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regextclregexp-replaceregexp-substr

Having issue with back reference in TCL


I have the following code:

set a "10.20.30.40"
regsub -all {.([0-9]+).([0-9]+).} $a {\2 \1} b

I am trying to grep 2nd and 3rd octet of the IP address.

Expected output:

20 30

Actual output:

20 04 0

What is my mistake here?


Solution

  • You need to set the variables for the match and captured groups, then you can access them. Here is an example:

    set a "10.20.30.40"
    set rest [regexp {[0-9]+\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.[0-9]+} $a match submatch1 submatch2]
    puts $submatch1
    puts $submatch2
    

    Output of the demo

    20
    30
    

    EDIT:

    You can use regsub and backerferences this way (I am now replacing the 3rd and 2nd octets, just for demonstration). Note that a literal dot must be escaped:

    set a "10.20.30.40"
    regsub -all {\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.} $a {.\2.\1.} b
    puts $b
    

    Output of the demo:

    10.30.20.40
    

    To obtain a "20 30" string, you need to use

    regsub -all {^[0-9]+\.([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+)\.[0-9]+$} $a {\1 \2} b