Regexp - problem trying to use on telephone number

llandale - Thu Aug 04 17:28:42 EDT 2011

Assuming you did your homework on valid Area and City codes restrictions, here you go:

string    sRePhone = 
                "^"                           // start of string      -
                "([2-9][0-8][0-9])"           // [match 1] area code  -
                "[-\\. ]"                     // dash-period-or-space -
                "([2-9][0-9][0-9])"           // [match 2] City               -
                "[-\\. ]"                     // dash-period-or-space -
                "([0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])"      // [match 3] 4-digit phone      -
                "$"                           // end-of-string
Regexp  rePhone = regexp2(sRePhone)
Buffer  bufBuildPhone = create
 
string  BuildGoodPhone(string in_RawPhone)
{     // Build a good US phone formatted string based on the raw string
        // output format is 234-567-8901
        // Raw phone must be almost that, but with space or period instead of the dashess
 
        string  sGoodPhone
 
        if (rePhone in_RawPhone)
        {  bufBuildPhone       = in_RawPhone[match 1]
           bufBuildPhone        += "-"
           bufBuildPhone        += in_RawPhone[match 2]
           bufBuildPhone        += "-"
           bufBuildPhone        += in_RawPhone[match 3]
           sGoodPhone   = stringOf(bufBuildPhone)
        }
        else sGoodPhone = ""
        return(sGoodPhone)
}     // end BuildGoodPhone()    
 
 
 
 
void    TestPhone(string in_RawPhone)
{
        string  GoodPhone = BuildGoodPhone(in_RawPhone)
        print in_RawPhone "\t[" GoodPhone "]\n"
}
 
print "\t" sRePhone "\n"
                // GOOD:
TestPhone("234-567-8901")     // 
TestPhone("234.567-8901")     // uses period
TestPhone("234-567 8901")     // uses space
                // BAD:
TestPhone("234$567 8901")     // $
TestPhone("234..567 8901")    // two periods
TestPhone("234-567 8901 ")    // trailing space
TestPhone("234.567 89011")    // too many digits
TestPhone("134.567 8901")     // area code starts with 1
TestPhone("234.067 8901")     // city code starts with 0
 
delete(bufBuildPhone)

Sorry about the clumsiness but I get far too confused and need to space it out to see it clearly.

• Louie

SystemAdmin - Thu Aug 04 19:26:09 EDT 2011
Hi Louie,

Thanks for the reply!
So, I have to break it up like that?
I am wondering why mine did not work quite the way I liked.
And yeah I researched the area code and whole thing.
I figure i would tackle the US numbers first being it is much easier.
DId mine not work becuase I did use the esacpe sequenece, \\, with the period? I tried it both ways. I even dropped the sapce out from my
code example.
Oh and don't be sorry! It is not clumsy to me. I like to do the same.
I like your example very much! I will have to try it our tomorrow.

I did not show you my other code, mainly because it is garbled up with test type stuff trying to figure out waht was going on.
I have seen other examples not use the escape sequence with the square braces. This is why I hate IBM's DXL manual. Not enough information.
I even tried it with the \\ and I was still getting data I did not want.
If it does not match the expression then it should kick out.
ANd if it matches, then it should be ok, but if I had a space after the dash it would think it was ok. And I would get trailing spaces too.
But, thanks for the good example.
I also did use the matches. I just tried to use the whole thing.
Most of my numbers are right, so it seemed to work, until the other.
Ohe well.
Back to the drawing board tomorrow.
THanks!
Jerry