regex - Extract string between two strings in java

Question

I try to get string between <%= and %>, here is my implementation:

String str = "ZZZZL <%= dsn %> AFFF <%= AFG %>";
Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("<%=(.*?)%>");
String[] result = pattern.split(str);
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(result));

it return

[ZZZZL ,  AFFF ]

But my expectation is:

[ dsn , AFG ]

Where am i wrong and how to correct it ?

Answer 1

Your pattern is fine. But you shouldn't be split()ting it away, you should find() it. Following code gives the output you are looking for:

String str = "ZZZZL <%= dsn %> AFFF <%= AFG %>";
Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile("<%=(.*?)%>", Pattern.DOTALL);
Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(str);
while (matcher.find()) {
    System.out.println(matcher.group(1));
}