Gsub with regex in Ruby

Introduction

We use gsub with regex to find and replace patterns in text easily.

When you want to replace all phone numbers in a text with a placeholder.

When cleaning up user input by removing unwanted characters.

When formatting dates or codes in a string.

When censoring certain words in a message.

When changing all email addresses in a document to a generic text.

Syntax

Ruby

string.gsub(/pattern/, 'replacement')

The /pattern/ is a regular expression that matches parts of the string.

gsub replaces all matches, not just the first one.

Examples

Replaces every digit with an asterisk.

Ruby

"hello 123".gsub(/\d/, '*')

Replaces all occurrences of "apple" with "orange".

Ruby

"apple banana apple".gsub(/apple/, 'orange')

Removes all lowercase letters, leaving only digits.

Ruby

"abc123xyz".gsub(/[a-z]/, '')

Sample Program

This program replaces all phone numbers in the text with "[phone]".

Ruby

text = "Call me at 123-456-7890 or 987-654-3210."
cleaned = text.gsub(/\d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}/, "[phone]")
puts cleaned

Important Notes

Regex patterns let you match complex text shapes, not just fixed words.

Remember to escape special characters in regex if you want to match them literally.

gsub returns a new string; it does not change the original string unless you use gsub!.

Summary

gsub with regex helps replace all matching parts in a string.

It is useful for cleaning, formatting, or censoring text.

Always test your regex to make sure it matches what you want.

Practice

1. What does the Ruby method gsub do when used with a regular expression?

easy

A. It returns the length of the string.

B. It replaces all parts of the string that match the regex with a specified replacement.

C. It deletes the string entirely.

D. It splits the string into an array based on the regex.

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand gsub purpose

   The gsub method is used to replace parts of a string that match a pattern.

2. Step 2: Recognize regex usage

   When used with a regex, it finds all matches and replaces them with the given replacement string.

3. Final Answer:

   It replaces all parts of the string that match the regex with a specified replacement. -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   gsub with regex = replace all matches [OK]

Hint: Remember: gsub replaces all regex matches in the string [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking gsub deletes the string
• Confusing gsub with split
• Assuming gsub returns string length

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to replace all digits in a string with "#" using gsub and regex in Ruby?

easy

A. string.gsub("\d", "#")

B. string.gsub(/d/, "#")

C. string.gsub(/\d/, "#")

D. string.gsub("[0-9]", "#")

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify regex syntax in Ruby

   Regex patterns in Ruby are enclosed in slashes, like /pattern/.

2. Step 2: Match digits correctly

   The regex /\d/ matches any digit character. Using it with gsub replaces all digits.

3. Final Answer:

   string.gsub(/\d/, "#") -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Regex in slashes + \d for digits = string.gsub(/\d/, "#") [OK]

Hint: Use slashes / / for regex, not quotes " " [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using quotes instead of slashes for regex
• Using wrong regex like /d/ instead of /\d/
• Not escaping backslash properly

3. What is the output of this Ruby code?

text = "Call me at 123-456-7890."
result = text.gsub(/\d/, "*")
puts result

medium

A. Call me at ***-***-****.

B. Call me at 123-456-7890.

C. Call me at \d\d\d-\d\d\d-\d\d\d\d.

D. SyntaxError

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the regex and replacement

   The regex /\d/ matches every digit character. The replacement is "*".

2. Step 2: Apply gsub to replace digits

   Every digit in the string is replaced by "*", so numbers become stars but other characters stay the same.

3. Final Answer:

   Call me at ***-***-****. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Digits replaced by * = Call me at ***-***-****. [OK]

Hint: Digits \d replaced by * everywhere in string [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting only first digit replaced
• Confusing regex syntax causing error
• Thinking gsub changes non-digit characters

4. Identify the error in this Ruby code snippet:

sentence = "Hello World!"
sentence.gsub(/world/, "Earth")

What is the problem?

medium

A. Regex is case-sensitive, so 'world' does not match 'World'.

B. Missing replacement string in gsub.

C. Syntax error due to missing parentheses.

D. gsub cannot be used with regex.

Solution

1. Step 1: Check regex matching

   The regex /world/ is lowercase and Ruby regex is case-sensitive by default.

2. Step 2: Compare with string content

   The string has "World" with uppercase W, so the regex does not match anything.

3. Final Answer:

   Regex is case-sensitive, so 'world' does not match 'World'. -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Case sensitivity causes no match [OK]

Hint: Remember regex is case-sensitive unless flagged [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming regex matches ignore case by default
• Thinking gsub needs parentheses around arguments
• Believing gsub can't use regex

5. Given the string data = "User: John_Doe, Email: [e-mail]", which gsub call will replace all non-alphanumeric characters (except underscore) with a dash "-"?

hard

A. data.gsub(/[\w]/, "-")

B. data.gsub(/\w/, "-")

C. data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/, "-")

D. data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/, "-")

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand character classes

   \w matches letters, digits, and underscore. \W matches anything not in \w.

2. Step 2: Analyze options

   data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/, "-"): /[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/ matches non-alphanumeric except underscore - correct. data.gsub(/\w/, "-"): /\w/ replaces word chars (alnum + _) - wrong. data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/, "-"): /[^a-zA-Z0-9]/ replaces non-alnum including _ - wrong. data.gsub(/[\w]/, "-"): /[\w]/ replaces word chars - wrong.

3. Final Answer:

   data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/, "-") -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Explicit negated class for alphanumeric + underscore = data.gsub(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/, "-") [OK]

Hint: Use negated class [^a-zA-Z0-9_] to keep underscore [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using /[^a-zA-Z0-9]/ which replaces underscores too
• Replacing word chars instead of non-word chars
• Confusing \w and \W meaning