I've recently started learning Python. I've even more recently come across regex. I've no previous coding experience. I'm trying to use regex to extract the float X value from a string: "blah, blah X = 1.788549774856667E+03 blah, blah". The X value can be formatted as above, or as X =-1.788549774856667E+03 (with no whitespace between the "=" and "-". That choice is what's confusing me. My question is, what is the correct regex, and why? This is the code I've used: import re str = "blah, blah X = 1.788549774856667E+03 blah, blah" x = float(re.findall("X = ([\d.]+E.\d+)", str)[0]) print(x) This works when there is whitespace between the "=" and first digit of X. However, it doesn't work with "=-", with no whitespace between this and the first digit of X. I've tried using * (zero or more times) before "\d" but with no success. UPDATE 1 The solution I came up with, which appears to work, is: X =([-|\s][\d.]+E.\d+) Continue reading...
