It would save a lot of time and frustration if we had an escape method for VEX regex methods. To get the number at the end of a string for example you have to use this:


but you have to escape it:


The internet is full of useful regex examples that could save you a lot of time but good luck using them in Houdini as is.

Languages like Python and C# have intuitive ways to escape regular expressions.

ID# 68317 - Submitted more than a year ago.

In H15.5, VEX now supports C++11 style raw strings.

Thanks Mark, this is great news. I will use it a lot for sure.

this should work for h14.0 and 15.0:

tamte
this should work for h14.0 and 15.0:

string num = re_find(r"(\d+)$", s);

Thanks for showing this. Is this documented? I never come across it before in VEX.

GAK! I jumped the gun. Sorry, C++11 raw strings are only in the HEAD version of Houdini, not 15.5… So, it's coming.

Very sorry to raise hopes.

In the meantime, you can use the Python style raw strings (thanks for fixing me tamte).

They are documented: http://archive.sidefx.com/docs/houdini15.5/vex/strings [archive.sidefx.com]

Thanks for clearing that up Mark. Very useful.