Strings.replaceAll(target, regex, fn(MatchResult, String))

[gissuebot]

Original issue created by pholser on 2011-07-07 at 01:52 AM

---

A possible implementation:

public class Strings {
    private Strings() {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
    }

public static String replaceAll(String target, String regex, Function<MatchResult, String> operation) {
    StringBuffer result = new StringBuffer(target.length() * 3 / 2);
    Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(regex);

    Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(target);
    while (matcher.find()) {
        MatchResult match = matcher.toMatchResult();
        String replacement = operation.apply(match);
        if (!replacement.equals(match.group()))
            matcher.appendReplacement(result, replacement);
    }
    matcher.appendTail(result);

    return result.toString();
}

}

I'm ambivalent about whether to make the type of 'regex' a Pattern or leave it as a String for the method to compile().

Motivation: To allow global replacement of matches with the result of a function of the match result, a la C#'s Regex.Replace(string, MatchEvaluator). PITA to roll the appendReplacement/appendTail bit by hand.

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2011-07-13 at 06:32 PM

---

Something almost exactly like this exists in the internal Google codebase; it was one of the first libraries I contributed ~5 years ago and almost no one has ever used it. :)

---

Status: Triaged

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2011-07-13 at 07:00 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Labels: Type-Enhancement

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2011-07-13 at 07:42 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2011-12-10 at 04:12 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Labels: Package-Base

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2012-02-16 at 07:17 PM

---

Possibly related: bug 383

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2012-02-16 at 07:17 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Status: Acknowledged

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by wasserman.louis on 2012-02-16 at 07:19 PM

---

Issue #383 has been merged into this issue.

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2012-02-16 at 07:20 PM

---

I think something might need to be done in this area but we need to mount a small research project to understand exactly what, and that is probably not high-priority at the moment.

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2012-05-30 at 07:43 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Labels: -Type-Enhancement, Type-Addition

[gissuebot]

Original comment posted by [email protected] on 2012-06-22 at 06:16 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Status: Research

[ogregoire]

I've started an implementation that matches exactly, not based on regex, but I guess it can easily be improved.

It can be seen here: https://gist.github.com/ogregoire/8c95bd3ab7c7e670a5012caad47125e3

If I'm not lost in other considerations, I'll try to make this into a guava-like class and create a PR. Any remarks, comments is welcome.