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| revision 83 by nigel, Sat Feb 24 21:41:06 2007 UTC | revision 182 by ph10, Wed Jun 13 15:09:54 2007 UTC | |
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| # | Line 18 INTRODUCTION | Line 18 INTRODUCTION |
| 18 | ||
| 19 | The PCRE library is a set of functions that implement regular expres- | The PCRE library is a set of functions that implement regular expres- |
| 20 | sion pattern matching using the same syntax and semantics as Perl, with | sion pattern matching using the same syntax and semantics as Perl, with |
| 21 | just a few differences. The current implementation of PCRE (release | just a few differences. (Certain features that appeared in Python and |
| 22 | 6.x) corresponds approximately with Perl 5.8, including support for | PCRE before they appeared in Perl are also available using the Python |
| 23 | UTF-8 encoded strings and Unicode general category properties. However, | syntax.) |
| 24 | this support has to be explicitly enabled; it is not the default. | |
| 25 | The current implementation of PCRE (release 7.x) corresponds approxi- | |
| 26 | In addition to the Perl-compatible matching function, PCRE also con- | mately with Perl 5.10, including support for UTF-8 encoded strings and |
| 27 | tains an alternative matching function that matches the same compiled | Unicode general category properties. However, UTF-8 and Unicode support |
| 28 | patterns in a different way. In certain circumstances, the alternative | has to be explicitly enabled; it is not the default. The Unicode tables |
| 29 | function has some advantages. For a discussion of the two matching | correspond to Unicode release 5.0.0. |
| 30 | algorithms, see the pcrematching page. | |
| 31 | In addition to the Perl-compatible matching function, PCRE contains an | |
| 32 | PCRE is written in C and released as a C library. A number of people | alternative matching function that matches the same compiled patterns |
| 33 | have written wrappers and interfaces of various kinds. In particular, | in a different way. In certain circumstances, the alternative function |
| 34 | Google Inc. have provided a comprehensive C++ wrapper. This is now | has some advantages. For a discussion of the two matching algorithms, |
| 35 | see the pcrematching page. | |
| 36 | ||
| 37 | PCRE is written in C and released as a C library. A number of people | |
| 38 | have written wrappers and interfaces of various kinds. In particular, | |
| 39 | Google Inc. have provided a comprehensive C++ wrapper. This is now | |
| 40 | included as part of the PCRE distribution. The pcrecpp page has details | included as part of the PCRE distribution. The pcrecpp page has details |
| 41 | of this interface. Other people's contributions can be found in the | of this interface. Other people's contributions can be found in the |
| 42 | Contrib directory at the primary FTP site, which is: | Contrib directory at the primary FTP site, which is: |
| 43 | ||
| 44 | ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre | ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre |
| 45 | ||
| 46 | Details of exactly which Perl regular expression features are and are | Details of exactly which Perl regular expression features are and are |
| 47 | not supported by PCRE are given in separate documents. See the pcrepat- | not supported by PCRE are given in separate documents. See the pcrepat- |
| 48 | tern and pcrecompat pages. | tern and pcrecompat pages. |
| 49 | ||
| 50 | Some features of PCRE can be included, excluded, or changed when the | Some features of PCRE can be included, excluded, or changed when the |
| 51 | library is built. The pcre_config() function makes it possible for a | library is built. The pcre_config() function makes it possible for a |
| 52 | client to discover which features are available. The features them- | client to discover which features are available. The features them- |
| 53 | selves are described in the pcrebuild page. Documentation about build- | selves are described in the pcrebuild page. Documentation about build- |
| 54 | ing PCRE for various operating systems can be found in the README file | ing PCRE for various operating systems can be found in the README file |
| 55 | in the source distribution. | in the source distribution. |
| 56 | ||
| 57 | The library contains a number of undocumented internal functions and | The library contains a number of undocumented internal functions and |
| 58 | data tables that are used by more than one of the exported external | data tables that are used by more than one of the exported external |
| 59 | functions, but which are not intended for use by external callers. | functions, but which are not intended for use by external callers. |
| 60 | Their names all begin with "_pcre_", which hopefully will not provoke | Their names all begin with "_pcre_", which hopefully will not provoke |
| 61 | any name clashes. In some environments, it is possible to control which | any name clashes. In some environments, it is possible to control which |
| 62 | external symbols are exported when a shared library is built, and in | external symbols are exported when a shared library is built, and in |
| 63 | these cases the undocumented symbols are not exported. | these cases the undocumented symbols are not exported. |
| 64 | ||
| 65 | ||
| 66 | USER DOCUMENTATION | USER DOCUMENTATION |
| 67 | ||
| 68 | The user documentation for PCRE comprises a number of different sec- | The user documentation for PCRE comprises a number of different sec- |
| 69 | tions. In the "man" format, each of these is a separate "man page". In | tions. In the "man" format, each of these is a separate "man page". In |
| 70 | the HTML format, each is a separate page, linked from the index page. | the HTML format, each is a separate page, linked from the index page. |
| 71 | In the plain text format, all the sections are concatenated, for ease | In the plain text format, all the sections are concatenated, for ease |
| 72 | of searching. The sections are as follows: | of searching. The sections are as follows: |
| 73 | ||
| 74 | pcre this document | pcre this document |
| 75 | pcre-config show PCRE installation configuration information | |
| 76 | pcreapi details of PCRE's native C API | pcreapi details of PCRE's native C API |
| 77 | pcrebuild options for building PCRE | pcrebuild options for building PCRE |
| 78 | pcrecallout details of the callout feature | pcrecallout details of the callout feature |
| # | Line 81 USER DOCUMENTATION | Line 87 USER DOCUMENTATION |
| 87 | pcreposix the POSIX-compatible C API | pcreposix the POSIX-compatible C API |
| 88 | pcreprecompile details of saving and re-using precompiled patterns | pcreprecompile details of saving and re-using precompiled patterns |
| 89 | pcresample discussion of the sample program | pcresample discussion of the sample program |
| 90 | pcrestack discussion of stack usage | |
| 91 | pcretest description of the pcretest testing command | pcretest description of the pcretest testing command |
| 92 | ||
| 93 | In addition, in the "man" and HTML formats, there is a short page for | In addition, in the "man" and HTML formats, there is a short page for |
| 94 | each C library function, listing its arguments and results. | each C library function, listing its arguments and results. |
| 95 | ||
| 96 | ||
| 97 | LIMITATIONS | LIMITATIONS |
| 98 | ||
| 99 | There are some size limitations in PCRE but it is hoped that they will | There are some size limitations in PCRE but it is hoped that they will |
| 100 | never in practice be relevant. | never in practice be relevant. |
| 101 | ||
| 102 | The maximum length of a compiled pattern is 65539 (sic) bytes if PCRE | The maximum length of a compiled pattern is 65539 (sic) bytes if PCRE |
| 103 | is compiled with the default internal linkage size of 2. If you want to | is compiled with the default internal linkage size of 2. If you want to |
| 104 | process regular expressions that are truly enormous, you can compile | process regular expressions that are truly enormous, you can compile |
| 105 | PCRE with an internal linkage size of 3 or 4 (see the README file in | PCRE with an internal linkage size of 3 or 4 (see the README file in |
| 106 | the source distribution and the pcrebuild documentation for details). | the source distribution and the pcrebuild documentation for details). |
| 107 | In these cases the limit is substantially larger. However, the speed | In these cases the limit is substantially larger. However, the speed |
| 108 | of execution will be slower. | of execution is slower. |
| 109 | ||
| 110 | All values in repeating quantifiers must be less than 65536. The maxi- | All values in repeating quantifiers must be less than 65536. The maxi- |
| 111 | mum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535. | mum compiled length of subpattern with an explicit repeat count is |
| 112 | 30000 bytes. The maximum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535. | |
| There is no limit to the number of non-capturing subpatterns, but the | ||
| maximum depth of nesting of all kinds of parenthesized subpattern, | ||
| including capturing subpatterns, assertions, and other types of subpat- | ||
| tern, is 200. | ||
| 113 | ||
| 114 | The maximum length of a subject string is the largest positive number | There is no limit to the number of parenthesized subpatterns, but there |
| 115 | that an integer variable can hold. However, when using the traditional | can be no more than 65535 capturing subpatterns. |
| 116 | ||
| 117 | The maximum length of name for a named subpattern is 32 characters, and | |
| 118 | the maximum number of named subpatterns is 10000. | |
| 119 | ||
| 120 | The maximum length of a subject string is the largest positive number | |
| 121 | that an integer variable can hold. However, when using the traditional | |
| 122 | matching function, PCRE uses recursion to handle subpatterns and indef- | matching function, PCRE uses recursion to handle subpatterns and indef- |
| 123 | inite repetition. This means that the available stack space may limit | inite repetition. This means that the available stack space may limit |
| 124 | the size of a subject string that can be processed by certain patterns. | the size of a subject string that can be processed by certain patterns. |
| 125 | For a discussion of stack issues, see the pcrestack documentation. | |
| 126 | ||
| 127 | ||
| 128 | UTF-8 AND UNICODE PROPERTY SUPPORT | UTF-8 AND UNICODE PROPERTY SUPPORT |
| 129 | ||
| 130 | From release 3.3, PCRE has had some support for character strings | From release 3.3, PCRE has had some support for character strings |
| 131 | encoded in the UTF-8 format. For release 4.0 this was greatly extended | encoded in the UTF-8 format. For release 4.0 this was greatly extended |
| 132 | to cover most common requirements, and in release 5.0 additional sup- | to cover most common requirements, and in release 5.0 additional sup- |
| 133 | port for Unicode general category properties was added. | port for Unicode general category properties was added. |
| 134 | ||
| 135 | In order process UTF-8 strings, you must build PCRE to include UTF-8 | In order process UTF-8 strings, you must build PCRE to include UTF-8 |
| 136 | support in the code, and, in addition, you must call pcre_compile() | support in the code, and, in addition, you must call pcre_compile() |
| 137 | with the PCRE_UTF8 option flag. When you do this, both the pattern and | with the PCRE_UTF8 option flag. When you do this, both the pattern and |
| 138 | any subject strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-8 | any subject strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-8 |
| 139 | strings instead of just strings of bytes. | strings instead of just strings of bytes. |
| 140 | ||
| 141 | If you compile PCRE with UTF-8 support, but do not use it at run time, | If you compile PCRE with UTF-8 support, but do not use it at run time, |
| 142 | the library will be a bit bigger, but the additional run time overhead | the library will be a bit bigger, but the additional run time overhead |
| 143 | is limited to testing the PCRE_UTF8 flag in several places, so should | is limited to testing the PCRE_UTF8 flag occasionally, so should not be |
| 144 | not be very large. | very big. |
| 145 | ||
| 146 | If PCRE is built with Unicode character property support (which implies | If PCRE is built with Unicode character property support (which implies |
| 147 | UTF-8 support), the escape sequences \p{..}, \P{..}, and \X are sup- | UTF-8 support), the escape sequences \p{..}, \P{..}, and \X are sup- |
| 148 | ported. The available properties that can be tested are limited to the | ported. The available properties that can be tested are limited to the |
| 149 | general category properties such as Lu for an upper case letter or Nd | general category properties such as Lu for an upper case letter or Nd |
| 150 | for a decimal number. A full list is given in the pcrepattern documen- | for a decimal number, the Unicode script names such as Arabic or Han, |
| 151 | tation. The PCRE library is increased in size by about 90K when Unicode | and the derived properties Any and L&. A full list is given in the |
| 152 | property support is included. | pcrepattern documentation. Only the short names for properties are sup- |
| 153 | ported. For example, \p{L} matches a letter. Its Perl synonym, \p{Let- | |
| 154 | ter}, is not supported. Furthermore, in Perl, many properties may | |
| 155 | optionally be prefixed by "Is", for compatibility with Perl 5.6. PCRE | |
| 156 | does not support this. | |
| 157 | ||
| 158 | The following comments apply when PCRE is running in UTF-8 mode: | The following comments apply when PCRE is running in UTF-8 mode: |
| 159 | ||
