java - How to replace N-number of matches in the string? -

this question has answer here:

• in matcher.replace method,how limit replace times? 1 answer

so, how in groovy (or java)? this:

somestring.replacen(/(?<=\p{l}) (?=\p{l})/, '', 3) // replace first 3 matches 

for now, came stupid solution:

(0..2).each { s = s.replacefirst(/(?<=\p{l}) (?=\p{l})/, '') } 

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in other languages it's easy pie:

• python - subn(count=3)
• php - preg_replace(limit=3)
• rust - regex.replacen

i think after is

3.times { s = s.replacefirst(/(?<=\p{l}) (?=\p{l})/, '') } 

or if need more can add method string class like

string.metaclass.replace << { pattern, replacement, n ->     def result = delegate     n.times { result = result.replacefirst pattern, replacement }     result }  somestring.replace(/(?<=\p{l}) (?=\p{l})/, '', 3)