the (?s) to the beginning of the regex, ie (?s)(\\\\s)*</(\\\\w)*>.* .

Answer 2

You can also do this:

Pattern p = Pattern.compile("(\\s)*</(\\w)*>");
Matcher m = p.matcher(s);
return m.lookingAt();

It just checks if the string starts with the pattern, rather than checking the whole string matches the pattern.