Regex allow digits and a single dot

Question

What would be the regex to allow digits and a dot? Regarding this \\D only allows digits, but it doesn\'t allow a dot, I need it to allow digits and

Answer 1

If you want to allow 1 and 1.2:

(?<=^| )\d+(\.\d+)?(?=$| )

If you want to allow 1, 1.2 and .1:

(?<=^| )\d+(\.\d+)?(?=$| )|(?<=^| )\.\d+(?=$| )

If you want to only allow 1.2 (only floats):

(?<=^| )\d+\.\d+(?=$| )

\d allows digits (while \D allows anything but digits).

(?<=^| ) checks that the number is preceded by either a space or the beginning of the string. (?=$| ) makes sure the string is followed by a space or the end of the string. This makes sure the number isn't part of another number or in the middle of words or anything.

Edit: added more options, improved the regexes by adding lookahead- and behinds for making sure the numbers are standalone (i.e. aren't in the middle of words or other numbers.