How to use regular expressions in OutSystems
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Regular expressions let you process text strings using search patterns. Check the See Also links for extra resources on how regular expressions work and how to write them.
OutSystems includes the following two server actions from the Text extension that lets you use regular expressions in your app:
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Use Regex_Search to search text for a matching regular expression pattern.
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Use Regex_Replace to replace a matching regular expression pattern in text.
Example: Check if text is a GUID
A Globally Unique IDentifier, or GUID, is a base-16 integer with 128 bits, for example 4ccdb844-bcb6-4abd-83af-6655f31ca65d. You can use GUIDs when you need to ensure identifiers are unique across environments and systems.
The regular expression "^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$", lets you check if a text string includes only a GUID.
Check the RFC 4122 for more information on GUIDs and their format.
The following example shows you how to use this regular expression and the Regex_Search action to create a reusable server action that checks if a text input is a GUID:
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In a module of your app, open Manage Dependencies, and add the Regex_Search action from Text producer as a dependency.
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In the Logic tab, create a new Server Action, and name it
CheckGUID. -
Add the following variables to the action:
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Add an Input Parameter, of the Text data type, named
TextToCheck. -
Add an Output Parameter, of the Boolean data type, named
IsGuid.
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In the action flow, add a Regex_Search action.
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Set the following properties of the Regex_Search action:
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Set Text as the input parameter,
GuidToCheck. -
Set Pattern as
"^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}$".
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After the Regex_Search action, add an Assign, and add the assignment
IsGuid=Regex_Search.Found.
After these steps you created a server action that receives a text input, and outputs a boolean that's True if the input text is a GUID.
Example: Extract a GUID from text
Let's expand on the previous example, by enabling the detection and output of a GUID in the middle of a text string. The regular expressions "[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}", lets you check if a text string contains a GUID.
Follow these steps to create a reusable server action that detects and outputs a GUID from a text input:
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In a module of your app, open Manage Dependencies, and add the Regex_Search action from Text producer as a dependency.
Skip this step if you completed the previous example and are using the same module.
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In the Logic tab, create a new Server Action, and name it
ExtractGUID. -
Add the following variables to the action:
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Add an Input Parameter, of the Text data type, named
GuidToCheck. -
Add an Output Parameter, of the Boolean data type, named
HasGuid. -
Add an Output Parameter, of the Text data type, named
Guid.
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In the action flow, add a Regex_Search action.
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Set the following properties of the Regex_Search action:
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Set Text as the input parameter,
TextToCheck. -
Set Pattern as
"[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[1-5][0-9a-f]{3}-[89ab][0-9a-f]{3}-[0-9a-f]{12}".
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After the Regex_Search action, add an Assign, and add the following assignments:
HasGuid=Regex_Search.FoundGuid=Regex_Search.PatternResult
After these steps you created a server action that receives a text input, and outputs a boolean that's True if the input text includes a GUID and outputs the extracted GUID as text.