| 160 | 1. When you set the PCRE_UTF8 flag, the strings passed as patterns and | 1. When you set the PCRE_UTF8 flag, the strings passed as patterns and |
| 161 | subjects are checked for validity on entry to the relevant functions. | subjects are checked for validity on entry to the relevant functions. |
| 162 | If an invalid UTF-8 string is passed, an error return is given. In some | If an invalid UTF-8 string is passed, an error return is given. In some |
| 163 | situations, you may already know that your strings are valid, and | situations, you may already know that your strings are valid, and |
| 164 | therefore want to skip these checks in order to improve performance. If | therefore want to skip these checks in order to improve performance. If |
| 165 | you set the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, | you set the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, |
| 166 | PCRE assumes that the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) | PCRE assumes that the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) |
| 167 | contains only valid UTF-8 codes. In this case, it does not diagnose an | contains only valid UTF-8 codes. In this case, it does not diagnose an |
| 168 | invalid UTF-8 string. If you pass an invalid UTF-8 string to PCRE when | invalid UTF-8 string. If you pass an invalid UTF-8 string to PCRE when |
| 169 | PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK is set, the results are undefined. Your program may | PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK is set, the results are undefined. Your program may |
| 170 | crash. | crash. |
| 171 | ||
| 172 | 2. In a pattern, the escape sequence \x{...}, where the contents of the | 2. An unbraced hexadecimal escape sequence (such as \xb3) matches a |
| 173 | braces is a string of hexadecimal digits, is interpreted as a UTF-8 | two-byte UTF-8 character if the value is greater than 127. |
| character whose code number is the given hexadecimal number, for exam- | ||
| ple: \x{1234}. If a non-hexadecimal digit appears between the braces, | ||
| the item is not recognized. This escape sequence can be used either as | ||
| a literal, or within a character class. | ||
| 174 | ||
| 175 | 3. The original hexadecimal escape sequence, \xhh, matches a two-byte | 3. Octal numbers up to \777 are recognized, and match two-byte UTF-8 |
| 176 | UTF-8 character if the value is greater than 127. | characters for values greater than \177. |
| 177 | ||
| 178 | 4. Repeat quantifiers apply to complete UTF-8 characters, not to indi- | 4. Repeat quantifiers apply to complete UTF-8 characters, not to indi- |
| 179 | vidual bytes, for example: \x{100}{3}. | vidual bytes, for example: \x{100}{3}. |
| 180 | ||
| 181 | 5. The dot metacharacter matches one UTF-8 character instead of a sin- | 5. The dot metacharacter matches one UTF-8 character instead of a sin- |
| 182 | gle byte. | gle byte. |
| 183 | ||
| 184 | 6. The escape sequence \C can be used to match a single byte in UTF-8 | 6. The escape sequence \C can be used to match a single byte in UTF-8 |
| 185 | mode, but its use can lead to some strange effects. This facility is | mode, but its use can lead to some strange effects. This facility is |
| 186 | not available in the alternative matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(). | not available in the alternative matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(). |
| 187 | ||
| 188 | 7. The character escapes \b, \B, \d, \D, \s, \S, \w, and \W correctly | 7. The character escapes \b, \B, \d, \D, \s, \S, \w, and \W correctly |
| 189 | test characters of any code value, but the characters that PCRE recog- | test characters of any code value, but the characters that PCRE recog- |
| 190 | nizes as digits, spaces, or word characters remain the same set as | nizes as digits, spaces, or word characters remain the same set as |
| 191 | before, all with values less than 256. This remains true even when PCRE | before, all with values less than 256. This remains true even when PCRE |
| 192 | includes Unicode property support, because to do otherwise would slow | includes Unicode property support, because to do otherwise would slow |
| 193 | down PCRE in many common cases. If you really want to test for a wider | down PCRE in many common cases. If you really want to test for a wider |
| 194 | sense of, say, "digit", you must use Unicode property tests such as | sense of, say, "digit", you must use Unicode property tests such as |
| 195 | \p{Nd}. | \p{Nd}. |
| 196 | ||
| 197 | 8. Similarly, characters that match the POSIX named character classes | 8. Similarly, characters that match the POSIX named character classes |
| 198 | are all low-valued characters. | are all low-valued characters. |
| 199 | ||
| 200 | 9. Case-insensitive matching applies only to characters whose values | 9. However, the Perl 5.10 horizontal and vertical whitespace matching |
| 201 | are less than 128, unless PCRE is built with Unicode property support. | escapes (\h, \H, \v, and \V) do match all the appropriate Unicode char- |
| 202 | Even when Unicode property support is available, PCRE still uses its | acters. |
| 203 | own character tables when checking the case of low-valued characters, | |
| 204 | so as not to degrade performance. The Unicode property information is | 10. Case-insensitive matching applies only to characters whose values |
| 205 | used only for characters with higher values. | are less than 128, unless PCRE is built with Unicode property support. |
| 206 | Even when Unicode property support is available, PCRE still uses its | |
| 207 | own character tables when checking the case of low-valued characters, | |
| 208 | so as not to degrade performance. The Unicode property information is | |
| 209 | used only for characters with higher values. Even when Unicode property | |
| 210 | support is available, PCRE supports case-insensitive matching only when | |
| 211 | there is a one-to-one mapping between a letter's cases. There are a | |
| 212 | small number of many-to-one mappings in Unicode; these are not sup- | |
| 213 | ported by PCRE. | |
| 214 | ||
| 215 | ||
| 216 | AUTHOR | AUTHOR |
| 217 | ||
| 218 | Philip Hazel | Philip Hazel |
| 219 | University Computing Service, | University Computing Service |
| 220 | Cambridge CB2 3QG, England. | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. |
| 221 | ||
| 222 | Putting an actual email address here seems to have been a spam magnet, | |
| 223 | so I've taken it away. If you want to email me, use my two initials, | |
| 224 | followed by the two digits 10, at the domain cam.ac.uk. | |
| 225 | ||
| 226 | ||
| 227 | Putting an actual email address here seems to have been a spam magnet, | REVISION |
| so I've taken it away. If you want to email me, use my initial and sur- | ||
| name, separated by a dot, at the domain ucs.cam.ac.uk. | ||
| 228 | ||
| 229 | Last updated: 07 March 2005 | Last updated: 13 June 2007 |
| 230 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. |
| 231 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 232 | ||
| 233 | ||
| # | Line 228 PCRE BUILD-TIME OPTIONS | Line 249 PCRE BUILD-TIME OPTIONS |
| 249 | ||
| 250 | ./configure --help | ./configure --help |
| 251 | ||
| 252 | The following sections describe certain options whose names begin with | The following sections include descriptions of options whose names |
| 253 | --enable or --disable. These settings specify changes to the defaults | begin with --enable or --disable. These settings specify changes to the |
| 254 | for the configure command. Because of the way that configure works, | defaults for the configure command. Because of the way that configure |
| 255 | --enable and --disable always come in pairs, so the complementary | works, --enable and --disable always come in pairs, so the complemen- |
| 256 | option always exists as well, but as it specifies the default, it is | tary option always exists as well, but as it specifies the default, it |
| 257 | not described. | is not described. |
| 258 | ||
| 259 | ||
| 260 | C++ SUPPORT | C++ SUPPORT |
| # | Line 272 UNICODE CHARACTER PROPERTY SUPPORT | Line 293 UNICODE CHARACTER PROPERTY SUPPORT |
| 293 | to the configure command. This implies UTF-8 support, even if you have | to the configure command. This implies UTF-8 support, even if you have |
| 294 | not explicitly requested it. | not explicitly requested it. |
| 295 | ||
| 296 | Including Unicode property support adds around 90K of tables to the | Including Unicode property support adds around 30K of tables to the |
| 297 | PCRE library, approximately doubling its size. Only the general cate- | PCRE library. Only the general category properties such as Lu and Nd |
| 298 | gory properties such as Lu and Nd are supported. Details are given in | are supported. Details are given in the pcrepattern documentation. |
| the pcrepattern documentation. | ||
| 299 | ||
| 300 | ||
| 301 | CODE VALUE OF NEWLINE | CODE VALUE OF NEWLINE |
| 302 | ||
| 303 | By default, PCRE treats character 10 (linefeed) as the newline charac- | By default, PCRE interprets character 10 (linefeed, LF) as indicating |
| 304 | ter. This is the normal newline character on Unix-like systems. You can | the end of a line. This is the normal newline character on Unix-like |
| 305 | compile PCRE to use character 13 (carriage return) instead by adding | systems. You can compile PCRE to use character 13 (carriage return, CR) |
| 306 | instead, by adding | |
| 307 | ||
| 308 | --enable-newline-is-cr | --enable-newline-is-cr |
| 309 | ||
| 310 | to the configure command. For completeness there is also a --enable- | to the configure command. There is also a --enable-newline-is-lf |
| 311 | newline-is-lf option, which explicitly specifies linefeed as the new- | option, which explicitly specifies linefeed as the newline character. |
| 312 | line character. | |
| 313 | Alternatively, you can specify that line endings are to be indicated by | |
| 314 | the two character sequence CRLF. If you want this, add | |
| 315 | ||
| 316 | --enable-newline-is-crlf | |
| 317 | ||
| 318 | to the configure command. There is a fourth option, specified by | |
| 319 | ||
| 320 | --enable-newline-is-anycrlf | |
| 321 | ||
| 322 | which causes PCRE to recognize any of the three sequences CR, LF, or | |
| 323 | CRLF as indicating a line ending. Finally, a fifth option, specified by | |
| 324 | ||
| 325 | --enable-newline-is-any | |
| 326 | ||
| 327 | causes PCRE to recognize any Unicode newline sequence. | |
| 328 | ||
| 329 | Whatever line ending convention is selected when PCRE is built can be | |
| 330 | overridden when the library functions are called. At build time it is | |
| 331 | conventional to use the standard for your operating system. | |
| 332 | ||
| 333 | ||
| 334 | BUILDING SHARED AND STATIC LIBRARIES | BUILDING SHARED AND STATIC LIBRARIES |
| # | Line 319 POSIX MALLOC USAGE | Line 359 POSIX MALLOC USAGE |
| 359 | to the configure command. | to the configure command. |
| 360 | ||
| 361 | ||
| LIMITING PCRE RESOURCE USAGE | ||
| Internally, PCRE has a function called match(), which it calls repeat- | ||
| edly (possibly recursively) when matching a pattern with the | ||
| pcre_exec() function. By controlling the maximum number of times this | ||
| function may be called during a single matching operation, a limit can | ||
| be placed on the resources used by a single call to pcre_exec(). The | ||
| limit can be changed at run time, as described in the pcreapi documen- | ||
| tation. The default is 10 million, but this can be changed by adding a | ||
| setting such as | ||
| --with-match-limit=500000 | ||
| to the configure command. This setting has no effect on the | ||
| pcre_dfa_exec() matching function. | ||
| 362 | HANDLING VERY LARGE PATTERNS | HANDLING VERY LARGE PATTERNS |
| 363 | ||
| 364 | Within a compiled pattern, offset values are used to point from one | Within a compiled pattern, offset values are used to point from one |
| # | Line 353 HANDLING VERY LARGE PATTERNS | Line 376 HANDLING VERY LARGE PATTERNS |
| 376 | longer offsets slows down the operation of PCRE because it has to load | longer offsets slows down the operation of PCRE because it has to load |
| 377 | additional bytes when handling them. | additional bytes when handling them. |
| 378 | ||
| If you build PCRE with an increased link size, test 2 (and test 5 if | ||
| you are using UTF-8) will fail. Part of the output of these tests is a | ||
| representation of the compiled pattern, and this changes with the link | ||
| size. | ||
| 379 | ||
| 380 | AVOIDING EXCESSIVE STACK USAGE | AVOIDING EXCESSIVE STACK USAGE |
| 381 | ||
| 382 | When matching with the pcre_exec() function, PCRE implements backtrack- | When matching with the pcre_exec() function, PCRE implements backtrack- |
| 383 | ing by making recursive calls to an internal function called match(). | ing by making recursive calls to an internal function called match(). |
| 384 | In environments where the size of the stack is limited, this can se- | In environments where the size of the stack is limited, this can se- |
| 385 | verely limit PCRE's operation. (The Unix environment does not usually | verely limit PCRE's operation. (The Unix environment does not usually |
| 386 | suffer from this problem.) An alternative approach that uses memory | suffer from this problem, but it may sometimes be necessary to increase |
| 387 | from the heap to remember data, instead of using recursive function | the maximum stack size. There is a discussion in the pcrestack docu- |
| 388 | calls, has been implemented to work round this problem. If you want to | mentation.) An alternative approach to recursion that uses memory from |
| 389 | build a version of PCRE that works this way, add | the heap to remember data, instead of using recursive function calls, |
