Regex for Either of Two words (Either OR)
In computer programming, a Either-OR is used as an OR operator to choose a value between 2 values. Either of Two words are often used to represent the truth value of a statement or condition. In this article let's understand how we can create a regex for Either of Two words and how regex can be matched for Either of Two words values.
Regex (short for regular expression) is a powerful tool used for searching and manipulating text. It is composed of a sequence of characters that define a search pattern. Regex can be used to find patterns in large amounts of text, validate user input, and manipulate strings. It is widely used in programming languages, text editors, and command line tools.
Conditions to match a Either of Two words i.e., Either-OR
The value has to be one of the following-
- Statment 1
- Statement 2
Regex for checking if its a valid Either of Two words i.e., Either-OR
Regular Expression-
/^(?:statement1|statement2)$/igm
For example-
/^(?:chocolate|sweet)$/igm
Test string examples for the above regex-
| Input String | Match Output |
|---|---|
| cho | does not match |
| chocolate | matches |
| 1 | does not match |
| sweet | matches |
Here is a detailed explanation of the above regex-
/^(?:chocolate|sweet)$/igm
^ asserts position at start of a line
Non-capturing group (?:chocolate|sweet)
1st Alternative chocolate
chocolate matches the characters chocolate literally (case insensitive)
2nd Alternative sweet
sweet matches the characters sweet literally (case insensitive)
$ asserts position at the end of a line
Global pattern flags
i modifier: insensitive. Case insensitive match (ignores case of [a-zA-Z])
g modifier: global. All matches (don't return after first match)
m modifier: multi line. Causes ^ and $ to match the begin/end of each line (not only begin/end of string)
Hope this article was useful to check the validity of a Either of Two words or Either-OR value using regex.
