small example of using Matcher.region

matcher-region.kt

// small example of using Matcher.region

val text = "ABC*DEF*(GHI)*JKL*"
val matchers = arrayOf(
    Pattern.compile("""^\*.+?\*""").matcher(text),
    Pattern.compile("""\A\(.+?\)""").matcher(text)
)
matchers.forEach { it.useAnchoringBounds(true) }
fun <T, V> Array<out T>.firstNonNull(predicate: (T) -> V?): V? {
    for (element in this) return predicate(element) ?: continue
    return null
}

var i = 0
var end = text.length
while (i < end) {
    val m = matchers.firstNonNull {
        it.region(i, end)
        if (it.find()) {
            it
        } else {
            null
        }
    }
    if (m == null) {
        ++i
    } else {
        println(m.group())
        i = m.end()
    }
}

/* 
output:

*DEF*
(GHI)
*JKL*

*/