| 390 | has been implemented to work round the problem of limited stack size. | |
| 391 | If you want to build a version of PCRE that works this way, add | |
| 392 | ||
| 393 | --disable-stack-for-recursion | --disable-stack-for-recursion |
| 394 | ||
| 395 | to the configure command. With this configuration, PCRE will use the | to the configure command. With this configuration, PCRE will use the |
| 396 | pcre_stack_malloc and pcre_stack_free variables to call memory manage- | pcre_stack_malloc and pcre_stack_free variables to call memory manage- |
| 397 | ment functions. Separate functions are provided because the usage is | ment functions. By default these point to malloc() and free(), but you |
| 398 | very predictable: the block sizes requested are always the same, and | can replace the pointers so that your own functions are used. |
| 399 | the blocks are always freed in reverse order. A calling program might | |
| 400 | be able to implement optimized functions that perform better than the | Separate functions are provided rather than using pcre_malloc and |
| 401 | standard malloc() and free() functions. PCRE runs noticeably more | pcre_free because the usage is very predictable: the block sizes |
| 402 | slowly when built in this way. This option affects only the pcre_exec() | requested are always the same, and the blocks are always freed in |
| 403 | function; it is not relevant for the the pcre_dfa_exec() function. | reverse order. A calling program might be able to implement optimized |
| 404 | functions that perform better than malloc() and free(). PCRE runs | |
| 405 | noticeably more slowly when built in this way. This option affects only | |
| 406 | the pcre_exec() function; it is not relevant for the the | |
| 407 | pcre_dfa_exec() function. | |
| 408 | ||
| 409 | ||
| 410 | LIMITING PCRE RESOURCE USAGE | |
| 411 | ||
| 412 | Internally, PCRE has a function called match(), which it calls repeat- | |
| 413 | edly (sometimes recursively) when matching a pattern with the | |
| 414 | pcre_exec() function. By controlling the maximum number of times this | |
| 415 | function may be called during a single matching operation, a limit can | |
| 416 | be placed on the resources used by a single call to pcre_exec(). The | |
| 417 | limit can be changed at run time, as described in the pcreapi documen- | |
| 418 | tation. The default is 10 million, but this can be changed by adding a | |
| 419 | setting such as | |
| 420 | ||
| 421 | --with-match-limit=500000 | |
| 422 | ||
| 423 | to the configure command. This setting has no effect on the | |
| 424 | pcre_dfa_exec() matching function. | |
| 425 | ||
| 426 | In some environments it is desirable to limit the depth of recursive | |
| 427 | calls of match() more strictly than the total number of calls, in order | |
| 428 | to restrict the maximum amount of stack (or heap, if --disable-stack- | |
| 429 | for-recursion is specified) that is used. A second limit controls this; | |
| 430 | it defaults to the value that is set for --with-match-limit, which | |
| 431 | imposes no additional constraints. However, you can set a lower limit | |
| 432 | by adding, for example, | |
| 433 | ||
| 434 | --with-match-limit-recursion=10000 | |
| 435 | ||
| 436 | to the configure command. This value can also be overridden at run | |
| 437 | time. | |
| 438 | ||
| 439 | ||
| 440 | CREATING CHARACTER TABLES AT BUILD TIME | |
| 441 | ||
| 442 | PCRE uses fixed tables for processing characters whose code values are | |
| 443 | less than 256. By default, PCRE is built with a set of tables that are | |
| 444 | distributed in the file pcre_chartables.c.dist. These tables are for | |
| 445 | ASCII codes only. If you add | |
| 446 | ||
| 447 | --enable-rebuild-chartables | |
| 448 | ||
| 449 | to the configure command, the distributed tables are no longer used. | |
| 450 | Instead, a program called dftables is compiled and run. This outputs | |
| 451 | the source for new set of tables, created in the default locale of your | |
| 452 | C runtime system. (This method of replacing the tables does not work if | |
| 453 | you are cross compiling, because dftables is run on the local host. If | |
| 454 | you need to create alternative tables when cross compiling, you will | |
| 455 | have to do so "by hand".) | |
| 456 | ||
| 457 | ||
| 458 | USING EBCDIC CODE | USING EBCDIC CODE |
| 459 | ||
| 460 | PCRE assumes by default that it will run in an environment where the | PCRE assumes by default that it will run in an environment where the |
| 461 | character code is ASCII (or Unicode, which is a superset of ASCII). | character code is ASCII (or Unicode, which is a superset of ASCII). |
| 462 | PCRE can, however, be compiled to run in an EBCDIC environment by | PCRE can, however, be compiled to run in an EBCDIC environment by |
| 463 | adding | adding |
| 464 | ||
| 465 | --enable-ebcdic | --enable-ebcdic |
| 466 | ||
| 467 | to the configure command. | to the configure command. This setting implies --enable-rebuild-charta- |
| 468 | bles. | |
| 469 | ||
| 470 | ||
| 471 | SEE ALSO | |
| 472 | ||
| 473 | pcreapi(3), pcre_config(3). | |
| 474 | ||
| 475 | Last updated: 15 August 2005 | |
| 476 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | AUTHOR |
| 477 | ||
| 478 | Philip Hazel | |
| 479 | University Computing Service | |
| 480 | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. | |
| 481 | ||
| 482 | ||
| 483 | REVISION | |
| 484 | ||
| 485 | Last updated: 05 June 2007 | |
| 486 | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. | |
| 487 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 488 | ||
| 489 | ||
| # | Line 431 PCRE MATCHING ALGORITHMS | Line 519 PCRE MATCHING ALGORITHMS |
| 519 | <something> <something else> <something further> | <something> <something else> <something further> |
| 520 | ||
| 521 | there are three possible answers. The standard algorithm finds only one | there are three possible answers. The standard algorithm finds only one |
| 522 | of them, whereas the DFA algorithm finds all three. | of them, whereas the alternative algorithm finds all three. |
| 523 | ||
| 524 | ||
| 525 | REGULAR EXPRESSIONS AS TREES | REGULAR EXPRESSIONS AS TREES |
| # | Line 440 REGULAR EXPRESSIONS AS TREES | Line 528 REGULAR EXPRESSIONS AS TREES |
| 528 | resented as a tree structure. An unlimited repetition in the pattern | resented as a tree structure. An unlimited repetition in the pattern |
| 529 | makes the tree of infinite size, but it is still a tree. Matching the | makes the tree of infinite size, but it is still a tree. Matching the |
| 530 | pattern to a given subject string (from a given starting point) can be | pattern to a given subject string (from a given starting point) can be |
| 531 | thought of as a search of the tree. There are two standard ways to | thought of as a search of the tree. There are two ways to search a |
| 532 | search a tree: depth-first and breadth-first, and these correspond to | tree: depth-first and breadth-first, and these correspond to the two |
| 533 | the two matching algorithms provided by PCRE. | matching algorithms provided by PCRE. |
| 534 | ||
| 535 | ||
| 536 | THE STANDARD MATCHING ALGORITHM | THE STANDARD MATCHING ALGORITHM |
| 537 | ||
| 538 | In the terminology of Jeffrey Friedl's book Mastering Regular Expres- | In the terminology of Jeffrey Friedl's book "Mastering Regular Expres- |
| 539 | sions, the standard algorithm is an "NFA algorithm". It conducts a | sions", the standard algorithm is an "NFA algorithm". It conducts a |
| 540 | depth-first search of the pattern tree. That is, it proceeds along a | depth-first search of the pattern tree. That is, it proceeds along a |
| 541 | single path through the tree, checking that the subject matches what is | single path through the tree, checking that the subject matches what is |
| 542 | required. When there is a mismatch, the algorithm tries any alterna- | required. When there is a mismatch, the algorithm tries any alterna- |
| # | Line 472 THE STANDARD MATCHING ALGORITHM | Line 560 THE STANDARD MATCHING ALGORITHM |
| 560 | This provides support for capturing parentheses and back references. | This provides support for capturing parentheses and back references. |
| 561 | ||
| 562 | ||
| 563 | THE DFA MATCHING ALGORITHM | THE ALTERNATIVE MATCHING ALGORITHM |
| 564 | ||
| 565 | DFA stands for "deterministic finite automaton", but you do not need to | This algorithm conducts a breadth-first search of the tree. Starting |
| 566 | understand the origins of that name. This algorithm conducts a breadth- | from the first matching point in the subject, it scans the subject |
| 567 | first search of the tree. Starting from the first matching point in the | string from left to right, once, character by character, and as it does |
| 568 | subject, it scans the subject string from left to right, once, charac- | this, it remembers all the paths through the tree that represent valid |
| 569 | ter by character, and as it does this, it remembers all the paths | matches. In Friedl's terminology, this is a kind of "DFA algorithm", |
| 570 | through the tree that represent valid matches. | though it is not implemented as a traditional finite state machine (it |
| 571 | keeps multiple states active simultaneously). | |
| 572 | The scan continues until either the end of the subject is reached, or | |
| 573 | there are no more unterminated paths. At this point, terminated paths | The scan continues until either the end of the subject is reached, or |
| 574 | represent the different matching possibilities (if there are none, the | there are no more unterminated paths. At this point, terminated paths |
| 575 | match has failed). Thus, if there is more than one possible match, | represent the different matching possibilities (if there are none, the |
| 576 | match has failed). Thus, if there is more than one possible match, | |
| 577 | this algorithm finds all of them, and in particular, it finds the long- | this algorithm finds all of them, and in particular, it finds the long- |
| 578 | est. In PCRE, there is an option to stop the algorithm after the first | est. In PCRE, there is an option to stop the algorithm after the first |
| 579 | match (which is necessarily the shortest) has been found. | match (which is necessarily the shortest) has been found. |
| 580 | ||
| 581 | Note that all the matches that are found start at the same point in the | Note that all the matches that are found start at the same point in the |
| # | Line 494 THE DFA MATCHING ALGORITHM | Line 583 THE DFA MATCHING ALGORITHM |
| 583 | ||
| 584 | cat(er(pillar)?) | cat(er(pillar)?) |
| 585 | ||
| 586 | is matched against the string "the caterpillar catchment", the result | is matched against the string "the caterpillar catchment", the result |
| 587 | will be the three strings "cat", "cater", and "caterpillar" that start | will be the three strings "cat", "cater", and "caterpillar" that start |
| 588 | at the fourth character of the subject. The algorithm does not automat- | at the fourth character of the subject. The algorithm does not automat- |
| 589 | ically move on to find matches that start at later positions. | ically move on to find matches that start at later positions. |
| 590 | ||
| 591 | There are a number of features of PCRE regular expressions that are not | There are a number of features of PCRE regular expressions that are not |
| 592 | supported by the DFA matching algorithm. They are as follows: | supported by the alternative matching algorithm. They are as follows: |
| 593 | ||
| 594 | 1. Because the algorithm finds all possible matches, the greedy or | 1. Because the algorithm finds all possible matches, the greedy or |
| 595 | ungreedy nature of repetition quantifiers is not relevant. Greedy and | ungreedy nature of repetition quantifiers is not relevant. Greedy and |
| 596 | ungreedy quantifiers are treated in exactly the same way. | ungreedy quantifiers are treated in exactly the same way. However, pos- |
| 597 | sessive quantifiers can make a difference when what follows could also | |
| 598 | match what is quantified, for example in a pattern like this: | |
| 599 | ||
| 600 | ^a++\w! | |
| 601 | ||
| 602 | This pattern matches "aaab!" but not "aaa!", which would be matched by | |
| 603 | a non-possessive quantifier. Similarly, if an atomic group is present, | |
| 604 | it is matched as if it were a standalone pattern at the current point, | |
| 605 | and the longest match is then "locked in" for the rest of the overall | |
| 606 | pattern. | |
| 607 | ||
| 608 | 2. When dealing with multiple paths through the tree simultaneously, it | 2. When dealing with multiple paths through the tree simultaneously, it |
| 609 | is not straightforward to keep track of captured substrings for the | is not straightforward to keep track of captured substrings for the |
| 610 | different matching possibilities, and PCRE's implementation of this | different matching possibilities, and PCRE's implementation of this |
| 611 | algorithm does not attempt to do this. This means that no captured sub- | algorithm does not attempt to do this. This means that no captured sub- |
| 612 | strings are available. | strings are available. |
| 613 | ||
| 614 | 3. Because no substrings are captured, back references within the pat- | 3. Because no substrings are captured, back references within the pat- |
| 615 | tern are not supported, and cause errors if encountered. | tern are not supported, and cause errors if encountered. |
| 616 | ||
| 617 | 4. For the same reason, conditional expressions that use a backrefer- | 4. For the same reason, conditional expressions that use a backrefer- |
| 618 | ence as the condition are not supported. | ence as the condition or test for a specific group recursion are not |
| 619 | supported. | |
| 620 | ||
