Match text exactly after n lines

Question

Using regular expression match the text exactly after n lines.

In the below example, I want to ensure that request is exactly after 3rd line from id: 1

Example:

signal {
   id: 1
   files: 1.bin
   major: 338013710701
   request {
      reqId: 101
      files: 1.bin
      major: 35723057325
      status: Sent
   }
   response {
      resId: 201
      files: 1.bin
      major: 27151510570
      status: Accepted
   }
}

Note: The value of n will vary based on the input(n may have the value upto than 100). where n is number of lines after which the string is present

I tried with the regular expression /signal\s*{\s*id:\s*1\n[^\n]*\n[^\n]*\s*request/m for the above example since n the value of n is minimal.

Can anyone help in framing the regular expression if n is 100? Thanks in advance.

What actaully the `n` means? number after the field reqID? – Avinash Raj Jul 14 '14 at 06:28 — Avinash Raj, Jul 14 '14 at 06:28

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 14 '14 at 06:31

1

The {100} quantifier indicated that the preceding (\n[^\n]*) should occur exactly 100 times:

/signal\s{\s*id:\s*1(\n[^\n]*){100}request/m

see demo

answered Jul 14 '14 at 06:31

Uri Agassi

36,848
14
76
93

Ron Rosenfeld · Answer 2 · 2014-07-14T06:56:48.720

1

Try:

\bid: 1\b(?:.*\R){3}.*request

Set case insensitive and dot does NOT match linebreak

In the above \R is a unicode linebreak. Not supported in earlier versions of Ruby so, if that is an issue, substitute something like \n or whatever linebreak sequence is appropriate for your environment.

edited Jul 14 '14 at 06:56

answered Jul 14 '14 at 06:40

Ron Rosenfeld

53,870
7
28
60

Match text exactly after n lines

2 Answers2