is it possible to match strings if a group is not present between a starting and end position, except if the group is followed by a certain character e.g. ‘§’?
# match if '\.\s' is not present between 'start' and 'end'
re.search(r'start((?!\.\s).)*end', string)
for example those two strings should match:
string = 'start abc abc abc.end. '
string = 'start abc abc abc. §end '
but this string shouldn’t match:
string = 'start abc abc abc. end. '
a solution would be to set a word boundary: start((?!\.\s\b).)*end
but i am specifically looking to set a specific character that may be followed be the negated group
>Solution :
You can add another negative lookahead after \.\s
start((?!\.\s(?!§)).)*end