Question

I have a complicated text file, here is part of it:

& \multirow{2}{*}{52.7} & \multirow{2}{*}{3} & \multirow{2}{*}{$<$ 0.001}\\

I’m interested in the numbers after the {*}. Here is what I tried with no luck:

import re
m = re.findall(r'{\*}{(.+)}', '& \multirow{2}{*}{52.7} & \multirow{2}{*}{3} & \multirow{2}{*} $<$ 0.001}\\')

However, I get the following result:

['52.7} & \\multirow{2}{*}{3} & \\multirow{2}{*}{$<$ 0.001']

I tried many other combinations but I either get the first number (e.g 52.7), or the middle number (3) or the above. How can I get 52.7, 3, $<$ 0.001 in a group (list).

Answer 1

That’s because by default + and * operators are greedy. Use non-greedy modification instead:

{\*}{(.+?)}

Reference: http://www.regular-expressions.info/repeat.html (“Watch Out for The Greediness!” section)