Replace dot in between slash i.e. '/./' with single slash '/'

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

For this string dirPath,

String dirPath = "c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../././../../../dir/";

I want the output string to look like :

"c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../../../../dir/";

I used :

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

but that gave :

c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/.././../../../dir/
 ^^^

then, tried with one more replaceAll as:

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/").replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

and that worked!

My question is why couldn't one call achieve the same result?
How to achieve it in simplest way?

P.S. Another regex that didn't work for me : .replaceAll("($|/)[.]/", "$1")

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

I don't know if there is a one liner way to do, but one solution might to loop while the String contains /./ and continue to replace its occurrence :/
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 4:32

IMO, using loop will be overkill for this simple yet general task.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:56

Never said it was a good idea, just didn't have a better solution ;)
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 5:01

Why do you need to remove the dots, but not normalize for the dot dots? Surely if whatever you are passing this string to can handle both or neither?
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:45

I am passing this converted string to Java glob path matcher, which matches it against literal dots. That's why conversion is absolutely necessary. Read more here docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/io/fileOps.html#glob
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 8:44

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

For this string dirPath,

String dirPath = "c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../././../../../dir/";

I want the output string to look like :

"c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../../../../dir/";

I used :

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

but that gave :

c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/.././../../../dir/
 ^^^

then, tried with one more replaceAll as:

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/").replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

and that worked!

My question is why couldn't one call achieve the same result?
How to achieve it in simplest way?

P.S. Another regex that didn't work for me : .replaceAll("($|/)[.]/", "$1")

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

I don't know if there is a one liner way to do, but one solution might to loop while the String contains /./ and continue to replace its occurrence :/
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 4:32

IMO, using loop will be overkill for this simple yet general task.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:56

Never said it was a good idea, just didn't have a better solution ;)
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 5:01

Why do you need to remove the dots, but not normalize for the dot dots? Surely if whatever you are passing this string to can handle both or neither?
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:45

I am passing this converted string to Java glob path matcher, which matches it against literal dots. That's why conversion is absolutely necessary. Read more here docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/io/fileOps.html#glob
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 8:44

|
show 1 more comment

up vote
4
down vote

favorite

For this string dirPath,

String dirPath = "c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../././../../../dir/";

I want the output string to look like :

"c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../../../../dir/";

I used :

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

but that gave :

c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/.././../../../dir/
 ^^^

then, tried with one more replaceAll as:

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/").replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

and that worked!

My question is why couldn't one call achieve the same result?
How to achieve it in simplest way?

P.S. Another regex that didn't work for me : .replaceAll("($|/)[.]/", "$1")

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

For this string dirPath,

String dirPath = "c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../././../../../dir/";

I want the output string to look like :

"c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/../../../../dir/";

I used :

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

but that gave :

c:/create/a/dir/very/deep/inside/.././../../../dir/
 ^^^

then, tried with one more replaceAll as:

dirPath.replaceAll("/[.]/", "/").replaceAll("/[.]/", "/");

and that worked!

My question is why couldn't one call achieve the same result?
How to achieve it in simplest way?

P.S. Another regex that didn't work for me : .replaceAll("($|/)[.]/", "$1")

java regex replace

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

asked Nov 9 at 4:26

Saurav Sahu

6,31332544

I don't know if there is a one liner way to do, but one solution might to loop while the String contains /./ and continue to replace its occurrence :/
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 4:32

IMO, using loop will be overkill for this simple yet general task.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:56

Never said it was a good idea, just didn't have a better solution ;)
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 5:01

Why do you need to remove the dots, but not normalize for the dot dots? Surely if whatever you are passing this string to can handle both or neither?
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:45

I am passing this converted string to Java glob path matcher, which matches it against literal dots. That's why conversion is absolutely necessary. Read more here docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/io/fileOps.html#glob
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 8:44

|
show 1 more comment

I don't know if there is a one liner way to do, but one solution might to loop while the String contains /./ and continue to replace its occurrence :/
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 4:32

