What does a colon : mean in a regular expression?
<p>In some patterns I see a colon <code>:</code> is used. For example:</p>

<pre><code>(?:"[^"]*[^-]?&gt;)|(?:[^\w\s]\s*\/&gt;)|(?:&gt;")
</code></pre>

<p>This should match something that has <code>:</code> but also matches:</p>

<pre><code>"&gt;&lt;script&gt;alert("hello")&lt;/script&gt;
</code></pre>

<p>That has no colons in it. Does colon have a special meaning in this context? Can anyone explain about the matter?</p>

<p>Edit
I think those link explain overall all things about regex. that dose not make seance about my topic. @chris85 and @sin given the answer. Thanks</p>