Re: regex to substitute 3 stars at beginnning of string with none?

'^([*]){3}' has the {3} on the outside of the (), so it is match ([*]} many times, each time saving a single *... you need to move them inside '^([*]{3})' then you will be happier.
- Ant

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Re: Re: regex to substitute 3 stars at beginnning of string with none? by buckaduck (Chaplain) on Apr 24, 2001 at 00:55 UTC
Update: A quick test confirms what merlyn says below. I have to admit that the correct behavior surprised me, but sounds sensible in retrospect. Here's my original post, anyway: To clarify: `([]){3}` is like `([])([])([])` That means that $1, $2, $3 each contain one of the asterisk characters. The suggested solution `([*]{3})` has all three characters inside the same set of parentheses, and therefore saves them all into $1. buckaduck	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Re: Re: regex to substitute 3 stars at beginnning of string with none? by merlyn (Sage) on Apr 24, 2001 at 00:58 UTC
No, `([]){3}` is like `(?:\)(?:\)(\)`. You'll have only $1, and it's the result of the final inner match. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker	[reply] [d/l] [select]