Further to GrandFather's reply: Also note that the pattern  [\d.]+ will match  '.1.2.3.4.' or  '1....2' or  '......' which may not be what you want. In defining regexes, specificity is a great virtue. Dealing with regular expressions is like dealing with the Djinn from the bottle: they'll both give you exactly what you ask for, so it's best to ask for exactly what you want!