Regex to Match Javadoc Comments

[alexin]

I'm naively using the following regular expression to match Javadoc comments:

Regular Expression

/\*(.*)\*/


Input Example

/**
* Javadoc comment
*/


Unfortunately, the expression doesn't match, probably due to the multiline input sequence - it works when the input is on a single line. Shoudn't the dot metacharacter match \r and \n?

I have used similar expressions, for other purposes, that work fine with multiple lines.


I'm clueless since several days. Any suggestion is welcome! Thanks.

[keang]

First of all the example you have shown isn't a Java Doc, it's a multi-line comment. To be a Java Doc it needs to start with a forward slash and 2 asterisks ie /**

If you read the API docs for the Pattern class it says:The regular expression . matches any character except a line terminator unless the DOTALL flag is specified.It also mentions multi-line support using the MULTILINE flag. Are you using these flags when you compile the expression?

[alexin]

First of all the example you have shown isn't a Java Doc, it's a multi-line comment. To be a Java Doc it needs to start with a forward slash and 2 asterisks ie /**

Oops, that's a typo. I'll fix it.

Your suggestion solved the problem. I missed the DOTALL information flag when reading about the MULTILINE just below, in the docs. In fact, all my searches were related to multiple lines.

Thank you for your time.

[keang]

My pleasure, I'm glad it solved your problem.