I am trying to select in my regex only what is between `<` and `-`

Question

I am trying to select in my regex only what is between < and -

Regex

<(.*)-

STRING

<SM1-SRVNET-P:Sys

OUTPUT

SM1-SRVNET

Desired Exit

SM1

REGEX101.COM

Make it non greedy `.*?` or use `<([^-]+)-` Take the value from the first capturing group. — The fourth bird, Oct 04 '19 at 20:01
It is a common issue as the `.*` is overmatching it. I am pretty sure there is a dupe somewhere. See this page for an extended explanation https://stackoverflow.com/questions/22444/my-regex-is-matching-too-much-how-do-i-make-it-stop — The fourth bird, Oct 04 '19 at 20:05

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 04 '19 at 20:06

You're using the "greedy" star operator, so the matching engine keeps matching . to the end of the string and eventually backtracks to the second -.

You want to have it try to match what follows (here -) after every match of .. You make it do this with the "lazy" star. It's lazy in the sense that it matches shortest string possible.

So try <(.*?)-.

Another approach that's actually a bit more efficient is to match all but - with the greedy star. That's <([^-]*)-.

I am trying to select in my regex only what is between `<` and `-`

1 Answers1