Hard code golf: Regex for divisibility by 7

Question

Matthias Goergens has a 25,604-character (down from the original 63,993-character) regex to match numbers divisible by 7, but that includes a lot of fluff: redundant parentheses, distribution (xx|xy|yx|yy rather than [xy]{2}) and other issues, though I'm sure a fresh start would be helpful in saving space. How small can this be made?

Any reasonable variety of regular expressions are allowed, but no executable code in the regex.

The regular expression should match all strings containing the decimal representation of a number divisible by 7 and no others. Extra credit for a regex that does not allow initial 0s.

What is the precise intention? Does it have to match all numbers of any size divisible by 7, or, for example, only valid 32-bit uints? — Peter Taylor, Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 20:38
@Peter Taylor: It should match all strings that are the decimal representation of a number divisible by 7. Extra credit for solutions that disallow leading 0s. — Charles, Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 22:13
By any chance... need the regex not match numbers indivisible by 7? — boothby, Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 8:25
@boothby: Absolutely, else you could just use the empty expression. — Charles, Commented Jan 7, 2014 at 9:12
@n̴̖̋h̷͉̃a̷̭̿h̸̡̅ẗ̵̨́d̷̰̀ĥ̷̳ Yes, 0 should be allowed in either version. — Charles, Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 5:28

caird coinheringaahin g · Accepted Answer · 2021-12-11 02:57:38Z

13,755 12,699 12,731 Characters

This regex does not reject leading zero.

(0|7|[18]5*4|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))|(4|[18]5*[18]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(2|9|35*4|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)))|(5|[18]5*[29]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(4|[18]5*[18]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))(4|[07]5*[29]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))*(6|[07]5*4|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(2|9|35*4|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))))|(6|[18]5*3|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3))|(4|[18]5*[18]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(1|8|35*3|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)))|(5|[18]5*[29]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(4|[18]5*[18]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(3|[18]5*[07]|(2|9|[18]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))(4|[07]5*[29]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))*(5|[07]5*3|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(1|8|35*3|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)))))(2|9|45*3|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3))|(0|7|45*[18]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(1|8|35*3|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)))|(1|8|45*[29]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(0|7|45*[18]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))(4|[07]5*[29]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))*(5|[07]5*3|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(1|8|35*3|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(4|65*3|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(0|7|[29]5*3)))))*(3|45*4|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))|(0|7|45*[18]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(2|9|35*4|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)))|(1|8|45*[29]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(0|7|45*[18]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(6|45*[07]|(5|45*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))(4|[07]5*[29]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(0|7|35*[29]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(3|65*[29]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(6|[29]5*[29]))))*(6|[07]5*4|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))|(3|[07]5*[18]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(2|9|[07]5*[07]|(1|8|[07]5*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))(6|35*[18]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(2|9|65*[18]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(5|[29]5*[18])))*(2|9|35*4|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4)|(5|35*[07]|(4|35*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))(1|8|65*[07]|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(4|[29]5*[07]))*(5|65*4|(0|7|65*6)(3|[29]5*6)*(1|8|[29]5*4))))))*

This is tested with The Regex Coach.

How We Get There

The Regex above produced by first constructing a DFA which would accept the input we want (decimals divisible by 7) and then converting to a Regular Expression and fixing the notation

To understand this, it helps to first make a DFA which accepts the following language:

L = {w | w is a binary representation of an integer divisible by 7 }

That is, it will 'match' binary numbers that are divisible by 7.

The DFA looks like this:

Mod 7 NFA

How it works

You keep a current value A that represents the value of the bits the DFA has read. When you read a 0 then A = 2*A and when you read a 1 A = 2*A + 1. At each step you calculate A mod 7 then you go to the state that represents the answer.

So a test run

We're reading in 10101 which is the binary representation for 21 in decimal.

