Regex to match a string if not followed by another string-CodePudding

In Mediawiki via Replace extension (MariaDB 10.6) I want to match the string A and delete it, as long as there is no  further down that line. Here is an example of text where it should not be matched:

<span ><span >A</span> [[lay bare at the side]], [[expose]], τι τῆς πλευρᾶς <span >Arr. <span >Tact.</span>40.5</span>, cf. <span >D.C.49.6</span> (Pass.). </span><span ><span >2</span> metaph., [[lay bare]], [[disclose]], τὸν πάντα λόγον <span >Hdt.1.126</span>, cf. <span >8.19</span>, <span >9.44</span>; τὸ βούλευμα <span >Conon 50</span>:—Pass., <b >παρεγυμνώθη διότι</b>… <span >Plb.1.80.9</span>.</span>

So far I tried (A<\/span>) ((?!).*) (and replacing with nothing) but it matches instances that do contain the unwanted string.

CodePudding user response：

You can use

<span ><span >A<\/span>(?s)(?!.*<span >)

See the regex demo. Details:

A<\/span> - a literal A string
(?s) - s flag that makes . match across lines
(?!.*) - a negative lookahead that fails the match if, immediately to the right of the current location, there are
- .* - any zero or more chars as many as possible
-  - a literal string.