Question

I need to convert some variables that use parentheses instead of bracket in a Javascript file. For example, MyVariable(i) should be MyVariable[i].

I use the Find and Replace tool of Visual Studio with this Regex :

MyVariable\({(.+)}\)

and replace with:

MyVariable\[\1\]

This work fine for case like :

asdas.MyVariable(i+1)
asdas.MyVariable(i)
asdas.MyVariable(i).asd
MyVariable(i+1)

But doesn’t work for case like

if (parseInt(OtherObject.MyVariable(i+1).Dest.XYZ)==SINK_STATE_TYPE || OtherObject.MyVariable(i).X == "ok")

The last one will do take the first parentheses and the last one of the line and act weird. What do I need to change in the Regex to be able to make it works with line that has multiple parentheses.

Answer 1

Your pattern is greedy. The (.+) part matches everything, including a closing parenthesis ) character until it reaches the last ) character. To make it non-greedy you can use # instead of +, which means “match one or more occurrences of the preceding expression, and match as few characters as possible.” In .NET this is usually handled by placing a ? after it, such as .+? but the Visual Studio regex flavor is different and uses the # metacharacter instead.

The updated pattern becomes:

MyVariable\({(.#)}\)

You can also use [^)]+, which matches any character that is not a ) character. When it encounters a ) it will stop matching. This alternate pattern is:

MyVariable\({([^)]+)}\)

If you’re familiar with the .NET regex flavor you might be interested in checking out the Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tools, which has extended Find/Replace to allow the .NET regex flavor to be used.