New to using re. Search for a number before a string.

[MRAB]

On 01/11/2013 21:33, Captain Dunsel wrote:
> I have a text file that has lines with numbers occasionally appearing right before a person's name.  For example:
>
> COLLEGE:ENROLLMENT:COMPLETED EVALUATIONS:624309FUDD, ELMER
>
> where I want to search for the name "ELMER FUDD" and extract the number right in front of it "608309" when such a number appears but the length of the number is variable and using ?<= in a regular expression will only search for a fixed length.
>
> Any ideas appreciated!
>
How about searching with a pattern like r':(\d*)FUDD, ELMER'.