Question

How can I parse a strings like :

name1="val1"    name2="val2"    name3="val3"

I cannot use split(\s+) as it can be name = "val 1".
I am doing java but any laguage is okay.

Answer 1

Here it is in Java, with a slight variation on the regex, with capturing group to put the name/value pairs into a Map<String,String>.

This usage of Matcher.find() in a while loop is typical.

    import java.util.*;
    import java.util.regex.*;
    //...

    String pattern = "(\\w+)\\s*=\\s*\"([^\"]*+)\"";

    String text = "name1 = \"val 1\"    name2=\"val2\"    name3=\"val3\"";
    System.out.println(text);
    // name1 = "val 1"    name2="val2"    name3="val3"

    Matcher m = Pattern.compile(pattern).matcher(text);
    Map<String,String> map = new HashMap<String,String>();
    while (m.find()) {
        map.put(m.group(1), m.group(2));
    }
    System.out.println(map);
    // {name3=val3, name1=val 1, name2=val2}

API links

• java.util.Map<K,V>
• java.util.regex.Pattern
• java.util.regex.Matcher

regular-expressions.info links

• Character classes
• Grouping and backreferences