import java.util.regex.Pattern; import java.util.regex.Matcher; public class ReplaceDemo2 { private static String REGEX = "a*b"; private static String INPUT = "aabfooaabfooabfoob"; private static String REPLACE = "-"; public static void main(String[] args) { Pattern p = Pattern.compile(REGEX); Matcher m = p.matcher(INPUT); // get a matcher object INPUT = m.replaceAll(REPLACE); System.out.println(INPUT); } }