Re^3: need help with a Regex

Dietz,
But your solution would only match a single digit instead of a number (not what the OP wanted). emphasis mine

Well see here is the quandry. You have interpreted it one way and I have another. Peamasii didn't define what exactly s/he meant by number. It could mean a single digit as I used, it could mean an integer which you described (which will match 0004 and miss -4 btw), or it could mean any number (pun intended) of things. For instance:

use Scalar::Util 'looks_like_number';
if ( looks_like_number( $foo ) && $foo =~ /^\??$/ ) {...}
[download]

It is probably as common a mistake to assume what you are thinking is universally understood when asking questions as it is for the person that is answering to assume they know what you mean. I think we both fall into the latter category this time.

Cheers - L~R

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Re^4: need help with a Regex by Dietz (Curate) on Oct 06, 2004 at 15:58 UTC
L~R, you are right again. Didn't see it the way you described, especially when it comes to numbers with a minus before. I was just recognizing the single digit match. And I was hesitating to post anyways (as of dragonchild's post above) And I really didn't mean to offend you, I have great respect for you - as I have for most other monks here. Respect, Dietz	[reply]
Re^5: need help with a Regex by Limbic~Region (Chancellor) on Oct 06, 2004 at 16:42 UTC
Dietz, I wasn't offended and I hope I wasn't offending. I saw it as an opportunity to not argue over what someone might have meant and instead point out how assumptions lead down the wrong road. Cheers - L~R	[reply]
Re^6: need help with a Regex by Dietz (Curate) on Oct 06, 2004 at 16:56 UTC
L~R, I know you weren't offending, I appreciate your first reply to my first post in this thread, indeed. You opened my eyes, and I now understand dragonchild's post above much more. Thank you, Dietz	[reply]
Re^4: need help with a Regex by TedPride (Priest) on Oct 07, 2004 at 09:10 UTC
Well, numbers fall into so many possible formats that it's impossible to catch them all. I'm going to assume that any integer or decimal format is allowed, and write the following: `foreach (<DATA>) { print $_ if $_ =~ /^(\?\|-?\d*\.?\d+)?$/; } __DATA__ ? 3 3.3 .3 -3 -3.3 -.3 ? 3-3 -` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^5: need help with a Regex by Limbic~Region (Chancellor) on Oct 07, 2004 at 12:16 UTC
TedPride, That is why I suggested Scalar::Util's 'looks_like_number'. For instance, your regex misses at least numbers in scientific notation. Here is the applicable code: `# Copied from Scalar::Util sub looks_like_number { local $_ = shift; # checks from perlfaq4 return $] < 5.009002 unless defined; return 1 if (/^[+-]?\d+$/); # is a +/- integer return 1 if (/^([+-]?)(?=\d\|\.\d)\d(\.\d)?([Ee]([+-]?\d+))?$/); # +a C float return 1 if ($] >= 5.008 and /^(Inf(inity)?\|NaN)$/i) or ($] >= 5.006 +001 and /^Inf$/i); 0; }` [download] Cheers - L~R	[reply] [d/l]