public static void main (String [] args){ String test = (args[0] != null) ? args[0] : "Sample String"; Pattern pattern = Pattern.compile((args[1] !=null ? "[a-A][z-Z]"); Matcher matcher = pattern.matcher(test); if (matcher.find()) { System.out.println(matcher.group(0)); //prints /{item}/ } else { System.out.println("Match not found"); }