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I am trying to remove all of the elements from a list that contain the characters "err" in that order.

I expect the following code to return an empty list:

DeleteCases[{"Aerr"}, __ ~~ "err"]

However it fails to recognize the pattern and will return the full List. What am I missing in the documentation for patterns? Perhaps it is an issue with DeleteCases, as I can use StringMatchQ to identify that the patterns match.

StringMatchQ["Aerr", __ ~~ "err"]

Returns True.

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2 Answers 2

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First note the FullForm of your pattern:

__ ~~ "err" //FullForm

StringExpression[BlankSequence[],"err"]

The pattern is a StringExpression, so you must use a string function, e.g., StringMatchQ instead of DeleteCases, which is expecting a normal pattern. Here are some other possibilities:

list = {"Aerr"};

Select[list, Not @* StringMatchQ[__ ~~ "err"]]
Pick[list, StringMatchQ[list, __ ~~ "err"], False]

{}

{}

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DeleteCases[{"Aerr"}, _?(StringMatchQ[ "*err"]) ]

{}

For versions prior to version 10:

DeleteCases[{"Aerr"}, _?(StringMatchQ[#, "*err"] &)]

{}

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  • $\begingroup$ While I appreciate the working example, I would have loved further explanation of how it works. I've gathered that the "?" syntax is a pattern test, but how does the "_" pattern which is for a single character match "Aerr"? Also, is it a bug that the code in my original question didn't work, or a misunderstanding of how to use patterns? $\endgroup$
    – Karl
    Oct 31, 2018 at 0:16
  • $\begingroup$ @Karl, please see Carl' Woll's answer for a detailed explanation. $\endgroup$
    – kglr
    Oct 31, 2018 at 0:21
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    $\begingroup$ @Karl, _ pattern matches any Mathematica expression; only in string patterns it stands for a single character. $\endgroup$
    – kglr
    Oct 31, 2018 at 0:27

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