You are here: Processor Library > Profiling > RegEx Patterns Profiler

RegEx Patterns Profiler

The RegEx Patterns Profiler analyzes a number of attributes for matches against a list of regular expressions.

Use

Use the RegEx Patterns Profiler to find data that matches a commonly recognized format, where it may occur in a number of attributes. This is useful where values with distinct patterns, such as Postcodes or National Insurance Numbers, are entered into the wrong fields.

Note on Regular Expressions

Regular expressions are a standard technique for expressing patterns and manipulating Strings that are very powerful once mastered.

Tutorials and reference material about regular expressions are available on the Internet, including:

Regular Expressions Info

and in books, including:

Mastering Regular Expressions by Jeffrey E. F. Friedl published by O'Reilly UK; ISBN: 0-596-00289-0.

There are also software packages available to help you master regular expressions, such as RegExBuddy, and online libraries of useful regular expressions, such as RegExLib.

Configuration

Inputs

Any String attributes that you want to search for data that matches a list of regular expressions

Options

Option	Type	Purpose	Default Value
Pattern list	Reference Data (Regular Expressions Category)	The list of regular expressions that you wish to match values against	None
Regular expression	Regular Expression	Allows you simply to enter a single regular expression rather than use a reference list. Note that if both options are used, all regular expressions (in this option and in the reference list) are used.	None

Outputs

Data attributes

None

Flags

Flag attribute	Purpose	Possible Values
RegExPatternMatch	Indicates which data matches the Patterns listed in the Reference Data	Y/N

Execution

Execution Mode	Supported
Batch	Yes
Real time Monitoring	Yes
Real time Response	Yes

Results Browsing

The RegEx Patterns Profiler produces the following summary of results for each input attribute:

Statistic

Meaning

Matched

The number of records in the attribute that matched one of the regular expressions in the reference list.

Drill-down to see a breakdown of matches by the matched regular expression.

Unmatched

The number of records in the attribute that did not match any of the regular expressions in the reference list.

Example

In this example, the RegEx Patterns Profiler is used to look for UK Postcodes in a number of Address attributes.

Summary View

Drill down on the number of records in each attribute that matched one of the regular expressions in the list to see a breakdown by the matched regular expression. In this case, only one regular expression was matched, so drilling down on the 169 records in ADDRESS3 that matched will reveal the following view:

Drilldown on Matched values: