Pipe Operator

Lesson 18 of 28 in Coddy's RegEx in Python course.

The pipe | operator is used for alternation in regex, meaning it allows you to match one pattern or another. It works like a logical OR operator.

import re

text = "cat dog bird fish"
pattern = r"cat|dog|fish"
matches = re.findall(pattern, text)

print(matches)  # Output: ['cat', 'dog', 'fish']

In the above example, the pattern cat|dog|fish matches any of the words "cat", "dog", or "fish" in the string text.

Challenge

Easy

Write a function named find_fruits_or_colors that takes a text string as input and returns a list of words that are either fruits (apple, banana) or colors (red, blue).

Try it yourself

import re

def find_fruits_or_colors(text):
    # Write code here

All lessons in RegEx in Python

1Introduction

Introduction

4Anchors and Quantifiers

Anchors Boundaries Quantifiers Repetitions

7Final Challenges

Extracting Hashtags Finding Email Addresses Valid Phone Numbers Finding Dates Capitalized Words

2re Library

findall search split sub

5Grouping and Advanced Patterns

Grouping CapturingPipe OperatorAlternation Lookaheads Lookbehinds

3Basic Pattern Syntax

Basic Metacharacters Literals Character Classes Ranges Common Predefined Classes Advanced Predefined Classes

6Advanced Techniques

Escape Metacharacters Escape Sequences