Question

I have asp.net application where string is created in following way.

string abc;
abc="vindo|vindo|vind?40|vind?40|vincent van uden|vilm|vilm|slim?new|compas|*|darkc?loud";

Regex ABCRegex = new Regex(abc);

but It throws error.
   at System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexParser.ScanRegex()
   at System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexParser.Parse(String re, RegexOptions op)
   at System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex..ctor(String pattern, RegexOptions options, Boolean useCache).

I know the reason is because *, +, ?, {num, num} are “greedy quantifiers”

but is there any way to create RegEx using same string or is it possible to replace these greedy quantifiers with other characters?

I dont want to change my string.

Answer 1

Try this string:

abc = @"vindo|vindo|vind?40|vind?40|vincent van uden|vilm|vilm|slim?new|compas|\*|darkc?loud";