Question

/** Constant <code>IDX_USER="IDX_+ USER_ID"</code> */

I have several lines of code which was generated by javadoc and show up something like the above. I would want to find all lines starting with /** Constant IDX_ and all the way to the end of the line.

How should I do this? Will be using the regex search and replace capability in Eclipse to manipulate the modifications

Answer 1

You can use the special character ^ to indicate that your regular expression starts at the beginning of a line. For example, given your regex, you could search for:

^\/\*\* Constant IDX_

You probably also want to allow whitespace prior to the comment. The regular expression [ \t]* will match zero or more spaces or tabs, making the following regular expression:

^[\t ]*\/\*\* Constant IDX_

match anything starting with /** Constant IDX_ (allowing whitespace at the beginning of the line).

If you want the entire line (perhaps to capture the contents of the comment after your regex, you can use $ to indicate the end of a line, and . to match any character. Combine this with * (to indicate zero or more occurences), and you’ll end up with:

^[\t ]*\/\*\* Constant IDX_.*$