Need help with regular expression for nested tags

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Ward Bekker - 09 Dec 2005 08:50 GMT

Hi,

I need a regular expression that will match only the tags that have
nested tags inside them:

Input:

<control id=1><control id=2></control></control><control id=3></control>

Goal:

The regexp should match <control id=1><control id=2></control></control>

When i use this regexp: <control\sid=.+?>.+?\</control> it does not
handle the nesting correcly, returning this as a match: <control
id=1><control id=2></control></control>.

Thank you for your help,

Gr. Ward

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Ward Bekker - 09 Dec 2005 08:58 GMT

Whoops....last piece should read:

When i use this regexp: <control\sid=.+?>.+?\</control> it does not
handle the nesting correcly, returning this as a match: <control
id=1><control id=2></control>

> Hi,
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Gr. Ward

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Ken Arway - 10 Dec 2005 03:45 GMT

> Whoops....last piece should read:
>
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>>
>> Gr. Ward

I took the liberty of assuming you might have nested tags of more than two levels....

Regex regex = new Regex(@"
(<control\sid=.+?>.+?(?:</control>){2,})",
(RegexOptions) 0);

Sample input:
<control id=1><control id=2></control></control><control id=3></control>
<control id=1><control id=2><control id=4></control></control></control><control id=3></control>

Sample output:
Matching: <control id=1><control id=2></control></control><control id=3></control>
1 =»<control id=1><control id=2></control></control>«=

Matching: <control id=1><control id=2><control id=4></control></control></control><control id=3></control>
1 =»<control id=1><control id=2><control id=4></control></control></control>«=

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Take care,
Ken
(to reply directly, remove the cool car. <sigh>)

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Greg Bacon - 14 Dec 2005 21:32 GMT

: I need a regular expression that will match only the tags that have
: nested tags inside them:
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
:
: The regexp should match <control id=1><control id=2></control></control>

Have you considered using XPath, which may be a more appropriate tool?

[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string input = "<control id=\"1\"><control id=\"2\"></control></control><control id=\"3\"></control>";

XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.LoadXml("<doc>" + input + "</doc>");

foreach (XmlNode node in doc.SelectNodes("/doc/*[count(child::*) >= 1]"))
Console.WriteLine(node.OuterXml);
}

Hope this helps,
Greg

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I always say there's a three-word lexicon that explains the tax economy:
need, greed, and compassion. Need now means wanting someone else's money,
greed means wanting to keep your own, and compassion is the sentiment of
the politician who wants to arrange the transfer. -- Joseph Sobran

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Need help with regular expression for nested tags

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