preg_replace regex

[brendan]

trying to clear out all text between the outermost

<---Message Start--->
and
<---Message End--->
tags
using snippet

$message=preg_replace("'<---Message[^>]*?>.*?End--->'si", "",$message);

should work fine ... but still returning crap ... not sure why

anyone a regex expert?

[Janwillem Borleffs]

brendan wrote:

trying to clear out all text between the outermost

<---Message Start--->
and
<---Message End--->
tags
using snippet

$message=preg_replace("'<---Message[^>]*?>.*?End--->'si",
"",$message);

should work fine ... but still returning crap ... not sure why

Simply apply the U(ngreedy) pattern modifier and simplify the pattern:

$str = preg_replace("/<---Message(.+)--->/Uis", "", $str);
JW

[John Dunlop]

Janwillem Borleffs wrote:

brendan wrote:

trying to clear out all text between the outermost
Do you really mean 'between'?
<---Message Start--->
and
<---Message End--->
tags

[ ... ]
Simply apply the U(ngreedy) pattern modifier and simplify the pattern:

$str = preg_replace("/<---Message(.+)--->/Uis", "", $str);

That's the right idea, but a step too far. Remember that
PCRE_UNGREEDY inverts greediness; the plus sign in your
pattern isn't greedy, so the dot stops matching at the first
'--->'. All '<---Message Start--->' and '<---Message End--
->' tags are removed.

You want it to stop after the last '--->' of the final '<---
Message End--->'. The quantifier should be greedy; e.g.,

`<---Message Start--->.*<---Message End--->`s

HAGW JW!

--
Jock