Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets

halfbaked has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by Bloodnok (Vicar) on Apr 18, 2009 at 23:55 UTC
Your regexp looks like how you might accomplish the task using sed(1), capture strings in perl are referenced as `$n` in the substitution - where `n` is 1..9. Your regexp is capturing everything from the 'http' string, hence your regexp: `s/(http.*)/<a href=\"\1\">\1<\/a>/;` [download] should read: `s/(http\S+)/<a href="$1">$1<\/a>/;` [download] In that way, the regexp will capture everything from the 'http' string to (but not including) the next whitespace char. See perlre &/or perlretut. A user level that continues to overstate my experience :-))	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by halfbaked (Sexton) on Apr 19, 2009 at 00:15 UTC
Thanks Bloodnok, that's exactly what I was looking for. I want to avoid using a package to solve this problem because I have to do the same thing in some PHP code. I don't know of a PHP module that can do what I need, preg_replace will work using Perl regular expressions. This is one of those things I've been wanting to solve for awhile but kept putting it off. Thanks again, Keith	[reply]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by merlyn (Sage) on Apr 18, 2009 at 23:58 UTC
See URI::Find, as illustrated in my column on "poor man's web chat". And no, you can't say "can't use a package" here. There are plenty of nodes about every possible workaround for that. Unless... this isn't really a Perl question at all, in which case, shame on you. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.	[reply]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by GrandFather (Saint) on Apr 19, 2009 at 00:13 UTC
Yes, even you can use CPAN. For tricky stuff, even if you don't use the code, it's well worth at least taking a look at the prior art! True laziness is hard work	[reply]
Re^2: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by halfbaked (Sexton) on Apr 19, 2009 at 00:17 UTC
Not for this one, but thanks. See above reply. Code reuse between Perl and PHP. ;-)	[reply]
Re^3: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by GrandFather (Saint) on Apr 19, 2009 at 01:55 UTC
Oh, it wasn't clear that you were asking a php question so it wasn't clear that Perl answers were not appropriate - which is odd given that this is a Perl site. Perhaps you forgot to mark your question as off topic? True laziness is hard work	[reply]
Re^4: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by halfbaked (Sexton) on Apr 19, 2009 at 03:07 UTC
Re^5: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by Anonymous Monk on Apr 19, 2009 at 03:22 UTC
Re^5: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by merlyn (Sage) on Apr 19, 2009 at 06:20 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by ELISHEVA (Prior) on Apr 19, 2009 at 05:48 UTC
Perl regular expressions and PHP's "perl compatible" regular expressions are not exactly alike and the differences may bite you if you aren't careful. For a list of differences, study Differences from Perl. Best, beth	[reply]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by kyle (Abbot) on Apr 18, 2009 at 23:58 UTC
I think Regexp::Common::URI would be useful here.	[reply]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by CountZero (Bishop) on Apr 19, 2009 at 07:46 UTC
Bloodnok's solution will work, but will break if someone will use 'HTTP' (all caps) or if the term 'http' is used on its own. To make it a little bit safer, perhaps the following can be considered: `s{(https?://\S+)}{<a href="$1">$1</a>}i;` [download] However, if you really want to make sure that it is a well-crafted URL, you should explore Regexp::Common. As a penance for your sin of asking a PHP question in our Perl Monastery, you are advised to implement Regexp::Common in PHP so the poor misguided souls using PHP will see the Glory of Perl! CountZero A program should be light and agile, its subroutines connected like a string of pearls. The spirit and intent of the program should be retained throughout. There should be neither too little or too much, neither needless loops nor useless variables, neither lack of structure nor overwhelming rigidity." - The Tao of Programming, 4.1 - Geoffrey James	[reply] [d/l]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by ikegami (Patriarch) on Apr 19, 2009 at 01:50 UTC
There is no difference between a Perl script and a Perl module, so any answer we give you would violate your criteria.	[reply]
Re: Reg expression to replace URLs with Anchor tags in Tweets by halfbaked (Sexton) on Apr 19, 2009 at 19:17 UTC
Here's my Twitter page using the regex (albeit with PHP) here. The Perl implementation is a backend process, so no UI to look at. Thanks again.	[reply]