String matches() Method in Java with Examples

Last Updated : 20 Nov, 2024

In Java, the matches() method in the String class checks if a string matches a specified regular expression. It is useful for validating input patterns and searching within strings.

In this article, we will learn how to use the matches() method effectively in Java with examples to illustrate its functionality.

Example:

In this example, we will check if a string contains only digits.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate matches() method
import java.util.*;

public class StringMatches {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Declare and initialize a String
        String s = "12345";

        // Check if the string matches the regex for digits
        boolean r = s.matches("\\d+"); // Matches one or more digits

        System.out.println("" + r);
    }
}

Output

true

Table of Content

Syntax of matches() method
Other Examples of String matches() Method

Check for Alphabets using matches()
Validate an Email Address using matches()
Check a String Pattern using matches()

Syntax of matches() method

boolean matches(String regex)

Parameter:

regex: The regular expression to match against the string.

Return Type:

It returns true if the string matches the regex, otherwise false.

Other Examples of String `matches()` Method

1. Check for Alphabets using matches()

We will use matches() method to check if a string contains only alphabetic characters.

Java

// Java program to check if a string contains only alphabets
import java.util.*;

public class StringMatches {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String s = "JavaProgramming";

        // Check if the string contains only alphabets
        boolean r = s.matches("[a-zA-Z]+"); // Matches only alphabets (case-insensitive)

        System.out.println("" + r);
    }
}

Output

true

2. Validate an Email Address using matches()

To validate an email addresses, regular expressions can be used with matches() method.

Java

// Java program to validate an email address
import java.util.*;

public class StringMatches {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String email = "[email protected]";

        // Check if the string is a valid email address
        boolean r = email.matches("^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$");

        System.out.println("" + r);
    }
}

Output

true

3. Check a String Pattern using matches()

To check whether a string follows a specific pattern like combination of digits or letters, we can use matches() method of String class.

Java

// Java program to check if a string follows a specific pattern
import java.util.*;

public class StringMatches {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        String s = "Java123";

        // Check if the string contains alphabets followed by digits
        boolean r = s.matches("[A-Za-z]+\\d+");

        System.out.println("" + r);
    }
}

Output

true

Points to Remember

The matches() method is an efficient way to check if a string is in a specified pattern.
By default, it is case-sensitive.
Regular expressions are required for defining the patterns.

String matches() Method in Java with Examples

Astha Tyagi

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Practice Tags :

String matches() Method in Java with Examples

Syntax of matches() method

Other Examples of String matches() Method

1. Check for Alphabets using matches()

2. Validate an Email Address using matches()

3. Check a String Pattern using matches()

Points to Remember

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Other Examples of String `matches()` Method