prxparse function

[bayzid]

Hi,

How can i get SAS to ignore / inside my target text? For example, I want to find the following texts: INDACATEROL and  INDACATEROL/GLYCOPYRRONIUM

when i use the argument pattern_id=prxparse('/(  INDACATEROL| INDACATEROL/GLYCOPYRRONIUM)/i');

it is returning error message because of the "/" inside the parentheses.

[Kurt_Bremser]

Mask the slash with a backslash.

[bayzid]

I don't want to mask it but consider it as a part of my target string. I want SAS to extract it with the slash. For example "CLOTRIMAZOLE/HYDROCORTISONE" is a single word that I want to pick up.

[Kurt_Bremser]

"Masking" in this context means it loses its special function and is considered part of the data.

Did you try it?

[Tom · Accepted solution]

You have to MASK or ESCAPE the characters that have special meaning to RegEx by adding a backslash before them.

pattern_id=prxparse('/(  INDACATEROL| INDACATEROL\/GLYCOPYRRONIUM)/i')

Did you really mean to include the spaces at the start of the search strings? What about words that are at the beginning of the string being examined?  And did you really mean to require two spaces before INDCATAROL alone and only one space before INDACATEROL/GLYCOPYRRONIUM?

Without that extra space on the first pattern anything that would match the first pattern would also match the start of the second pattern.

[bayzid]

I inserted a space at the beginning of the character variable. Now it's working.
Thanks to both of you.