👀 Views: 0 💬 Answers: 1 📅 Created: 2025-09-21

regex python automated-testing Python

I'm updating my dependencies and Working on a project where automated tests are critical, especially for validating configuration strings before deployment. The strings I need to check can contain alphanumeric characters, dashes, underscores, and special characters like '@' or '#'. However, I also need to ensure that certain patterns are present, like a mandatory prefix followed by a number. I tried crafting a regex pattern like this: `^(prefix_\w+\d+)[-_@#\w]*$`, but it seems too permissive, allowing strings I don't want. For example, 'prefix_test123@#valid' passes, but I need to ensure it follows a stricter format. Additionally, some configurations can have optional segments, which adds complexity. For example, 'prefix_test123' is valid, but it should not allow trailing spaces or invalid characters. The pattern needs to reject 'prefix_test123 ' and 'prefix_test!@#123'. Here's another attempt I made based on feedback from peers: ```regex ^(prefix_\w+\d+)([-_@#\w]*)$ ``` This seems like a step in the right direction, but I'm not confident it captures everything correctly without allowing unwanted formats. Currently using Python's `re` library to implement this check in my tests. If I could refine the regex to strike a balance between flexibility and validation, that would help immensely. Any insights on how to adjust my regex for this scenario or best practices for testing these patterns in automated tests? Could this be a known issue? What's the correct way to implement this?