From: Don Levan <levandon@...>
Date: 2007-06-27T21:52:58+09:00
Subject: RegExp & File read help

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Hi All,

I am trying to parse out a list of elements from a set of xml file  
which match a given regular expression. I am sure there is probably a  
way to do this using an xml parsing library, but I thought it might  
be just as easy to do so with regular expressions.

My thought was to do the following:

Iterate through a set of files in a directory.
Search each file for a set of lines which match a given regular  
expression.
Add the capture group in each match to an array.
Sort the array and remove any duplicate values
print the results.


Here are the steps I have tried in building my script:

First, I tested to make sure my regular expression actually matched  
against the pattern I was seeking. This seemed to work as expected.

_________
regexp = Regexp.new(/<Font-family codeSet=\"\w*\" fontId=\"\d*\">(\w*) 
<\/Font-family>/m)
string = %q(<Font-family codeSet="Roman" fontId="0">Helvetica</Font- 
family>)
if string =~ regexp
puts "yes, there is a match. #{$1}"
end
_________

Returns >>  yes, there is a match. Helvetica



Then, I tested a different method which would add the matches to an  
array. This also seemed to work as expected.
_________
regexp = Regexp.new(/<Font-family codeSet=\"\w*\" fontId=\"\d*\">(\w*) 
<\/Font-family>/m)
string = %q(<Font-family codeSet="Roman" fontId="0">Helvetica</Font- 
family>)

a = regexp.match(string)
puts a[1]
_________

Returns  >> Helvitica



Next, I tested opening a file and returning all lines. This seemed to  
work as well.
_________
file = File.new('/Users/donlevan/Desktop/DDRs/Apple Dealer Price  
List.xml')

file.each do |line|
   puts line
end
_________
Returns >> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<FMPReport link="Summary.xml" type="Report" version="8.5v1"  
creationDate="6/26/2007" creationTime="10:54:46 AM">
<File name="Apple Dealer Price List" path="10.100.0.10">
<BaseTableCatalog>
	<BaseTable id="32769" name="Apple Dealer Price List" records="235">
		<FieldCatalog> ... end of file




Where I am getting stuck is in the next code fragment, in which I am  
testing each line to see if there is a match. There should be as the  
string I used above for testing was pulled directly from one line of  
the file. Unfortunately, I get an error and no -matches.

_________
regexp = Regexp.new(/<Font-family codeSet=\"\w*\" fontId=\"\d*\">(\w*) 
<\/Font-family>/m)
file = File.new('/Users/donlevan/Desktop/DDRs/Apple Dealer Price  
List.xml')

file.each do |string|
   if string =~ regexp
      puts "yes, there is a match. #{$1}"
   end
end
_________
Returns >>

RubyMate r6354 running Ruby r1.8.6 (/usr/local/bin/ruby)
 >>> untitled

/Users/donlevan/Library/Application Support/TextMate/Support/lib/ 
scriptmate.rb:29: warning: Insecure world writable dir /Users/ 
donlevan/Library/Application Support in PATH, mode 040706
Program exited.



I would be grateful for any assistance. Thanks so much.

Don Levan
Brooklyn, New York



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