e.g. string +444401608+642055
need to remove any '+' characters unelss the '+' is in the first position of the string.
Prefereably using the 're' python library.
+444401608+642055 -> +444401608642055
+4444+01608+642+055 -> +444401608642055
thanks in advance!!
You could use:
foo = '+444401608+642055'
bar = foo[0] + foo[1:].replace('+', '')
print(bar)
This assumes your string has at least one character (foo[0]). It works because if foo[0] isn't a + we can safely ignore it in the str.replace() anyway. foo[1:] is just the rest of your string from the first character on.
If you really want to use regex you could use:
import re
foo = '+444401608+642055'
bar = re.sub(r'(?<!^)\+', '', foo)
print(bar)
(?<!) is a negative look behind.
^ indicates the start of a line.
\+ matches the character + literally.
So in other words, look for every + character that isn't immediately preceded by a line start and replace with '' or nothing.