Phone Number Formats

Phone numbers come in many formats. Let's build patterns that handle the variations.

Common US Formats

Phone numbers appear in many ways:

• 555-123-4567
• (555) 123-4567
• 555.123.4567
• 5551234567
• +1 555-123-4567

Exercises

Flexible Separators

Country Code

Comprehensive Pattern

Extracting Parts

International Formats

Validation vs Extraction

For extraction (finding phones in text):

For validation (checking if input IS a phone):

Use ^ and $ for validation to ensure the entire input matches.

Practice Playground

Key Takeaways

• Phone formats vary widely by country
• Use character sets [-. ] for flexible separators
• Use ? to make separators optional
• Group area codes: (\d{3}) or \(\d{3}\)
• Add ^ and $ for validation (vs extraction)
• Consider vanity numbers (letters) if needed