I am trying to parse the parameters of Excel formulas like =a(b), =a(b,c), =a(b,c,d).

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Asked: May 19, 20262026-05-19T03:01:32+00:00 2026-05-19T03:01:32+00:00

I am trying to parse the parameters of Excel formulas like =a(b), =a(b,c), =a(b,c,d).

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I am trying to parse the parameters of Excel formulas like “=a(b)”, “=a(b,c)”, “=a(b,c,d)”.
I’d like extract the function name “a” and the parameters “b”, “c” and “d”.

There are loads of examples on SO to parse HTML and so forth, but none specifically for parentheses.

So far, I’ve got this "=(.+)\(([^,)]*)(,[^,)]*)*\)" but when I parse "=a(b,c,d)" it puts “a” in match(1), “b” in match(2) and “,d” in match(3). So “c” is lost and the comma before the “d” is a pain.

How can I parse a string like this with an arbitrary number of parameters, ideally dropping the commas?

The ability to parse “=a(b(c),d(e(f)))” would be great…

Edit: I know that a parser is the correct solution and I have used Devin Cook’s excellent Gold Parser with great results before.

However, the particular case I’m facing is to extract the arguments from a known Excel formula. Specifically, if the formula contains the string “=Travel(“, I know that it will have 4 arguments and if they don’t parse it’s not a problem. This is simply a “nice to have” function which can fail occasionally without it being an issue.

Could someone possibly help me with a regex for “=a(b,c,d)”, “=a(b,c,d,e)”, etc., with the constraint that there will be no nested parentheses or commas?

Thanks!