Hi You did not put a question mark in your character class ([\/\w\.-] and instead you put it together with the session id. The expression looks for a sequence without which is not followed by the next expression --- ?PHPSESSID\=2u0cca..... If it would count the last `p` of `.php` then the next expression would violate the negative lookahead. Instead it stops just before it, after the `.ph` which is the longest expression it could find that fulfills your negative lookahead, and then it inserts the new sessionid over there. Try instead $buffer = preg_replace('/"http\:\/\/www\.domain\.com([\/\w\.\-]*\??)(?!PHPSESSID\=2u0c caffoh6jaeapkke35qpp87;?)/', '"http://www.domain.com$1?PHPSESSID=t9gksvpdcuobsnqt98qloe6lg4;', $buffer); (not tested) Simcha Younger -----Original Message----- From: Cameron B. Prince [mailto:cplists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 12:56 AM To: php-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Negative Look Ahead Regex - Code Mistake or Bug? Hello, I¹ve run into a problem with a regex and need help determining if this is my mistake or a bug. The regex is for inserting a SID into every link in the buffer before it¹s flushed, but only when each link doesn¹t already have a SID. An example of the code is here: $buffer = preg_replace('/"http\:\/\/www\.domain\.com([\/\w\.-]*)(?!\?PHPSESSID\=2u0cca ffoh6jaeapkke35qpp87;?)/', '"http://www.domain.com$1?PHPSESSID=t9gksvpdcuobsnqt98qloe6lg4;', $buffer); The code works correctly in most cases except when a SID already exists and there is a path after the .com such as: http://www.domain.com/path1/path2.php?PHPSESSID=2u0ccaffoh6jaeapkke35qpp87; When this URL is processed by the regex, it becomes: http://www.domain.com/path1/path2.ph?PHPSESSID=t9gksvpdcuobsnqt98qloe6lg4;p? PHPSESSID=2u0ccaffoh6jaeapkke35qpp87; So the problem is the regex not only falsely matches, it's inserting the SID in between 2nd and 3rd letters of the extension. You can see the code in action here: http://kottmann.com/test.php The full source for the test code is also available when viewing the source of this page. I've tested this on PHP v5.1.6 and PHP v5.2.6. TIA, Cameron -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.6.4/1617 - Release Date: 17/08/2008 12:58 -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php