We start at state q0, currently A=0
We read a 1, from the 'rule' above A = 2*A + 1 so A = 1. A mod 7 = 1 so we move to state q1
We read a 0, A = 2*A = 2, A mod 7 = 2 so we move to q2
Read a 1, A = 2*A + 1 = 5, A mod 7 = 5, move to q5
Read a 0, A = 2*A = 10, A mod 7 = 3, move to q3
Read a 1, A = 2*A + 1 = 21, A mod 7 = 0, move to q0
The input is accepted so the number 10101 is divisible by 7!

Converting the DFA to a Regular Expression is a tricky task so I got JFLAP to do it for me, producing the following:

(0|111|100((1|00)0)*011|(101|100((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)(1((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)*(01|1((1|00)0)*011)|(110|100((1|00)0)*010|(101|100((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)(1((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)*(00|1((1|00)0)*010))(1|0(1((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)*(00|1((1|00)0)*010))*0(1((1|00)0)*(1|00)1)*(01|1((1|00)0)*011))*

For Decimal Numbers

The process is much the same:

I constructed a DFA which accepts the language:

L = {w | w is a decimal number that is divisible by 7}

Here's the DFA:

The logic is similar, same number of states just many more transitions to handle all the extra digits decimal numbers bring.

Now the rule to change A at each step is: when you read a decimal digit n: A = 10*A + n. Then again you just mod A by 7 and go to the next state.

Revisions

Revision 5

The above regular expression now rejects numbers leading zeros - apart from zero itself of course.

This makes the DFA slightly different, basically you branch off from the initial node when you read the first zero. Reading another zero puts you into an infinite loop on the branched state. I haven't fixed the diagram to show this.

Revision 7

Did some "metaregex" and shortened my regex by replacing some of the unions with character classes.

Revision 10 and 11 (by nhahtdh)

The author's modification to reject leading zero is incorrect. It makes the regexes fail to match valid numbers, such as 1110 (decimal = 14) in the case of binary regex, and 70 in the case of decimal regex. These revision reverts the modification, and consequently, allows arbitrary leading zeros and empty string to match.

This revision increases the size of the decimal regex, since it corrects a bug in the original regex, caused by a missing an edge (9) from state 5 to state 3 in the original DFA.

I will clarify the question to specify decimal. Yes, it's much easier in bases b where 7 | b(b-1). — Charles, Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 22:14
Too late for me to amend my comment, though... I meant 7 | B(B-1) where B is a small power of b. Binary has a short regex since 7 | 8(8-1). Decimal is larger since 7 | 999999000000 is the smallest that works. — Charles, Commented Aug 19, 2011 at 23:11
Neither of the regexes shown in this answer are correct. The binary one doesn't match 1110, and the one for decimal doesn't match 70. This was tested in both python and perl. (python required converting every ( to (?: first) — Daniel Martin, Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 18:53

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

.NET regex, 119 118 105 bytes

^(?>(?=[1468](?<4>)|)(?=[2569](?<4>){2}|)([3-6]()|\d)((?<-2>)(){3}|){7}((?<-4>){7}|(?<2-4>)|){9})+$(?!\2)

111 characters disallowing initial 0s:

^(?!0.)(?>(?=[1468](?<4>)|)(?=[2569](?<4>){2}|)([3-6]()|\d)((?<-2>)(){3}|){7}((?<-4>){7}|(?<2-4>)|){9})+$(?!\2)

113 characters disallowing initial 0s and supporting negative numbers:

^-?(?>(?=[1468](?<4>)|)(?=[2569](?<4>){2}|)([3-6]()|\d)((?<-2>)(){3}|){7}((?<-4>){7}|(?<2-4>)|){9})+$(?!\2)

Try it here.

Explanation (of the previous version)

It uses the techniques used by various answers in this question: Cops and Robbers: Reverse Regex Golf. The .NET regex has a feature called balancing group, which can be used for doing arithmetic. (?<a>) pushes a group a. (?<-a>) pops that and doesn't match if there isn't a group a matched before.