| 621 | 5. Callouts are supported, but the value of the capture_top field is | 5. Because many paths through the tree may be active, the \K escape |
| 622 | sequence, which resets the start of the match when encountered (but may | |
| 623 | be on some paths and not on others), is not supported. It causes an | |
| 624 | error if encountered. | |
| 625 | ||
| 626 | 6. Callouts are supported, but the value of the capture_top field is | |
| 627 | always 1, and the value of the capture_last field is always -1. | always 1, and the value of the capture_last field is always -1. |
| 628 | ||
| 629 | 6. The \C escape sequence, which (in the standard algorithm) matches a | 7. The \C escape sequence, which (in the standard algorithm) matches a |
| 630 | single byte, even in UTF-8 mode, is not supported because the DFA algo- | single byte, even in UTF-8 mode, is not supported because the alterna- |
| 631 | rithm moves through the subject string one character at a time, for all | tive algorithm moves through the subject string one character at a |
| 632 | active paths through the tree. | time, for all active paths through the tree. |
| 633 | ||
| 634 | ||
| 635 | ADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM | ADVANTAGES OF THE ALTERNATIVE ALGORITHM |
| 636 | ||
| 637 | Using the DFA matching algorithm provides the following advantages: | Using the alternative matching algorithm provides the following advan- |
| 638 | tages: | |
| 639 | ||
| 640 | 1. All possible matches (at a single point in the subject) are automat- | 1. All possible matches (at a single point in the subject) are automat- |
| 641 | ically found, and in particular, the longest match is found. To find | ically found, and in particular, the longest match is found. To find |
| # | Line 538 ADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM | Line 644 ADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM |
| 644 | ||
| 645 | 2. There is much better support for partial matching. The restrictions | 2. There is much better support for partial matching. The restrictions |
| 646 | on the content of the pattern that apply when using the standard algo- | on the content of the pattern that apply when using the standard algo- |
| 647 | rithm for partial matching do not apply to the DFA algorithm. For non- | rithm for partial matching do not apply to the alternative algorithm. |
| 648 | anchored patterns, the starting position of a partial match is avail- | For non-anchored patterns, the starting position of a partial match is |
| 649 | able. | available. |
| 650 | ||
| 651 | 3. Because the DFA algorithm scans the subject string just once, and | 3. Because the alternative algorithm scans the subject string just |
| 652 | never needs to backtrack, it is possible to pass very long subject | once, and never needs to backtrack, it is possible to pass very long |
| 653 | strings to the matching function in several pieces, checking for par- | subject strings to the matching function in several pieces, checking |
| 654 | tial matching each time. | for partial matching each time. |
| 655 | ||
| 656 | ||
| 657 | DISADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM | DISADVANTAGES OF THE ALTERNATIVE ALGORITHM |
| 658 | ||
| 659 | The DFA algorithm suffers from a number of disadvantages: | The alternative algorithm suffers from a number of disadvantages: |
| 660 | ||
| 661 | 1. It is substantially slower than the standard algorithm. This is | 1. It is substantially slower than the standard algorithm. This is |
| 662 | partly because it has to search for all possible matches, but is also | partly because it has to search for all possible matches, but is also |
| # | Line 558 DISADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM | Line 664 DISADVANTAGES OF THE DFA ALGORITHM |
| 664 | ||
| 665 | 2. Capturing parentheses and back references are not supported. | 2. Capturing parentheses and back references are not supported. |
| 666 | ||
| 667 | 3. The "atomic group" feature of PCRE regular expressions is supported, | 3. Although atomic groups are supported, their use does not provide the |
| 668 | but does not provide the advantage that it does for the standard algo- | performance advantage that it does for the standard algorithm. |
| 669 | rithm. | |
| 670 | ||
| 671 | AUTHOR | |
| 672 | ||
| 673 | Philip Hazel | |
| 674 | University Computing Service | |
| 675 | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. | |
| 676 | ||
| 677 | ||
| 678 | Last updated: 28 February 2005 | REVISION |
| 679 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | |
| 680 | Last updated: 29 May 2007 | |
| 681 | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. | |
| 682 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 683 | ||
| 684 | ||
| # | Line 616 PCRE NATIVE API | Line 731 PCRE NATIVE API |
| 731 | int pcre_get_stringnumber(const pcre *code, | int pcre_get_stringnumber(const pcre *code, |
| 732 | const char *name); | const char *name); |
| 733 | ||
| 734 | int pcre_get_stringtable_entries(const pcre *code, | |
| 735 | const char *name, char **first, char **last); | |
| 736 | ||
| 737 | int pcre_get_substring(const char *subject, int *ovector, | int pcre_get_substring(const char *subject, int *ovector, |
| 738 | int stringcount, int stringnumber, | int stringcount, int stringnumber, |
| 739 | const char **stringptr); | const char **stringptr); |
| # | Line 654 PCRE NATIVE API | Line 772 PCRE NATIVE API |
| 772 | PCRE API OVERVIEW | PCRE API OVERVIEW |
| 773 | ||
| 774 | PCRE has its own native API, which is described in this document. There | PCRE has its own native API, which is described in this document. There |
| 775 | is also a set of wrapper functions that correspond to the POSIX regular | are also some wrapper functions that correspond to the POSIX regular |
| 776 | expression API. These are described in the pcreposix documentation. | expression API. These are described in the pcreposix documentation. |
| 777 | Both of these APIs define a set of C function calls. A C++ wrapper is | Both of these APIs define a set of C function calls. A C++ wrapper is |
| 778 | distributed with PCRE. It is documented in the pcrecpp page. | distributed with PCRE. It is documented in the pcrecpp page. |
| # | Line 676 PCRE API OVERVIEW | Line 794 PCRE API OVERVIEW |
| 794 | ||
| 795 | A second matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(), which is not Perl-compati- | A second matching function, pcre_dfa_exec(), which is not Perl-compati- |
| 796 | ble, is also provided. This uses a different algorithm for the match- | ble, is also provided. This uses a different algorithm for the match- |
| 797 | ing. This allows it to find all possible matches (at a given point in | ing. The alternative algorithm finds all possible matches (at a given |
| 798 | the subject), not just one. However, this algorithm does not return | point in the subject), and scans the subject just once. However, this |
| 799 | captured substrings. A description of the two matching algorithms and | algorithm does not return captured substrings. A description of the two |
| 800 | their advantages and disadvantages is given in the pcrematching docu- | matching algorithms and their advantages and disadvantages is given in |
| 801 | mentation. | the pcrematching documentation. |
| 802 | ||
| 803 | In addition to the main compiling and matching functions, there are | In addition to the main compiling and matching functions, there are |
| 804 | convenience functions for extracting captured substrings from a subject | convenience functions for extracting captured substrings from a subject |
| # | Line 692 PCRE API OVERVIEW | Line 810 PCRE API OVERVIEW |
| 810 | pcre_get_named_substring() | pcre_get_named_substring() |
| 811 | pcre_get_substring_list() | pcre_get_substring_list() |
| 812 | pcre_get_stringnumber() | pcre_get_stringnumber() |
| 813 | pcre_get_stringtable_entries() | |
| 814 | ||
| 815 | pcre_free_substring() and pcre_free_substring_list() are also provided, | pcre_free_substring() and pcre_free_substring_list() are also provided, |
| 816 | to free the memory used for extracted strings. | to free the memory used for extracted strings. |
| # | Line 723 PCRE API OVERVIEW | Line 842 PCRE API OVERVIEW |
| 842 | indirections to memory management functions. These special functions | indirections to memory management functions. These special functions |
| 843 | are used only when PCRE is compiled to use the heap for remembering | are used only when PCRE is compiled to use the heap for remembering |
| 844 | data, instead of recursive function calls, when running the pcre_exec() | data, instead of recursive function calls, when running the pcre_exec() |
| 845 | function. This is a non-standard way of building PCRE, for use in envi- | function. See the pcrebuild documentation for details of how to do |
| 846 | ronments that have limited stacks. Because of the greater use of memory | this. It is a non-standard way of building PCRE, for use in environ- |
| 847 | management, it runs more slowly. Separate functions are provided so | ments that have limited stacks. Because of the greater use of memory |
| 848 | that special-purpose external code can be used for this case. When | management, it runs more slowly. Separate functions are provided so |
| 849 | used, these functions are always called in a stack-like manner (last | that special-purpose external code can be used for this case. When |
| 850 | obtained, first freed), and always for memory blocks of the same size. | used, these functions are always called in a stack-like manner (last |
| 851 | obtained, first freed), and always for memory blocks of the same size. | |
| 852 | There is a discussion about PCRE's stack usage in the pcrestack docu- | |
| 853 | mentation. | |
| 854 | ||
| 855 | The global variable pcre_callout initially contains NULL. It can be set | The global variable pcre_callout initially contains NULL. It can be set |
| 856 | by the caller to a "callout" function, which PCRE will then call at | by the caller to a "callout" function, which PCRE will then call at |
| # | Line 736 PCRE API OVERVIEW | Line 858 PCRE API OVERVIEW |
| 858 | pcrecallout documentation. | pcrecallout documentation. |
| 859 | ||
| 860 | ||
| 861 | NEWLINES | |
| 862 | ||
| 863 | PCRE supports five different conventions for indicating line breaks in | |
| 864 | strings: a single CR (carriage return) character, a single LF (line- | |
| 865 | feed) character, the two-character sequence CRLF, any of the three pre- | |
| 866 | ceding, or any Unicode newline sequence. The Unicode newline sequences | |
| 867 | are the three just mentioned, plus the single characters VT (vertical | |
| 868 | tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line | |
| 869 | separator, U+2028), and PS (paragraph separator, U+2029). | |
| 870 | ||
| 871 | Each of the first three conventions is used by at least one operating | |
| 872 | system as its standard newline sequence. When PCRE is built, a default | |
| 873 | can be specified. The default default is LF, which is the Unix stan- | |
| 874 | dard. When PCRE is run, the default can be overridden, either when a | |
| 875 | pattern is compiled, or when it is matched. | |
| 876 | ||
| 877 | In the PCRE documentation the word "newline" is used to mean "the char- | |
| 878 | acter or pair of characters that indicate a line break". The choice of | |
| 879 | newline convention affects the handling of the dot, circumflex, and | |
| 880 | dollar metacharacters, the handling of #-comments in /x mode, and, when | |
| 881 | CRLF is a recognized line ending sequence, the match position advance- | |
| 882 | ment for a non-anchored pattern. The choice of newline convention does | |
| 883 | not affect the interpretation of the \n or \r escape sequences. | |
| 884 | ||
| 885 | ||
| 886 | MULTITHREADING | MULTITHREADING |
| 887 | ||
| 888 | The PCRE functions can be used in multi-threading applications, with | The PCRE functions can be used in multi-threading applications, with |
| # | Line 753 SAVING PRECOMPILED PATTERNS FOR LATER US | Line 900 SAVING PRECOMPILED PATTERNS FOR LATER US |
| 900 | The compiled form of a regular expression can be saved and re-used at a | The compiled form of a regular expression can be saved and re-used at a |
| 901 | later time, possibly by a different program, and even on a host other | later time, possibly by a different program, and even on a host other |
| 902 | than the one on which it was compiled. Details are given in the | than the one on which it was compiled. Details are given in the |
| 903 | pcreprecompile documentation. | pcreprecompile documentation. However, compiling a regular expression |
| 904 | with one version of PCRE for use with a different version is not guar- | |
| 905 | anteed to work and may cause crashes. | |
| 906 | ||
| 907 | ||
| 908 | CHECKING BUILD-TIME OPTIONS | CHECKING BUILD-TIME OPTIONS |
| # | Line 782 CHECKING BUILD-TIME OPTIONS | Line 931 CHECKING BUILD-TIME OPTIONS |
| 931 | ||
| 932 | PCRE_CONFIG_NEWLINE | PCRE_CONFIG_NEWLINE |
| 933 | ||
| 934 | The output is an integer that is set to the value of the code that is | The output is an integer whose value specifies the default character |
| 935 | used for the newline character. It is either linefeed (10) or carriage | sequence that is recognized as meaning "newline". The four values that |
| 936 | return (13), and should normally be the standard character for your | are supported are: 10 for LF, 13 for CR, 3338 for CRLF, -2 for ANYCRLF, |
| 937 | operating system. | and -1 for ANY. The default should normally be the standard sequence |
| 938 | for your operating system. | |
| 939 | ||
| 940 | PCRE_CONFIG_LINK_SIZE | PCRE_CONFIG_LINK_SIZE |
| 941 | ||
| 942 | The output is an integer that contains the number of bytes used for | The output is an integer that contains the number of bytes used for |
