substitution « Operation « Java Regex Q&A

1. regex and substitution in java    stackoverflow.com

I am trying to strip and replace a text string that looks as follows in the most elegant way possible:

element {"item"} {text { 
        ...

2. How to implement "supplant" in java    stackoverflow.com

"supplant() does variable substitution on the string. It scans through the string looking for expressions enclosed in { } braces. If an expression is found, use it as a key on ...

3. Regular expression substitution with escaped $    forums.oracle.com

I'm looking to perform a substitution (along the lines of String.replaceAll()) that matches with the character $. I have tried $, \$, $, and variations thereof in the regex string utilizing String.replaceAll() and with a Pattern.compile(). In both cases I get an "Illegal repetition near index X" error. Anyone have suggestions as to escaping the $ character for regular expression substitutions? ...