(?>...) Match and don't backtrack later. So it will always match only the first matched alternative.
((?<-t>)(){3}|){6} Multiply the number of group t by 3. Save the result in the number of group 2.
(?=[1468](?<2>)|)(?=[2569](?<2>){2}|)([3-6](?<2>){3}|\d) Match a number, and that number of group 2.
((?<-2>){7}|){3} Remove group 2 a multiple of 7 times.
((?<t-2>)|){6} Remove group 2 and match the same number of group t.
$(?(t)a) If there is still a group t matched, match a after the end of string, which is impossible.

I thought this 103 byte version should also work, but didn't find a workaround of the bug in the compiler.

^(?(?(?((?<3>){2}[2569]|)([3-6])?((?<-1>)(){3}|){7})(?<3>[1468])?((?<-3>){7}|(?<1-3>)|){9})\d)+$(?(1)a)

I don't think this is gonna be beaten, but I prefer at least having to implement the DFA with recursion, this is just insane. I wonder if someone can prove or disprove .NET regexes as Turing complete. — ThePlasmaRailgun, Commented Feb 27, 2019 at 5:48
@ThePlasmaRailgun .NET regex is not Turing complete, because it doesn't allow repeating empty captures more than the lower bound (example). So each group with quantifiers could have only a finite number of alternatives if the input has a fixed length. — jimmy23013, Commented Feb 27, 2019 at 9:48

Lowjacker · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-21 13:00:17Z

32

468 characters

Ruby's regex flavor allows recursion (although it's sort of cheating), so it is straightforward to implement a DFA that recognizes numbers divisible by 7 using that. Each named group corresponds to a state, and each branch in the alternations consumes one digit and then jumps to the appropriate state. If the end of the number is reached, the regex matches only if the engine is in the "A" group, otherwise it fails.

It recognizes leading zeros.

(?!$)(?>(|(?<B>4\g<A>|5\g<B>|6\g<C>|[07]\g<D>|[18]\g<E>|[29]\g<F>|3\g<G>))(|(?<C>[18]\g<A>|[29]\g<B>|3\g<C>|4\g<D>|5\g<E>|6\g<F>|[07]\g<G>))(|(?<D>5\g<A>|6\g<B>|[07]\g<C>|[18]\g<D>|[29]\g<E>|3\g<F>|4\g<G>))(|(?<E>[29]\g<A>|3\g<B>|4\g<C>|5\g<D>|6\g<E>|[07]\g<F>|[18]\g<G>))(|(?<F>6\g<A>|[07]\g<B>|[18]\g<C>|[29]\g<D>|3\g<E>|4\g<F>|5\g<G>))(|(?<G>3\g<A>|4\g<B>|5\g<C>|6\g<D>|[07]\g<E>|[18]\g<F>|[29]\g<G>)))(?<A>$|[07]\g<A>|[18]\g<B>|[29]\g<C>|3\g<D>|4\g<E>|5\g<F>|6\g<G>)

edited Aug 21, 2011 at 13:00

answered Aug 21, 2011 at 12:10

Lowjacker

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3

\$\begingroup\$ I had intended to disallow that, but I guess I didn't. This allows for very short solutions in Ruby, Perl, PCRE, and .NET languages. \$\endgroup\$
– Charles
Commented Aug 21, 2011 at 17:13
2

\$\begingroup\$ recursion makes it a context-free grammar (if it can decide {a*b*|a and b an equal amount of times}) \$\endgroup\$
– ratchet freak
Commented Aug 21, 2011 at 19:38
\$\begingroup\$ @ratchet freak: I know that this technically isn't a regular expression, but the question states that any regex flavor is acceptable. \$\endgroup\$
– Lowjacker
Commented Aug 21, 2011 at 20:09
\$\begingroup\$ I made a generator based on your post that creates these for arbitrary divisors and bases: github.com/ThePlasmaRailgun/DivisibilityRegexes. It also has the option to generate the .jff files for JFLAP. \$\endgroup\$
– ThePlasmaRailgun
Commented Feb 27, 2019 at 5:27