| 943 | internal linkage in compiled regular expressions. The value is 2, 3, or | internal linkage in compiled regular expressions. The value is 2, 3, or |
| 944 | 4. Larger values allow larger regular expressions to be compiled, at | 4. Larger values allow larger regular expressions to be compiled, at |
| 945 | the expense of slower matching. The default value of 2 is sufficient | the expense of slower matching. The default value of 2 is sufficient |
| 946 | for all but the most massive patterns, since it allows the compiled | for all but the most massive patterns, since it allows the compiled |
| 947 | pattern to be up to 64K in size. | pattern to be up to 64K in size. |
| 948 | ||
| 949 | PCRE_CONFIG_POSIX_MALLOC_THRESHOLD | PCRE_CONFIG_POSIX_MALLOC_THRESHOLD |
| 950 | ||
| 951 | The output is an integer that contains the threshold above which the | The output is an integer that contains the threshold above which the |
| 952 | POSIX interface uses malloc() for output vectors. Further details are | POSIX interface uses malloc() for output vectors. Further details are |
| 953 | given in the pcreposix documentation. | given in the pcreposix documentation. |
| 954 | ||
| 955 | PCRE_CONFIG_MATCH_LIMIT | PCRE_CONFIG_MATCH_LIMIT |
| 956 | ||
| 957 | The output is an integer that gives the default limit for the number of | The output is an integer that gives the default limit for the number of |
| 958 | internal matching function calls in a pcre_exec() execution. Further | internal matching function calls in a pcre_exec() execution. Further |
| 959 | details are given with pcre_exec() below. | details are given with pcre_exec() below. |
| 960 | ||
| 961 | PCRE_CONFIG_MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION | |
| 962 | ||
| 963 | The output is an integer that gives the default limit for the depth of | |
| 964 | recursion when calling the internal matching function in a pcre_exec() | |
| 965 | execution. Further details are given with pcre_exec() below. | |
| 966 | ||
| 967 | PCRE_CONFIG_STACKRECURSE | PCRE_CONFIG_STACKRECURSE |
| 968 | ||
| 969 | The output is an integer that is set to one if internal recursion when | The output is an integer that is set to one if internal recursion when |
| 970 | running pcre_exec() is implemented by recursive function calls that use | running pcre_exec() is implemented by recursive function calls that use |
| 971 | the stack to remember their state. This is the usual way that PCRE is | the stack to remember their state. This is the usual way that PCRE is |
| 972 | compiled. The output is zero if PCRE was compiled to use blocks of data | compiled. The output is zero if PCRE was compiled to use blocks of data |
| 973 | on the heap instead of recursive function calls. In this case, | on the heap instead of recursive function calls. In this case, |
| 974 | pcre_stack_malloc and pcre_stack_free are called to manage memory | pcre_stack_malloc and pcre_stack_free are called to manage memory |
| 975 | blocks on the heap, thus avoiding the use of the stack. | blocks on the heap, thus avoiding the use of the stack. |
| 976 | ||
| 977 | ||
| # | Line 832 COMPILING A PATTERN | Line 988 COMPILING A PATTERN |
| 988 | ||
| 989 | Either of the functions pcre_compile() or pcre_compile2() can be called | Either of the functions pcre_compile() or pcre_compile2() can be called |
| 990 | to compile a pattern into an internal form. The only difference between | to compile a pattern into an internal form. The only difference between |
| 991 | the two interfaces is that pcre_compile2() has an additional argument, | the two interfaces is that pcre_compile2() has an additional argument, |
| 992 | errorcodeptr, via which a numerical error code can be returned. | errorcodeptr, via which a numerical error code can be returned. |
| 993 | ||
| 994 | The pattern is a C string terminated by a binary zero, and is passed in | The pattern is a C string terminated by a binary zero, and is passed in |
| 995 | the pattern argument. A pointer to a single block of memory that is | the pattern argument. A pointer to a single block of memory that is |
| 996 | obtained via pcre_malloc is returned. This contains the compiled code | obtained via pcre_malloc is returned. This contains the compiled code |
| 997 | and related data. The pcre type is defined for the returned block; this | and related data. The pcre type is defined for the returned block; this |
| 998 | is a typedef for a structure whose contents are not externally defined. | is a typedef for a structure whose contents are not externally defined. |
| 999 | It is up to the caller to free the memory when it is no longer | It is up to the caller to free the memory (via pcre_free) when it is no |
| 1000 | required. | longer required. |
| 1001 | ||
| 1002 | Although the compiled code of a PCRE regex is relocatable, that is, it | Although the compiled code of a PCRE regex is relocatable, that is, it |
| 1003 | does not depend on memory location, the complete pcre data block is not | does not depend on memory location, the complete pcre data block is not |
| 1004 | fully relocatable, because it may contain a copy of the tableptr argu- | fully relocatable, because it may contain a copy of the tableptr argu- |
| 1005 | ment, which is an address (see below). | ment, which is an address (see below). |
| 1006 | ||
| 1007 | The options argument contains independent bits that affect the compila- | The options argument contains various bit settings that affect the com- |
| 1008 | tion. It should be zero if no options are required. The available | pilation. It should be zero if no options are required. The available |
| 1009 | options are described below. Some of them, in particular, those that | options are described below. Some of them, in particular, those that |
| 1010 | are compatible with Perl, can also be set and unset from within the | are compatible with Perl, can also be set and unset from within the |
| 1011 | pattern (see the detailed description in the pcrepattern documenta- | pattern (see the detailed description in the pcrepattern documenta- |
| 1012 | tion). For these options, the contents of the options argument speci- | tion). For these options, the contents of the options argument speci- |
| 1013 | fies their initial settings at the start of compilation and execution. | fies their initial settings at the start of compilation and execution. |
| 1014 | The PCRE_ANCHORED option can be set at the time of matching as well as | The PCRE_ANCHORED and PCRE_NEWLINE_xxx options can be set at the time |
| 1015 | at compile time. | of matching as well as at compile time. |
| 1016 | ||
| 1017 | If errptr is NULL, pcre_compile() returns NULL immediately. Otherwise, | If errptr is NULL, pcre_compile() returns NULL immediately. Otherwise, |
| 1018 | if compilation of a pattern fails, pcre_compile() returns NULL, and | if compilation of a pattern fails, pcre_compile() returns NULL, and |
| 1019 | sets the variable pointed to by errptr to point to a textual error mes- | sets the variable pointed to by errptr to point to a textual error mes- |
| 1020 | sage. The offset from the start of the pattern to the character where | sage. This is a static string that is part of the library. You must not |
| 1021 | the error was discovered is placed in the variable pointed to by | try to free it. The offset from the start of the pattern to the charac- |
| 1022 | erroffset, which must not be NULL. If it is, an immediate error is | ter where the error was discovered is placed in the variable pointed to |
| 1023 | by erroffset, which must not be NULL. If it is, an immediate error is | |
| 1024 | given. | given. |
| 1025 | ||
| 1026 | If pcre_compile2() is used instead of pcre_compile(), and the error- | If pcre_compile2() is used instead of pcre_compile(), and the error- |
| # | Line 926 COMPILING A PATTERN | Line 1083 COMPILING A PATTERN |
| 1083 | ||
| 1084 | If this bit is set, a dollar metacharacter in the pattern matches only | If this bit is set, a dollar metacharacter in the pattern matches only |
| 1085 | at the end of the subject string. Without this option, a dollar also | at the end of the subject string. Without this option, a dollar also |
| 1086 | matches immediately before the final character if it is a newline (but | matches immediately before a newline at the end of the string (but not |
| 1087 | not before any other newlines). The PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY option is | before any other newlines). The PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY option is ignored |
| 1088 | ignored if PCRE_MULTILINE is set. There is no equivalent to this option | if PCRE_MULTILINE is set. There is no equivalent to this option in |
| 1089 | in Perl, and no way to set it within a pattern. | Perl, and no way to set it within a pattern. |
| 1090 | ||
| 1091 | PCRE_DOTALL | PCRE_DOTALL |
| 1092 | ||
| 1093 | If this bit is set, a dot metacharater in the pattern matches all char- | If this bit is set, a dot metacharater in the pattern matches all char- |
| 1094 | acters, including newlines. Without it, newlines are excluded. This | acters, including those that indicate newline. Without it, a dot does |
| 1095 | option is equivalent to Perl's /s option, and it can be changed within | not match when the current position is at a newline. This option is |
| 1096 | a pattern by a (?s) option setting. A negative class such as [^a] | equivalent to Perl's /s option, and it can be changed within a pattern |
| 1097 | always matches a newline character, independent of the setting of this | by a (?s) option setting. A negative class such as [^a] always matches |
| 1098 | option. | newline characters, independent of the setting of this option. |
| 1099 | ||
| 1100 | PCRE_DUPNAMES | |
| 1101 | ||
| 1102 | If this bit is set, names used to identify capturing subpatterns need | |
| 1103 | not be unique. This can be helpful for certain types of pattern when it | |
| 1104 | is known that only one instance of the named subpattern can ever be | |
| 1105 | matched. There are more details of named subpatterns below; see also | |
| 1106 | the pcrepattern documentation. | |
| 1107 | ||
| 1108 | PCRE_EXTENDED | PCRE_EXTENDED |
| 1109 | ||
| # | Line 946 COMPILING A PATTERN | Line 1111 COMPILING A PATTERN |
| 1111 | totally ignored except when escaped or inside a character class. White- | totally ignored except when escaped or inside a character class. White- |
| 1112 | space does not include the VT character (code 11). In addition, charac- | space does not include the VT character (code 11). In addition, charac- |
| 1113 | ters between an unescaped # outside a character class and the next new- | ters between an unescaped # outside a character class and the next new- |
| 1114 | line character, inclusive, are also ignored. This is equivalent to | line, inclusive, are also ignored. This is equivalent to Perl's /x |
| 1115 | Perl's /x option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?x) | option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?x) option set- |
| 1116 | option setting. | ting. |
| 1117 | ||
| 1118 | This option makes it possible to include comments inside complicated | This option makes it possible to include comments inside complicated |
| 1119 | patterns. Note, however, that this applies only to data characters. | patterns. Note, however, that this applies only to data characters. |
| # | Line 964 COMPILING A PATTERN | Line 1129 COMPILING A PATTERN |
| 1129 | letter that has no special meaning causes an error, thus reserving | letter that has no special meaning causes an error, thus reserving |
| 1130 | these combinations for future expansion. By default, as in Perl, a | these combinations for future expansion. By default, as in Perl, a |
| 1131 | backslash followed by a letter with no special meaning is treated as a | backslash followed by a letter with no special meaning is treated as a |
| 1132 | literal. There are at present no other features controlled by this | literal. (Perl can, however, be persuaded to give a warning for this.) |
| 1133 | option. It can also be set by a (?X) option setting within a pattern. | There are at present no other features controlled by this option. It |
| 1134 | can also be set by a (?X) option setting within a pattern. | |
| 1135 | ||
| 1136 | PCRE_FIRSTLINE | PCRE_FIRSTLINE |
| 1137 | ||
| 1138 | If this option is set, an unanchored pattern is required to match | If this option is set, an unanchored pattern is required to match |
| 1139 | before or at the first newline character in the subject string, though | before or at the first newline in the subject string, though the |
| 1140 | the matched text may continue over the newline. | matched text may continue over the newline. |
| 1141 | ||
| 1142 | PCRE_MULTILINE | PCRE_MULTILINE |
| 1143 | ||
| 1144 | By default, PCRE treats the subject string as consisting of a single | By default, PCRE treats the subject string as consisting of a single |
| 1145 | line of characters (even if it actually contains newlines). The "start | line of characters (even if it actually contains newlines). The "start |
| 1146 | of line" metacharacter (^) matches only at the start of the string, | of line" metacharacter (^) matches only at the start of the string, |
| 1147 | while the "end of line" metacharacter ($) matches only at the end of | while the "end of line" metacharacter ($) matches only at the end of |
| 1148 | the string, or before a terminating newline (unless PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY | the string, or before a terminating newline (unless PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY |
| 1149 | is set). This is the same as Perl. | is set). This is the same as Perl. |
| 1150 | ||
