/gist:9700974

## gistfile1.php
<html><body><pre><?php

  // URL that generated this code:
  // http://txt2re.com/index-php.php3?s=http://www.twitch.tv/backlogathon/b/512356452&-20&6
  // modifications by KK with a little help from Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

  // this is the string we want to parse, i.e. the twitch URL in question
  $txt='http://www.twitch.tv/backlogathon/b/512356452';


  // lets define a bunch of mini-regexes and then string them all into one big one later
  $re1='';                   # not sure why this is required but it breaks if you remove it!
  $re2='https?';             # says "https, with the last character optional", so http or https
  $re3=':\/\/';              # string "://" but in regex you have to escape your "/" which turns it into "\/"
  $re4='www';                # string "www"
  $re5='\.';                 # string "." but . has to be escaped also, hence "\."
  $re6='twitch';             # string "twitch"
  $re7='\.';                 # string "."
  $re8='tv';                 # string "tv"
  $re9='\/';                 # string "/"
  $re10='((?:[a-z][a-z]+))'; # any string value of any length here, store as variable 1*
  $re12='(\/b\/)';           # string "/b/", store as variable 2*
  $re14='(\\d+)';            # any integer value here, store as variable 3*

  // * in regex, any matches to a pattern enclosed in () are stored in the results array
  //   if you turned $re8 up there into "(tv)" instead of just "tv" you'd see it return
  //   as the first result in the array.

  // show the final regex string
  echo $re1.$re2.$re3.$re4.$re5.$re6.$re7.$re8.$re9.$re10.$re12.$re14;


  // a nice visual separation from the result set
  echo "<hr />";


  // try the regex against the URL. store the results in an array called $matches and dump it to screen.
  // first position in the $matches array is the string we ran the pattern against, our URL.
  // all subsequent items in the array are the results of our pattern matches, i.e. those wrapped in () above.
  if ($c=preg_match_all ("/".$re1.$re2.$re3.$re4.$re5.$re6.$re7.$re8.$re9.$re10.$re12.$re14."/is", $txt, $matches))
  {
      print_r($matches);
      // these should also work if you want to do more than just dump the array:
      // $twitch_username = $matches[1][0]; //column 1, row 0 (arrays are 0 based)
      // $twitch_archived_broadcast_id = $matches[3][0];
  }


  //these are the original parameters from the URL at the top of the file
  //as originally generated by txt2re

  //we store them simply for backup purposes, in case anything blows up
  //but they're also educational. helpful to see what it turned into
  //all but $re10 and $re14 were modified
  //in all cases, these were modified from "very generic" to "very specfic"

  //$re11 and $re13 were removed completely because the "/"s that proceed and
  //follows the "b" in the URL were moved into $re12. I did this because I want
  //it to return in the $matches array as "/b/" rather than just "b".

  //$re1='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re2='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)';	# Uninteresting: word http
  //$re3='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re4='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)';	# Uninteresting: word www
  //$re5='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re6='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)';	# Uninteresting: word twitch
  //$re7='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re8='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)';	# Uninteresting: word tv
  //$re9='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re11='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler
  //$re12='(b)';	# Any Single Word Character (Not Whitespace) 1
  //$re13='.*?';	# Non-greedy match on filler

?></pre></body></html>
	<html><body><pre><?php

	// URL that generated this code:
	// http://txt2re.com/index-php.php3?s=http://www.twitch.tv/backlogathon/b/512356452&-20&6
	// modifications by KK with a little help from Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

	// this is the string we want to parse, i.e. the twitch URL in question
	$txt='http://www.twitch.tv/backlogathon/b/512356452';


	// lets define a bunch of mini-regexes and then string them all into one big one later
	$re1=''; # not sure why this is required but it breaks if you remove it!
	$re2='https?'; # says "https, with the last character optional", so http or https
	$re3=':\/\/'; # string "://" but in regex you have to escape your "/" which turns it into "\/"
	$re4='www'; # string "www"
	$re5='\.'; # string "." but . has to be escaped also, hence "\."
	$re6='twitch'; # string "twitch"
	$re7='\.'; # string "."
	$re8='tv'; # string "tv"
	$re9='\/'; # string "/"
	$re10='((?:[a-z][a-z]+))'; # any string value of any length here, store as variable 1*
	$re12='(\/b\/)'; # string "/b/", store as variable 2*
	$re14='(\\d+)'; # any integer value here, store as variable 3*

	// * in regex, any matches to a pattern enclosed in () are stored in the results array
	// if you turned $re8 up there into "(tv)" instead of just "tv" you'd see it return
	// as the first result in the array.

	// show the final regex string
	echo $re1.$re2.$re3.$re4.$re5.$re6.$re7.$re8.$re9.$re10.$re12.$re14;


	// a nice visual separation from the result set
	echo "<hr />";


	// try the regex against the URL. store the results in an array called $matches and dump it to screen.
	// first position in the $matches array is the string we ran the pattern against, our URL.
	// all subsequent items in the array are the results of our pattern matches, i.e. those wrapped in () above.
	if ($c=preg_match_all ("/".$re1.$re2.$re3.$re4.$re5.$re6.$re7.$re8.$re9.$re10.$re12.$re14."/is", $txt, $matches))
	{
	print_r($matches);
	// these should also work if you want to do more than just dump the array:
	// $twitch_username = $matches[1][0]; //column 1, row 0 (arrays are 0 based)
	// $twitch_archived_broadcast_id = $matches[3][0];
	}


	//these are the original parameters from the URL at the top of the file
	//as originally generated by txt2re

	//we store them simply for backup purposes, in case anything blows up
	//but they're also educational. helpful to see what it turned into
	//all but $re10 and $re14 were modified
	//in all cases, these were modified from "very generic" to "very specfic"

	//$re11 and $re13 were removed completely because the "/"s that proceed and
	//follows the "b" in the URL were moved into $re12. I did this because I want
	//it to return in the $matches array as "/b/" rather than just "b".

	//$re1='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re2='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)'; # Uninteresting: word http
	//$re3='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re4='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)'; # Uninteresting: word www
	//$re5='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re6='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)'; # Uninteresting: word twitch
	//$re7='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re8='(?:[a-z][a-z]+)'; # Uninteresting: word tv
	//$re9='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re11='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler
	//$re12='(b)'; # Any Single Word Character (Not Whitespace) 1
	//$re13='.*?'; # Non-greedy match on filler

	?></pre></body></html>