Java tutorial
import java.util.regex.Matcher; import java.util.regex.Pattern; public class Main { public static void main(String[] argv) throws Exception { // Use COMMENTS but include a character class with a space CharSequence inputStr = "a b"; String patternStr = "a b"; // Compile without comments Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile(patternStr); Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(inputStr); boolean matchFound = matcher.matches(); // Compile with comments pattern = Pattern.compile(patternStr, Pattern.COMMENTS); matcher = pattern.matcher(inputStr); matchFound = matcher.matches(); patternStr = "a [\\ ] b"; pattern = Pattern.compile(patternStr, Pattern.COMMENTS); matcher = pattern.matcher(inputStr); matchFound = matcher.matches(); } }