| 1151 | When PCRE_MULTILINE it is set, the "start of line" and "end of line" | When PCRE_MULTILINE it is set, the "start of line" and "end of line" |
| 1152 | constructs match immediately following or immediately before any new- | constructs match immediately following or immediately before internal |
| 1153 | line in the subject string, respectively, as well as at the very start | newlines in the subject string, respectively, as well as at the very |
| 1154 | and end. This is equivalent to Perl's /m option, and it can be changed | start and end. This is equivalent to Perl's /m option, and it can be |
| 1155 | within a pattern by a (?m) option setting. If there are no "\n" charac- | changed within a pattern by a (?m) option setting. If there are no new- |
| 1156 | ters in a subject string, or no occurrences of ^ or $ in a pattern, | lines in a subject string, or no occurrences of ^ or $ in a pattern, |
| 1157 | setting PCRE_MULTILINE has no effect. | setting PCRE_MULTILINE has no effect. |
| 1158 | ||
| 1159 | PCRE_NEWLINE_CR | |
| 1160 | PCRE_NEWLINE_LF | |
| 1161 | PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF | |
| 1162 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF | |
| 1163 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY | |
| 1164 | ||
| 1165 | These options override the default newline definition that was chosen | |
| 1166 | when PCRE was built. Setting the first or the second specifies that a | |
| 1167 | newline is indicated by a single character (CR or LF, respectively). | |
| 1168 | Setting PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF specifies that a newline is indicated by the | |
| 1169 | two-character CRLF sequence. Setting PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF specifies | |
| 1170 | that any of the three preceding sequences should be recognized. Setting | |
| 1171 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY specifies that any Unicode newline sequence should be | |
| 1172 | recognized. The Unicode newline sequences are the three just mentioned, | |
| 1173 | plus the single characters VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, | |
| 1174 | U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and PS | |
| 1175 | (paragraph separator, U+2029). The last two are recognized only in | |
| 1176 | UTF-8 mode. | |
| 1177 | ||
| 1178 | The newline setting in the options word uses three bits that are | |
| 1179 | treated as a number, giving eight possibilities. Currently only six are | |
| 1180 | used (default plus the five values above). This means that if you set | |
| 1181 | more than one newline option, the combination may or may not be sensi- | |
| 1182 | ble. For example, PCRE_NEWLINE_CR with PCRE_NEWLINE_LF is equivalent to | |
| 1183 | PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF, but other combinations may yield unused numbers and | |
| 1184 | cause an error. | |
| 1185 | ||
| 1186 | The only time that a line break is specially recognized when compiling | |
| 1187 | a pattern is if PCRE_EXTENDED is set, and an unescaped # outside a | |
| 1188 | character class is encountered. This indicates a comment that lasts | |
| 1189 | until after the next line break sequence. In other circumstances, line | |
| 1190 | break sequences are treated as literal data, except that in | |
| 1191 | PCRE_EXTENDED mode, both CR and LF are treated as whitespace characters | |
| 1192 | and are therefore ignored. | |
| 1193 | ||
| 1194 | The newline option that is set at compile time becomes the default that | |
| 1195 | is used for pcre_exec() and pcre_dfa_exec(), but it can be overridden. | |
| 1196 | ||
| 1197 | PCRE_NO_AUTO_CAPTURE | PCRE_NO_AUTO_CAPTURE |
| 1198 | ||
| 1199 | If this option is set, it disables the use of numbered capturing paren- | If this option is set, it disables the use of numbered capturing paren- |
| # | Line 1031 COMPILATION ERROR CODES | Line 1235 COMPILATION ERROR CODES |
| 1235 | ||
| 1236 | The following table lists the error codes than may be returned by | The following table lists the error codes than may be returned by |
| 1237 | pcre_compile2(), along with the error messages that may be returned by | pcre_compile2(), along with the error messages that may be returned by |
| 1238 | both compiling functions. | both compiling functions. As PCRE has developed, some error codes have |
| 1239 | fallen out of use. To avoid confusion, they have not been re-used. | |
| 1240 | ||
| 1241 | 0 no error | 0 no error |
| 1242 | 1 \ at end of pattern | 1 \ at end of pattern |
| # | Line 1043 COMPILATION ERROR CODES | Line 1248 COMPILATION ERROR CODES |
| 1248 | 7 invalid escape sequence in character class | 7 invalid escape sequence in character class |
| 1249 | 8 range out of order in character class | 8 range out of order in character class |
| 1250 | 9 nothing to repeat | 9 nothing to repeat |
| 1251 | 10 operand of unlimited repeat could match the empty string | 10 [this code is not in use] |
| 1252 | 11 internal error: unexpected repeat | 11 internal error: unexpected repeat |
| 1253 | 12 unrecognized character after (? | 12 unrecognized character after (? |
| 1254 | 13 POSIX named classes are supported only within a class | 13 POSIX named classes are supported only within a class |
| # | Line 1052 COMPILATION ERROR CODES | Line 1257 COMPILATION ERROR CODES |
| 1257 | 16 erroffset passed as NULL | 16 erroffset passed as NULL |
| 1258 | 17 unknown option bit(s) set | 17 unknown option bit(s) set |
| 1259 | 18 missing ) after comment | 18 missing ) after comment |
| 1260 | 19 parentheses nested too deeply | 19 [this code is not in use] |
| 1261 | 20 regular expression too large | 20 regular expression too large |
| 1262 | 21 failed to get memory | 21 failed to get memory |
| 1263 | 22 unmatched parentheses | 22 unmatched parentheses |
| 1264 | 23 internal error: code overflow | 23 internal error: code overflow |
| 1265 | 24 unrecognized character after (?< | 24 unrecognized character after (?< |
| 1266 | 25 lookbehind assertion is not fixed length | 25 lookbehind assertion is not fixed length |
| 1267 | 26 malformed number after (?( | 26 malformed number or name after (?( |
| 1268 | 27 conditional group contains more than two branches | 27 conditional group contains more than two branches |
| 1269 | 28 assertion expected after (?( | 28 assertion expected after (?( |
| 1270 | 29 (?R or (?digits must be followed by ) | 29 (?R or (?[+-]digits must be followed by ) |
| 1271 | 30 unknown POSIX class name | 30 unknown POSIX class name |
| 1272 | 31 POSIX collating elements are not supported | 31 POSIX collating elements are not supported |
| 1273 | 32 this version of PCRE is not compiled with PCRE_UTF8 support | 32 this version of PCRE is not compiled with PCRE_UTF8 support |
| 1274 | 33 spare error | 33 [this code is not in use] |
| 1275 | 34 character value in \x{...} sequence is too large | 34 character value in \x{...} sequence is too large |
| 1276 | 35 invalid condition (?(0) | 35 invalid condition (?(0) |
| 1277 | 36 \C not allowed in lookbehind assertion | 36 \C not allowed in lookbehind assertion |
| # | Line 1075 COMPILATION ERROR CODES | Line 1280 COMPILATION ERROR CODES |
| 1280 | 39 closing ) for (?C expected | 39 closing ) for (?C expected |
| 1281 | 40 recursive call could loop indefinitely | 40 recursive call could loop indefinitely |
| 1282 | 41 unrecognized character after (?P | 41 unrecognized character after (?P |
| 1283 | 42 syntax error after (?P | 42 syntax error in subpattern name (missing terminator) |
| 1284 | 43 two named groups have the same name | 43 two named subpatterns have the same name |
| 1285 | 44 invalid UTF-8 string | 44 invalid UTF-8 string |
| 1286 | 45 support for \P, \p, and \X has not been compiled | 45 support for \P, \p, and \X has not been compiled |
| 1287 | 46 malformed \P or \p sequence | 46 malformed \P or \p sequence |
| 1288 | 47 unknown property name after \P or \p | 47 unknown property name after \P or \p |
| 1289 | 48 subpattern name is too long (maximum 32 characters) | |
| 1290 | 49 too many named subpatterns (maximum 10,000) | |
| 1291 | 50 repeated subpattern is too long | |
| 1292 | 51 octal value is greater than \377 (not in UTF-8 mode) | |
| 1293 | 52 internal error: overran compiling workspace | |
| 1294 | 53 internal error: previously-checked referenced subpattern not | |
| 1295 | found | |
| 1296 | 54 DEFINE group contains more than one branch | |
| 1297 | 55 repeating a DEFINE group is not allowed | |
| 1298 | 56 inconsistent NEWLINE options" | |
| 1299 | 57 \g is not followed by a braced name or an optionally braced | |
| 1300 | non-zero number | |
| 1301 | 58 (?+ or (?- or (?(+ or (?(- must be followed by a non-zero number | |
| 1302 | ||
| 1303 | ||
| 1304 | STUDYING A PATTERN | STUDYING A PATTERN |
| # | Line 1111 STUDYING A PATTERN | Line 1329 STUDYING A PATTERN |
| 1329 | ||
| 1330 | The third argument for pcre_study() is a pointer for an error message. | The third argument for pcre_study() is a pointer for an error message. |
| 1331 | If studying succeeds (even if no data is returned), the variable it | If studying succeeds (even if no data is returned), the variable it |
| 1332 | points to is set to NULL. Otherwise it points to a textual error mes- | points to is set to NULL. Otherwise it is set to point to a textual |
| 1333 | sage. You should therefore test the error pointer for NULL after call- | error message. This is a static string that is part of the library. You |
| 1334 | ing pcre_study(), to be sure that it has run successfully. | must not try to free it. You should test the error pointer for NULL |
| 1335 | after calling pcre_study(), to be sure that it has run successfully. | |
| 1336 | ||
| 1337 | This is a typical call to pcre_study(): | This is a typical call to pcre_study(): |
| 1338 | ||
| # | Line 1124 STUDYING A PATTERN | Line 1343 STUDYING A PATTERN |
| 1343 | &error); /* set to NULL or points to a message */ | &error); /* set to NULL or points to a message */ |
| 1344 | ||
| 1345 | At present, studying a pattern is useful only for non-anchored patterns | At present, studying a pattern is useful only for non-anchored patterns |
| 1346 | that do not have a single fixed starting character. A bitmap of possi- | that do not have a single fixed starting character. A bitmap of possi- |
| 1347 | ble starting bytes is created. | ble starting bytes is created. |
| 1348 | ||
| 1349 | ||
| 1350 | LOCALE SUPPORT | LOCALE SUPPORT |
| 1351 | ||
| 1352 | PCRE handles caseless matching, and determines whether characters are | PCRE handles caseless matching, and determines whether characters are |
| 1353 | letters digits, or whatever, by reference to a set of tables, indexed | letters, digits, or whatever, by reference to a set of tables, indexed |
| 1354 | by character value. When running in UTF-8 mode, this applies only to | by character value. When running in UTF-8 mode, this applies only to |
| 1355 | characters with codes less than 128. Higher-valued codes never match | characters with codes less than 128. Higher-valued codes never match |
| 1356 | escapes such as \w or \d, but can be tested with \p if PCRE is built | escapes such as \w or \d, but can be tested with \p if PCRE is built |
| 1357 | with Unicode character property support. | with Unicode character property support. The use of locales with Uni- |
| 1358 | code is discouraged. If you are handling characters with codes greater | |
| 1359 | An internal set of tables is created in the default C locale when PCRE | than 128, you should either use UTF-8 and Unicode, or use locales, but |
| 1360 | is built. This is used when the final argument of pcre_compile() is | not try to mix the two. |
| 1361 | NULL, and is sufficient for many applications. An alternative set of | |
| 1362 | tables can, however, be supplied. These may be created in a different | PCRE contains an internal set of tables that are used when the final |
| 1363 | locale from the default. As more and more applications change to using | argument of pcre_compile() is NULL. These are sufficient for many |
| 1364 | Unicode, the need for this locale support is expected to die away. | applications. Normally, the internal tables recognize only ASCII char- |
| 1365 | acters. However, when PCRE is built, it is possible to cause the inter- | |
| 1366 | External tables are built by calling the pcre_maketables() function, | nal tables to be rebuilt in the default "C" locale of the local system, |
| 1367 | which has no arguments, in the relevant locale. The result can then be | which may cause them to be different. |
| 1368 | passed to pcre_compile() or pcre_exec() as often as necessary. For | |
| 1369 | example, to build and use tables that are appropriate for the French | The internal tables can always be overridden by tables supplied by the |
| 1370 | locale (where accented characters with values greater than 128 are | application that calls PCRE. These may be created in a different locale |
| 1371 | from the default. As more and more applications change to using Uni- | |
| 1372 | code, the need for this locale support is expected to die away. | |
| 1373 | ||
| 1374 | External tables are built by calling the pcre_maketables() function, | |
| 1375 | which has no arguments, in the relevant locale. The result can then be | |
| 1376 | passed to pcre_compile() or pcre_exec() as often as necessary. For | |
| 1377 | example, to build and use tables that are appropriate for the French | |
| 1378 | locale (where accented characters with values greater than 128 are | |
| 1379 | treated as letters), the following code could be used: | treated as letters), the following code could be used: |
| 1380 | ||
| 1381 | setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "fr_FR"); | setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "fr_FR"); |
| 1382 | tables = pcre_maketables(); | tables = pcre_maketables(); |
