Question

How can I find as many date patterns as possible from a text file by python? The date pattern is defined as:

dd mmm yyyy
  ^   ^
  |   |
  +---+--- spaces

where:

• dd is a two digit number
• mmm is three-character English month name (e.g. Jan, Mar, Dec)
• yyyy is four digit year
• there are two spaces as separators

Thanks!

Answer 1

Here’s a way to find all dates matching your pattern

re.findall(r'\d\d\s(?:Jan|Feb|Mar|Apr|May|Jun|Jul|Aug|Sep|Oct|Nov|Dec)\s\d{4}', text)

But after WilhelmTell’s comment on your question, I’m also wondering whether this it what you were really asking for…