Regular expression to get span tag
regex
Solution
David, the reason `(<span [^>]*>)>` is that you have a small typo.
You see, that expression tries to match two closing `>`: look closely at the end `>)>`. For instance, it would match `<span hey there>>` but not `<span hey there>`
To match the opening span, make sure you only have one `>`.
With all the disclaimers about using regex to match html, this regex will do:
<span[^>]*>
If you sometimes expect `SPAN`, make sure to make it case-insensitive.
Only if you have time: an additional flourish
In a comment, @DavidEhrmann points out that the regex above will match `<spanner>`. If you want to make him happy and ensure that if the span is more than just `<span>` it always contains a space after `span`, you can use:
<span(?: [^>]*)?>
However, in my view, that is an unnecessary flourish. When we parse html with regex, we always know that we are using a crude tool, and we rely on the input to be fairly well-formed. For instance, with the revised regex above, there are still a million ways that we can match improper html, for instance: `<span classification>`
What to do? Nothing. Know your tools, know what they can do, know the risks, and decide when the situation warrants regex and when it warrants a DOM parser.
Problem
May I know what is the regular expression rule for matching html tag ``` <span id="id1" class="class1" attribute="attribute1">Test</span> ``` that matches the tag SPAN regardless the property in it. My existing rule is this, but not working. ``` /(<span [^>]*>)>/s ```