| 1383 | re = pcre_compile(..., tables); | re = pcre_compile(..., tables); |
| 1384 | ||
| 1385 | The locale name "fr_FR" is used on Linux and other Unix-like systems; | |
| 1386 | if you are using Windows, the name for the French locale is "french". | |
| 1387 | ||
| 1388 | When pcre_maketables() runs, the tables are built in memory that is | When pcre_maketables() runs, the tables are built in memory that is |
| 1389 | obtained via pcre_malloc. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure | obtained via pcre_malloc. It is the caller's responsibility to ensure |
| 1390 | that the memory containing the tables remains available for as long as | that the memory containing the tables remains available for as long as |
| # | Line 1200 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN | Line 1430 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN |
| 1430 | pattern: | pattern: |
| 1431 | ||
| 1432 | int rc; | int rc; |
| 1433 | unsigned long int length; | size_t length; |
| 1434 | rc = pcre_fullinfo( | rc = pcre_fullinfo( |
| 1435 | re, /* result of pcre_compile() */ | re, /* result of pcre_compile() */ |
| 1436 | pe, /* result of pcre_study(), or NULL */ | pe, /* result of pcre_study(), or NULL */ |
| # | Line 1232 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN | Line 1462 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN |
| 1462 | PCRE_INFO_FIRSTBYTE | PCRE_INFO_FIRSTBYTE |
| 1463 | ||
| 1464 | Return information about the first byte of any matched string, for a | Return information about the first byte of any matched string, for a |
| 1465 | non-anchored pattern. (This option used to be called | non-anchored pattern. The fourth argument should point to an int vari- |
| 1466 | PCRE_INFO_FIRSTCHAR; the old name is still recognized for backwards | able. (This option used to be called PCRE_INFO_FIRSTCHAR; the old name |
| 1467 | compatibility.) | is still recognized for backwards compatibility.) |
| 1468 | ||
| 1469 | If there is a fixed first byte, for example, from a pattern such as | If there is a fixed first byte, for example, from a pattern such as |
| 1470 | (cat|cow|coyote), it is returned in the integer pointed to by where. | (cat|cow|coyote), its value is returned. Otherwise, if either |
| Otherwise, if either | ||
| 1471 | ||
| 1472 | (a) the pattern was compiled with the PCRE_MULTILINE option, and every | (a) the pattern was compiled with the PCRE_MULTILINE option, and every |
| 1473 | branch starts with "^", or | branch starts with "^", or |
| 1474 | ||
| 1475 | (b) every branch of the pattern starts with ".*" and PCRE_DOTALL is not | (b) every branch of the pattern starts with ".*" and PCRE_DOTALL is not |
| 1476 | set (if it were set, the pattern would be anchored), | set (if it were set, the pattern would be anchored), |
| 1477 | ||
| 1478 | -1 is returned, indicating that the pattern matches only at the start | -1 is returned, indicating that the pattern matches only at the start |
| 1479 | of a subject string or after any newline within the string. Otherwise | of a subject string or after any newline within the string. Otherwise |
| 1480 | -2 is returned. For anchored patterns, -2 is returned. | -2 is returned. For anchored patterns, -2 is returned. |
| 1481 | ||
| 1482 | PCRE_INFO_FIRSTTABLE | PCRE_INFO_FIRSTTABLE |
| 1483 | ||
| 1484 | If the pattern was studied, and this resulted in the construction of a | If the pattern was studied, and this resulted in the construction of a |
| 1485 | 256-bit table indicating a fixed set of bytes for the first byte in any | 256-bit table indicating a fixed set of bytes for the first byte in any |
| 1486 | matching string, a pointer to the table is returned. Otherwise NULL is | matching string, a pointer to the table is returned. Otherwise NULL is |
| 1487 | returned. The fourth argument should point to an unsigned char * vari- | returned. The fourth argument should point to an unsigned char * vari- |
| 1488 | able. | able. |
| 1489 | ||
| 1490 | PCRE_INFO_JCHANGED | |
| 1491 | ||
| 1492 | Return 1 if the (?J) option setting is used in the pattern, otherwise | |
| 1493 | 0. The fourth argument should point to an int variable. The (?J) inter- | |
| 1494 | nal option setting changes the local PCRE_DUPNAMES option. | |
| 1495 | ||
| 1496 | PCRE_INFO_LASTLITERAL | PCRE_INFO_LASTLITERAL |
| 1497 | ||
| 1498 | Return the value of the rightmost literal byte that must exist in any | Return the value of the rightmost literal byte that must exist in any |
| 1499 | matched string, other than at its start, if such a byte has been | matched string, other than at its start, if such a byte has been |
| 1500 | recorded. The fourth argument should point to an int variable. If there | recorded. The fourth argument should point to an int variable. If there |
| 1501 | is no such byte, -1 is returned. For anchored patterns, a last literal | is no such byte, -1 is returned. For anchored patterns, a last literal |
| 1502 | byte is recorded only if it follows something of variable length. For | byte is recorded only if it follows something of variable length. For |
| 1503 | example, for the pattern /^a\d+z\d+/ the returned value is "z", but for | example, for the pattern /^a\d+z\d+/ the returned value is "z", but for |
| 1504 | /^a\dz\d/ the returned value is -1. | /^a\dz\d/ the returned value is -1. |
| 1505 | ||
| # | Line 1272 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN | Line 1507 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN |
| 1507 | PCRE_INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE | PCRE_INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE |
| 1508 | PCRE_INFO_NAMETABLE | PCRE_INFO_NAMETABLE |
| 1509 | ||
| 1510 | PCRE supports the use of named as well as numbered capturing parenthe- | PCRE supports the use of named as well as numbered capturing parenthe- |
| 1511 | ses. The names are just an additional way of identifying the parenthe- | ses. The names are just an additional way of identifying the parenthe- |
| 1512 | ses, which still acquire numbers. A convenience function called | ses, which still acquire numbers. Several convenience functions such as |
| 1513 | pcre_get_named_substring() is provided for extracting an individual | pcre_get_named_substring() are provided for extracting captured sub- |
| 1514 | captured substring by name. It is also possible to extract the data | strings by name. It is also possible to extract the data directly, by |
| 1515 | directly, by first converting the name to a number in order to access | first converting the name to a number in order to access the correct |
| 1516 | the correct pointers in the output vector (described with pcre_exec() | pointers in the output vector (described with pcre_exec() below). To do |
| 1517 | below). To do the conversion, you need to use the name-to-number map, | the conversion, you need to use the name-to-number map, which is |
| 1518 | which is described by these three values. | described by these three values. |
| 1519 | ||
| 1520 | The map consists of a number of fixed-size entries. PCRE_INFO_NAMECOUNT | The map consists of a number of fixed-size entries. PCRE_INFO_NAMECOUNT |
| 1521 | gives the number of entries, and PCRE_INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE gives the size | gives the number of entries, and PCRE_INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE gives the size |
| 1522 | of each entry; both of these return an int value. The entry size | of each entry; both of these return an int value. The entry size |
| 1523 | depends on the length of the longest name. PCRE_INFO_NAMETABLE returns | depends on the length of the longest name. PCRE_INFO_NAMETABLE returns |
| 1524 | a pointer to the first entry of the table (a pointer to char). The | a pointer to the first entry of the table (a pointer to char). The |
| 1525 | first two bytes of each entry are the number of the capturing parenthe- | first two bytes of each entry are the number of the capturing parenthe- |
| 1526 | sis, most significant byte first. The rest of the entry is the corre- | sis, most significant byte first. The rest of the entry is the corre- |
| 1527 | sponding name, zero terminated. The names are in alphabetical order. | sponding name, zero terminated. The names are in alphabetical order. |
| 1528 | For example, consider the following pattern (assume PCRE_EXTENDED is | When PCRE_DUPNAMES is set, duplicate names are in order of their paren- |
| 1529 | set, so white space - including newlines - is ignored): | theses numbers. For example, consider the following pattern (assume |
| 1530 | PCRE_EXTENDED is set, so white space - including newlines - is | |
| 1531 | ignored): | |
| 1532 | ||
| 1533 | (?P<date> (?P<year>(\d\d)?\d\d) - | (?<date> (?<year>(\d\d)?\d\d) - |
| 1534 | (?P<month>\d\d) - (?P<day>\d\d) ) | (?<month>\d\d) - (?<day>\d\d) ) |
| 1535 | ||
| 1536 | There are four named subpatterns, so the table has four entries, and | There are four named subpatterns, so the table has four entries, and |
| 1537 | each entry in the table is eight bytes long. The table is as follows, | each entry in the table is eight bytes long. The table is as follows, |
| 1538 | with non-printing bytes shows in hexadecimal, and undefined bytes shown | with non-printing bytes shows in hexadecimal, and undefined bytes shown |
| 1539 | as ??: | as ??: |
| 1540 | ||
| # | Line 1306 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN | Line 1543 INFORMATION ABOUT A PATTERN |
| 1543 | 00 04 m o n t h 00 | 00 04 m o n t h 00 |
| 1544 | 00 02 y e a r 00 ?? | 00 02 y e a r 00 ?? |
| 1545 | ||
| 1546 | When writing code to extract data from named subpatterns using the | When writing code to extract data from named subpatterns using the |
| 1547 | name-to-number map, remember that the length of each entry is likely to | name-to-number map, remember that the length of the entries is likely |
| 1548 | be different for each compiled pattern. | to be different for each compiled pattern. |
| 1549 | ||
| 1550 | PCRE_INFO_OKPARTIAL | |
| 1551 | ||
| 1552 | Return 1 if the pattern can be used for partial matching, otherwise 0. | |
| 1553 | The fourth argument should point to an int variable. The pcrepartial | |
| 1554 | documentation lists the restrictions that apply to patterns when par- | |
| 1555 | tial matching is used. | |
| 1556 | ||
| 1557 | PCRE_INFO_OPTIONS | PCRE_INFO_OPTIONS |
| 1558 | ||
| # | Line 1428 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1672 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1672 | If the extra argument is not NULL, it must point to a pcre_extra data | If the extra argument is not NULL, it must point to a pcre_extra data |
| 1673 | block. The pcre_study() function returns such a block (when it doesn't | block. The pcre_study() function returns such a block (when it doesn't |
| 1674 | return NULL), but you can also create one for yourself, and pass addi- | return NULL), but you can also create one for yourself, and pass addi- |
| 1675 | tional information in it. The fields in a pcre_extra block are as fol- | tional information in it. The pcre_extra block contains the following |
| 1676 | lows: | fields (not necessarily in this order): |
| 1677 | ||
| 1678 | unsigned long int flags; | unsigned long int flags; |
| 1679 | void *study_data; | void *study_data; |
| 1680 | unsigned long int match_limit; | unsigned long int match_limit; |
| 1681 | unsigned long int match_limit_recursion; | |
| 1682 | void *callout_data; | void *callout_data; |
| 1683 | const unsigned char *tables; | const unsigned char *tables; |
| 1684 | ||
| # | Line 1442 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1687 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1687 | ||
| 1688 | PCRE_EXTRA_STUDY_DATA | PCRE_EXTRA_STUDY_DATA |
| 1689 | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT |
| 1690 | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION | |
| 1691 | PCRE_EXTRA_CALLOUT_DATA | PCRE_EXTRA_CALLOUT_DATA |
| 1692 | PCRE_EXTRA_TABLES | PCRE_EXTRA_TABLES |
| 1693 | ||
| # | Line 1458 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1704 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1704 | repeats. | repeats. |
| 1705 | ||
| 1706 | Internally, PCRE uses a function called match() which it calls repeat- | Internally, PCRE uses a function called match() which it calls repeat- |
| 1707 | edly (sometimes recursively). The limit is imposed on the number of | edly (sometimes recursively). The limit set by match_limit is imposed |
| 1708 | times this function is called during a match, which has the effect of | on the number of times this function is called during a match, which |
| 1709 | limiting the amount of recursion and backtracking that can take place. | has the effect of limiting the amount of backtracking that can take |
| 1710 | For patterns that are not anchored, the count starts from zero for each | place. For patterns that are not anchored, the count restarts from zero |
| 1711 | position in the subject string. | for each position in the subject string. |
| 1712 | ||
| 1713 | The default limit for the library can be set when PCRE is built; the | The default value for the limit can be set when PCRE is built; the |
| 1714 | default default is 10 million, which handles all but the most extreme | default default is 10 million, which handles all but the most extreme |
| 1715 | cases. You can reduce the default by suppling pcre_exec() with a | cases. You can override the default by suppling pcre_exec() with a |
| 1716 | pcre_extra block in which match_limit is set to a smaller value, and | pcre_extra block in which match_limit is set, and |
| 1717 | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT is set in the flags field. If the limit is | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT is set in the flags field. If the limit is |