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Anders Kaseorg · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-16 18:18:14Z

10791 characters, leading zeros allowed

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5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))|(2|9|46*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))(4|36*[07]|(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(5|36*[18]|(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(3|63*[07]|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(1|8|43*[07]))|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(0|7|56*[18])))(2|9|53*[07]|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(1|8|43*[07])|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(5|36*[18]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(0|7|56*[18]))|(4|[07]6*3|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(5|[07]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(3|63*[07]|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(1|8|43*[07])|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(5|36*[18]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(0|7|56*[18])))|(6|53*4|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))|(4|[07]6*3|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(5|[07]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(0|7|63*4|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))))(1|8|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5)|[29]6*5|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))|(6|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)|[29]6*3|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(0|7|63*4|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))))*(4|34*5|(0|7|34*[18]|(2|9|34*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(4|[07]4*[18]))(3|56*4|(6|56*[07])(4|36*[07])*(1|8|36*4))*(0|7|64*5|(5|64*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(1|8|[07]4*5))|(2|9|34*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(1|8|[07]4*5)|(6|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)|[29]6*3|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(3|63*[07]|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(1|8|43*[07])|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(5|36*[18]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(0|7|56*[18])))))*(3|53*[18]|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(2|9|43*[18])|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(6|36*[29]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(1|8|56*[29]))|(4|[07]6*3|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(5|[07]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(4|63*[18]|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(2|9|43*[18])|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(6|36*[29]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(1|8|56*[29])))|(6|53*4|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))|(4|[07]6*3|(1|8|53*6|(0|7|53*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(5|[07]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(0|7|63*4|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))))(1|8|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5)|[29]6*5|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))|(6|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)|[29]6*3|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(0|7|63*4|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(5|43*4)|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(2|9|36*5|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(4|56*5))))*(5|34*6|(0|7|34*[18]|(2|9|34*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(4|[07]4*[18]))(3|56*4|(6|56*[07])(4|36*[07])*(1|8|36*4))*(1|8|64*6|(5|64*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(2|9|[07]4*6))|(2|9|34*3)(6|[07]4*3)*(2|9|[07]4*6)|(6|(0|7|[29]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)|[29]6*3|(3|[07]3*6|(2|9|[07]3*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3)))(5|[18]6*3|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(0|7|36*3|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))|(6|[18]6*4)(3|56*4)*(2|9|56*3))*(4|63*[18]|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(2|9|43*[18])|(2|9|63*6|(1|8|63*5)(6|43*5)*(0|7|43*6))(4|36*[07]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(6|56*[07]))*(6|36*[29]|(1|8|36*4)(3|56*4)*(1|8|56*[29]))))))+

10795 characters, leading zeros forbidden

0|((foo)0*)+, where the above regex is (0|foo)+.

Explanation

Numbers divisible by 7 are matched by the obvious finite automaton with 7 states Q = {0, …, 6}, initial and final state 0, and transitions d: i ↦ (10i + d) mod 7. I converted this finite automaton into a regular expression, using recursion on the set of allowed intermediate states:

Given i, j ∈ Q and S ⊆ Q, let f(i, S, j) be a regular expression that matches all automaton paths from i to j using only intermediate states within S. Then,

f(i, ∅, j) = (j − 10i) mod 7,

f(i, S ∪ {k}, j) = f(i, S, j) ∣ f(i, S, k) f(k, S, k)* f(k, S, j).

I used dynamic programming to choose k so as to minimize the length of the resulting expression.

I think you have to add 2 character for in the leading zero case, since I guess zero has to be allowed 0|((foo)0*)+ — n̴̖̋h̷͉̃a̷̭̿h̸̡̅ẗ̵̨́d̷̰̀ĥ̷̳, Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 3:05
I have commented on the question, but by common sense, "no leading zero" usually means that no redundant leading 0, but it does not exclude the number zero. — n̴̖̋h̷͉̃a̷̭̿h̸̡̅ẗ̵̨́d̷̰̀ĥ̷̳, Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 3:56

mbomb007 · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-10 21:30:28Z

I was really impressed by Griffin's answer and needed to figure out how it worked! The result is the following JavaScript. (It's 3.5k characters, which is shorter in a way!) The gen function takes a divisor and base and generates a regular expression that matches numbers in the specified base that are divisible by that divisor.

