Regex defined zero-width assertions use ( and ) and there is a ? after the opening (. There are two assertions: positive, denoted by the = character, and negative, denoted by the ! character. If the assertion is backward-looking then the ? character is followed by a < character. Thus, (?=...) is a positive lookahead assertion and (?<!...) is a negative lookbehind assertion.
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(?=pattern) |
The positive lookahead assertion ensures that the string matches the pattern after the current position. For example, abc(?=K) ensures that the characters "abc" in the checked strings are followed by the letter "K", but this check does not consume the character "K". |
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(?!pattern) |
The negative lookahead assertion ... |
