Java comparing string to regex - while loop

Question

I want the user to enter a string and if the string does not match my regex expression then I want a message to be outputted and the user to enter a value again. The problem is even when the string matches the regex it is treating it as if it does not match. My regex: This should equal - `Name, Name` `[[A-Z][a-zA-Z]*,\s[A-Z][a-zA-Z]*]` My `while` loop: ``` System.out.println("Enter the student's name in the following format - surname, forename: "); studentName = input.next(); while (!studentName.equals("[[A-Z][a-zA-Z]*,\s[A-Z][a-zA-Z]*]")) { System.out.println("try again"); studentName = input.next(); } ```

Accepted Answer

The `equals` methods checks for string equivalence, not for matching regular expressions.

Just replace `equals` with `matches`. You should also remove the outer square brackets.

Java comparing string to regex - while loop

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