I've generalized Griffin's NFA for any base: the nfa function takes a divisor and base and returns a two dimensional array of transitions. The input required to go from state 0 to state 2, for example, is states[0][2] == "1".

The reduce function takes in the states array and runs it through this algorithm to translate the NFA to regex. The regexes that are generated are huge and look like they have a lot of redundant clauses, despite my attempts at optimization. The regex for 7 base 10 is about ~67k characters long; Firefox throws an "InternalError" for n > 5 trying to parse the regex; running the regex on Chrome starts getting slow for n > 6.

There's also the test function that takes a regex and base and runs it against the numbers 0 to 100, so test(gen(5)) == [0, 5, 10, 15, ...].

Despite the suboptimal result, this was a fantastic learning opportunity, and I hope some of this code will be useful in the future!

function gen(b, base) {
    var states = nfa(b, base)
    for (var i = 0; i < states.length; i++)
        states = reduce(states, i);
    return states[0][0] != 'phi' && new RegExp('^' + wrap(states[0][0]) + '$');
}

function test(reg, base) {
    if (!base)
        base = 10;

    var x = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < 100; i++)
        x.push(i);
    return x.map(function (a) {return a.toString(base)}).filter(reg.test.bind(reg)).map(function (a) {return parseInt(a, base)})
}

function nfa(b, base) {
    if (!base)
        base = 10;

    var states = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < b; i++) {
        states[i] = [];
        for (var j = 0; j < b; j++)
            states[i][j] = [];
    }

    for (var i = 0; i < b; i++)
        for (var n = 0; n < base; n++)
            states[i][(i * base + n) % b].push(n.toString());

    for (var i = 0; i < b; i++)
        for (var j = 0; j < b; j++)
            states[i][j] = states[i][j].length > 1 ? '[' + states[i][j].join('') + ']' : (states[i][j][0] || 'phi');
    return states;
}

// http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~squire/cs451_l7.html
function reduce(states, n) {
    var s = states.length;
    var reduced = [];
    for (var i = 0; i < s; i++) {
        reduced[i] = [];
        for (var j = 0; j < s; j++) {
            // reduced[i][j] = wrap(states[i][n] + wrap(states[n][n]) + '*' + states[n][j] + '|' + states[i][j]);
            reduced[i][j] = '';

            if (states[i][n] == 'phi' || states[n][j] == 'phi') {
                reduced[i][j] = states[i][j];
                continue;
            }

            if (states[i][n] != states[n][n])
                reduced[i][j] += wrap(states[i][n]);

            if (states[n][n] != 'phi') {
                reduced[i][j] += wrap(states[n][n]);

                if (states[i][n] == states[n][n] && states[n][j] == states[n][n])
                    reduced[i][j] += wrap(states[n][n]);

                if (states[i][n] == states[n][n] || states[n][j] == states[n][n])
                    reduced[i][j] += '+';
                else
                    reduced[i][j] += '*';
            }

            if (states[n][j] != states[n][n])
                reduced[i][j] += wrap(states[n][j]);

            reduced[i][j] = states[i][j] == 'phi' ? wrap(reduced[i][j]) : alternate(reduced[i][j], states[i][j]);
        }
    }
    return reduced;
}

function matching(x, open, close) {
    // Test if the parens are actually matching
    if ('(['.indexOf(x.charAt(open)) != -1 && ')]'.indexOf(x.charAt(close)) != -1) {
        var count = 0;
        for (var i = open; i <= close; i++) {
            if ('(['.indexOf(x.charAt(i)) != -1)
                count++;
            else if (')]'.indexOf(x.charAt(i)) != -1) {
                count--;

