match-pattern()

Category: String functions

Checks whether a text value matches a given regular expression. Returns true if the pattern matches, otherwise false.

Syntax

match-pattern(a, b)

Parameter	Type	Description
`a`	Text	The text value to check.
`b`	Text	A Java-compatible regular expression to match `a` against.

true if the regular expression b fully matches the text a, otherwise false.

Text (`a`)	Pattern (`b`)	Result	Explanation
`ABCabc`	`^\w+$`	`true`	The text consists only of word characters (letters, digits, underscore).
`ABCabc`	`^\d+$`	`false`	The text does not consist only of digits.
`ABCabc`	`^[A-z]+$`	`true`	The text contains only characters in the ASCII range A to z (includes uppercase and lowercase letters).
`ABCabc`	`^[A-Z]+$`	`false`	The text also contains lowercase letters. A pattern for uppercase letters only, therefore does not match.
`order-12345`	`^order-\d+$`	`true`	Matches the prefix `order-` followed by one or more digits.
`2025-06-10`	`^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}$`	`true`	Matches a date in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
(empty)	`^$`	`true`	An empty string matches the pattern for empty.

Data validation: Make sure incoming field values match an expected format before further processing (for example, a date, email, or item number).
Conditional mapping: Use match-pattern() inside a condition to control whether a mapping rule applies. For example, map a field only when its value starts with a certain prefix.
Filtering: Skip or forward records based on whether a field value matches a defined pattern.

The regular expression follows Java regex syntax (see java.util.regex.Pattern).
The pattern is matched against the entire text. Use .* at the start or end to allow a partial match (for example, .*keyword.*).
Tools such as regex101.com are useful for testing expressions (select the Java flavor).
Starting with Release 26.2: The validity of a regular expression is automatically checked when you use Pathfinder for evaluation. You receive feedback from Pathfinder indicating whether the expression is correct or contains mistakes.

Function	Description
`cut-until-match(a, b, c)`	Removes characters from a text until the remaining string matches a regular expression.