IMO, using loop will be overkill for this simple yet general task.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:56

Never said it was a good idea, just didn't have a better solution ;)
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 5:01

Why do you need to remove the dots, but not normalize for the dot dots? Surely if whatever you are passing this string to can handle both or neither?
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:45

I am passing this converted string to Java glob path matcher, which matches it against literal dots. That's why conversion is absolutely necessary. Read more here docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/io/fileOps.html#glob
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 8:44

I don't know if there is a one liner way to do, but one solution might to loop while the String contains /./ and continue to replace its occurrence :/
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 4:32

IMO, using loop will be overkill for this simple yet general task.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:56

Never said it was a good idea, just didn't have a better solution ;)
– MadProgrammer
Nov 9 at 5:01

Why do you need to remove the dots, but not normalize for the dot dots? Surely if whatever you are passing this string to can handle both or neither?
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:45

I am passing this converted string to Java glob path matcher, which matches it against literal dots. That's why conversion is absolutely necessary. Read more here docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/essential/io/fileOps.html#glob
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 8:44

|
show 1 more comment

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

up vote
5
down vote

accepted

You can use a lookahead pattern to avoid consuming the slash needed by the subsequent match:

dirPath.replaceAll("/\.(?=/)", "")

Demo: https://regex101.com/r/qWKVU3/1 or http://tpcg.io/ijmYJF

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

add a comment |

Your Answer

StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function ()
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function ()
StackExchange.using("snippets", function ()
StackExchange.snippets.init();
);
);
, "code-snippets");

StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "1"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);

);

draft saved

draft discarded

StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fstackoverflow.com%2fquestions%2f53219875%2freplace-dot-in-between-slash-i-e-with-single-slash%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

1 Answer
1

active

oldest

votes

up vote
5
down vote

accepted

You can use a lookahead pattern to avoid consuming the slash needed by the subsequent match:

dirPath.replaceAll("/\.(?=/)", "")

Demo: https://regex101.com/r/qWKVU3/1 or http://tpcg.io/ijmYJF

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

add a comment |

up vote
5
down vote

accepted

You can use a lookahead pattern to avoid consuming the slash needed by the subsequent match:

dirPath.replaceAll("/\.(?=/)", "")

Demo: https://regex101.com/r/qWKVU3/1 or http://tpcg.io/ijmYJF

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

add a comment |

up vote
5
down vote

accepted

You can use a lookahead pattern to avoid consuming the slash needed by the subsequent match:

dirPath.replaceAll("/\.(?=/)", "")

Demo: https://regex101.com/r/qWKVU3/1 or http://tpcg.io/ijmYJF

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

You can use a lookahead pattern to avoid consuming the slash needed by the subsequent match:

dirPath.replaceAll("/\.(?=/)", "")

Demo: https://regex101.com/r/qWKVU3/1 or http://tpcg.io/ijmYJF

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

answered Nov 9 at 4:32

blhsing

27.6k41335

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

add a comment |

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

Works really well. Thanks. Any good reference to learn about this look-ahead pattern?
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:52

Should we prefer \. over [.] to match a single dot? Some recommends the later one i.e. [.] with brackets.
– Saurav Sahu
Nov 9 at 4:54

Glad to be of help. You can learn more about lookahead and lookbehind patterns here. I personally prefer escaping dots with backslashes because square brackets are really meant to include two or more characters.
– blhsing
Nov 9 at 5:02

Thus wouldn't strip /. at the end of the string. Don't know if that is important to OP.
– Andy Turner
Nov 9 at 7:44

add a comment |

draft saved

draft discarded

Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow!

Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid …

Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.

Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.

Please pay close attention to the following guidance:

Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid …

Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.

draft saved

draft discarded

Post as a guest

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

Name

Required, but never shown

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here

搜尋此網誌

Dfyjkt