                if (count == 0)
                    return i == close;
            }
        }
    }

    return false;
}

function wrap(x) {
    if (x.length < 2 || matching(x, 0, x.length - 1))
        return x;
    return '(' + x + ')';
}

function optional(cond) {
    if (matching(cond, 0, cond.length - 2)) {
        var op = cond.charAt(cond.length - 1);
        if (op == '+')
            return cond.slice(0, -1) + '*';
        else if (op == '*' || op == '?')
            return cond;
    } else if (matching(cond, 0, cond.length - 1))
        return optional(cond.slice(1, -1));

    return wrap(cond) + '?';
}

function alternate(cond1, cond2) {
    cond2 = wrap(cond2);
    var index = cond1.indexOf(cond2);
    var len = cond2.length;
    var cond = '';

    if (index == 0) {
        var op = cond1.charAt(len);
        if (op == '*')
            cond = cond2 + '+' + optional(cond1.slice(len));
        else if (op == '+')
            cond = cond1;
        else 
            cond = cond2 + optional(cond1.slice(len));
    } else if (index == cond1.length - len)
        cond = optional(cond1.slice(0, index)) + cond2;
    else if (cond1.length == 1 && cond2.length == 1)
        cond = '[' + cond1 + cond2 + ']';
    else
        cond = cond1 + '|' + cond2;

    return wrap(cond);
}

n̴̖̋h̷͉̃a̷̭̿h̸̡̅ẗ̵̨́d̷̰̀ĥ̷̳ · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-16 02:43:58Z

10

Perl/PCRE, 370 characters

^(?!$|0.)([07]*(?:[18](?2)|[29](?3)|3(?4)|4(?5)|5(?7)|6(?9)|$))|(5*(?:[07](?4)|[18](?5)|[29](?7)|4(?1)|6(?3)|3(?9)))(3*(?:[18](?1)|[29](?2)|[07](?9)|4(?4)|5(?5)|6(?7)))([18]*(?:[07](?3)|[29](?5)|5(?1)|6(?2)|3(?7)|4(?9)))(6*([29](?1)|[07](?7)|[18](?9)|3(?2)|4(?3)|5(?4)))(4*([07](?2)|[18](?3)|[29](?4)|6(?1)|3(?5)|5(?9)))([29]*([07](?5)|[18](?7)|3(?1)|4(?2)|5(?3)|6(?4)))

Rejects the empty string, as well as strings with leading 0’s (except "0").

edited Mar 16, 2016 at 2:43

n̴̖̋h̷͉̃a̷̭̿h̸̡̅ẗ̵̨́d̷̰̀ĥ̷̳

5,91926 silver badges41 bronze badges

answered Mar 10, 2016 at 20:41

Grimmy

15.8k1 gold badge34 silver badges64 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ @Charles This is valid PHP PCRE, and does indeed work to validate divisibility -- try it here \$\endgroup\$
– cat
Commented Mar 10, 2016 at 22:56

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Hard code golf: Regex for divisibility by 7

6 Answers 6

13,755 12,699 12,731 Characters

How We Get There

How it works

So a test run

For Decimal Numbers

Revisions

Revision 5

Revision 7

Revision 10 and 11 (by nhahtdh)

.NET regex, 119 118 105 bytes

Explanation (of the previous version)

468 characters

10791 characters, leading zeros allowed

10795 characters, leading zeros forbidden

Explanation

Perl/PCRE, 370 characters

Your Answer

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Hard code golf: Regex for divisibility by 7

6 Answers 6

13,755 12,699 12,731 Characters

How We Get There

How it works

So a test run

For Decimal Numbers

Revisions

Revision 5

Revision 7

Revision 10 and 11 (by nhahtdh)

.NET regex, 119 118 105 bytes

Explanation (of the previous version)

468 characters

10791 characters, leading zeros allowed

10795 characters, leading zeros forbidden

Explanation

Perl/PCRE, 370 characters

Your Answer

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