| 1718 | exceeded, pcre_exec() returns PCRE_ERROR_MATCHLIMIT. | exceeded, pcre_exec() returns PCRE_ERROR_MATCHLIMIT. |
| 1719 | ||
| 1720 | The match_limit_recursion field is similar to match_limit, but instead | |
| 1721 | of limiting the total number of times that match() is called, it limits | |
| 1722 | the depth of recursion. The recursion depth is a smaller number than | |
| 1723 | the total number of calls, because not all calls to match() are recur- | |
| 1724 | sive. This limit is of use only if it is set smaller than match_limit. | |
| 1725 | ||
| 1726 | Limiting the recursion depth limits the amount of stack that can be | |
| 1727 | used, or, when PCRE has been compiled to use memory on the heap instead | |
| 1728 | of the stack, the amount of heap memory that can be used. | |
| 1729 | ||
| 1730 | The default value for match_limit_recursion can be set when PCRE is | |
| 1731 | built; the default default is the same value as the default for | |
| 1732 | match_limit. You can override the default by suppling pcre_exec() with | |
| 1733 | a pcre_extra block in which match_limit_recursion is set, and | |
| 1734 | PCRE_EXTRA_MATCH_LIMIT_RECURSION is set in the flags field. If the | |
| 1735 | limit is exceeded, pcre_exec() returns PCRE_ERROR_RECURSIONLIMIT. | |
| 1736 | ||
| 1737 | The pcre_callout field is used in conjunction with the "callout" fea- | The pcre_callout field is used in conjunction with the "callout" fea- |
| 1738 | ture, which is described in the pcrecallout documentation. | ture, which is described in the pcrecallout documentation. |
| 1739 | ||
| # | Line 1488 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1751 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1751 | Option bits for pcre_exec() | Option bits for pcre_exec() |
| 1752 | ||
| 1753 | The unused bits of the options argument for pcre_exec() must be zero. | The unused bits of the options argument for pcre_exec() must be zero. |
| 1754 | The only bits that may be set are PCRE_ANCHORED, PCRE_NOTBOL, | The only bits that may be set are PCRE_ANCHORED, PCRE_NEWLINE_xxx, |
| 1755 | PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK and PCRE_PARTIAL. | PCRE_NOTBOL, PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK and |
| 1756 | PCRE_PARTIAL. | |
| 1757 | ||
| 1758 | PCRE_ANCHORED | PCRE_ANCHORED |
| 1759 | ||
| 1760 | The PCRE_ANCHORED option limits pcre_exec() to matching at the first | The PCRE_ANCHORED option limits pcre_exec() to matching at the first |
| 1761 | matching position. If a pattern was compiled with PCRE_ANCHORED, or | matching position. If a pattern was compiled with PCRE_ANCHORED, or |
| 1762 | turned out to be anchored by virtue of its contents, it cannot be made | turned out to be anchored by virtue of its contents, it cannot be made |
| 1763 | unachored at matching time. | unachored at matching time. |
| 1764 | ||
| 1765 | PCRE_NEWLINE_CR | |
| 1766 | PCRE_NEWLINE_LF | |
| 1767 | PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF | |
| 1768 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF | |
| 1769 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY | |
| 1770 | ||
| 1771 | These options override the newline definition that was chosen or | |
| 1772 | defaulted when the pattern was compiled. For details, see the descrip- | |
| 1773 | tion of pcre_compile() above. During matching, the newline choice | |
| 1774 | affects the behaviour of the dot, circumflex, and dollar metacharac- | |
| 1775 | ters. It may also alter the way the match position is advanced after a | |
| 1776 | match failure for an unanchored pattern. When PCRE_NEWLINE_CRLF, | |
| 1777 | PCRE_NEWLINE_ANYCRLF, or PCRE_NEWLINE_ANY is set, and a match attempt | |
| 1778 | fails when the current position is at a CRLF sequence, the match posi- | |
| 1779 | tion is advanced by two characters instead of one, in other words, to | |
| 1780 | after the CRLF. | |
| 1781 | ||
| 1782 | PCRE_NOTBOL | PCRE_NOTBOL |
| 1783 | ||
| 1784 | This option specifies that first character of the subject string is not | This option specifies that first character of the subject string is not |
| # | Line 1633 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1914 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1914 | after the end of a substring. The first pair, ovector[0] and ovec- | after the end of a substring. The first pair, ovector[0] and ovec- |
| 1915 | tor[1], identify the portion of the subject string matched by the | tor[1], identify the portion of the subject string matched by the |
| 1916 | entire pattern. The next pair is used for the first capturing subpat- | entire pattern. The next pair is used for the first capturing subpat- |
| 1917 | tern, and so on. The value returned by pcre_exec() is the number of | tern, and so on. The value returned by pcre_exec() is one more than the |
| 1918 | pairs that have been set. If there are no capturing subpatterns, the | highest numbered pair that has been set. For example, if two substrings |
| 1919 | return value from a successful match is 1, indicating that just the | have been captured, the returned value is 3. If there are no capturing |
| 1920 | first pair of offsets has been set. | subpatterns, the return value from a successful match is 1, indicating |
| 1921 | that just the first pair of offsets has been set. | |
| Some convenience functions are provided for extracting the captured | ||
| substrings as separate strings. These are described in the following | ||
| section. | ||
| It is possible for an capturing subpattern number n+1 to match some | ||
| part of the subject when subpattern n has not been used at all. For | ||
| example, if the string "abc" is matched against the pattern (a|(z))(bc) | ||
| subpatterns 1 and 3 are matched, but 2 is not. When this happens, both | ||
| offset values corresponding to the unused subpattern are set to -1. | ||
| 1922 | ||
| 1923 | If a capturing subpattern is matched repeatedly, it is the last portion | If a capturing subpattern is matched repeatedly, it is the last portion |
| 1924 | of the string that it matched that is returned. | of the string that it matched that is returned. |
| 1925 | ||
| 1926 | If the vector is too small to hold all the captured substring offsets, | If the vector is too small to hold all the captured substring offsets, |
| 1927 | it is used as far as possible (up to two-thirds of its length), and the | it is used as far as possible (up to two-thirds of its length), and the |
| 1928 | function returns a value of zero. In particular, if the substring off- | function returns a value of zero. In particular, if the substring off- |
| 1929 | sets are not of interest, pcre_exec() may be called with ovector passed | sets are not of interest, pcre_exec() may be called with ovector passed |
| 1930 | as NULL and ovecsize as zero. However, if the pattern contains back | as NULL and ovecsize as zero. However, if the pattern contains back |
| 1931 | references and the ovector is not big enough to remember the related | references and the ovector is not big enough to remember the related |
| 1932 | substrings, PCRE has to get additional memory for use during matching. | substrings, PCRE has to get additional memory for use during matching. |
| 1933 | Thus it is usually advisable to supply an ovector. | Thus it is usually advisable to supply an ovector. |
| 1934 | ||
| 1935 | Note that pcre_info() can be used to find out how many capturing sub- | The pcre_info() function can be used to find out how many capturing |
| 1936 | patterns there are in a compiled pattern. The smallest size for ovector | subpatterns there are in a compiled pattern. The smallest size for |
| 1937 | that will allow for n captured substrings, in addition to the offsets | ovector that will allow for n captured substrings, in addition to the |
| 1938 | of the substring matched by the whole pattern, is (n+1)*3. | offsets of the substring matched by the whole pattern, is (n+1)*3. |
| 1939 | ||
| 1940 | It is possible for capturing subpattern number n+1 to match some part | |
| 1941 | of the subject when subpattern n has not been used at all. For example, | |
| 1942 | if the string "abc" is matched against the pattern (a|(z))(bc) the | |
| 1943 | return from the function is 4, and subpatterns 1 and 3 are matched, but | |
| 1944 | 2 is not. When this happens, both values in the offset pairs corre- | |
| 1945 | sponding to unused subpatterns are set to -1. | |
| 1946 | ||
| 1947 | Offset values that correspond to unused subpatterns at the end of the | |
| 1948 | expression are also set to -1. For example, if the string "abc" is | |
| 1949 | matched against the pattern (abc)(x(yz)?)? subpatterns 2 and 3 are not | |
| 1950 | matched. The return from the function is 2, because the highest used | |
| 1951 | capturing subpattern number is 1. However, you can refer to the offsets | |
| 1952 | for the second and third capturing subpatterns if you wish (assuming | |
| 1953 | the vector is large enough, of course). | |
| 1954 | ||
| 1955 | Return values from pcre_exec() | Some convenience functions are provided for extracting the captured |
| 1956 | substrings as separate strings. These are described below. | |
| 1957 | ||
| 1958 | If pcre_exec() fails, it returns a negative number. The following are | Error return values from pcre_exec() |
| 1959 | ||
| 1960 | If pcre_exec() fails, it returns a negative number. The following are | |
| 1961 | defined in the header file: | defined in the header file: |
| 1962 | ||
| 1963 | PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH (-1) | PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH (-1) |
| # | Line 1676 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1966 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1966 | ||
| 1967 | PCRE_ERROR_NULL (-2) | PCRE_ERROR_NULL (-2) |
| 1968 | ||
| 1969 | Either code or subject was passed as NULL, or ovector was NULL and | Either code or subject was passed as NULL, or ovector was NULL and |
| 1970 | ovecsize was not zero. | ovecsize was not zero. |
| 1971 | ||
| 1972 | PCRE_ERROR_BADOPTION (-3) | PCRE_ERROR_BADOPTION (-3) |
| # | Line 1685 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC | Line 1975 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE TRADITIONAL FUNC |
| 1975 | ||
| 1976 | PCRE_ERROR_BADMAGIC (-4) | PCRE_ERROR_BADMAGIC (-4) |
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | PCRE stores a 4-byte "magic number" at the start of the compiled code, | PCRE stores a 4-byte "magic number" at the start of the compiled code, |
| 1979 | to catch the case when it is passed a junk pointer and to detect when a | to catch the case when it is passed a junk pointer and to detect when a |
| 1980 | pattern that was compiled in an environment of one endianness is run in | pattern that was compiled in an environment of one endianness is run in |
| 1981 | an environment with the other endianness. This is the error that PCRE | an environment with the other endianness. This is the error that PCRE |
| 1982 | gives when the magic number is not present. | gives when the magic number is not present. |
| 1983 | ||
| 1984 | PCRE_ERROR_UNKNOWN_NODE (-5) | PCRE_ERROR_UNKNOWN_OPCODE (-5) |
| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | While running the pattern match, an unknown item was encountered in the | While running the pattern match, an unknown item was encountered in the |
| 1987 | compiled pattern. This error could be caused by a bug in PCRE or by | compiled pattern. This error could be caused by a bug in PCRE or by |
| 1988 | overwriting of the compiled pattern. | overwriting of the compiled pattern. |
| 1989 | ||
| 1990 | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) |
| 1991 | ||
| 1992 | If a pattern contains back references, but the ovector that is passed | If a pattern contains back references, but the ovector that is passed |
| 1993 | to pcre_exec() is not big enough to remember the referenced substrings, | to pcre_exec() is not big enough to remember the referenced substrings, |
| 1994 | PCRE gets a block of memory at the start of matching to use for this | PCRE gets a block of memory at the start of matching to use for this |
| 1995 | purpose. If the call via pcre_malloc() fails, this error is given. The | purpose. If the call via pcre_malloc() fails, this error is given. The |
| 1996 | memory is automatically freed at the end of matching. | memory is automatically freed at the end of matching. |
| 1997 | ||
| 1998 | PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) | PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) |
| 1999 | ||
| 2000 | This error is used by the pcre_copy_substring(), pcre_get_substring(), | This error is used by the pcre_copy_substring(), pcre_get_substring(), |
| 2001 | and pcre_get_substring_list() functions (see below). It is never | and pcre_get_substring_list() functions (see below). It is never |
| 2002 | returned by pcre_exec(). | returned by pcre_exec(). |
| 2003 | ||
| 2004 | PCRE_ERROR_MATCHLIMIT (-8) | PCRE_ERROR_MATCHLIMIT (-8) |
| 2005 | ||
| 2006 | The recursion and backtracking limit, as specified by the match_limit | The backtracking limit, as specified by the match_limit field in a |
| 2007 | field in a pcre_extra structure (or defaulted) was reached. See the | pcre_extra structure (or defaulted) was reached. See the description |
| 2008 | description above. | above. |
| 2009 | ||
| 2010 | PCRE_ERROR_CALLOUT (-9) | PCRE_ERROR_CALLOUT (-9) |
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | This error is never generated by pcre_exec() itself. It is provided for | This error is never generated by pcre_exec() itself. It is provided for |
| 2013 | use by callout functions that want to yield a distinctive error code. | use by callout functions that want to yield a distinctive error code. |
| 2014 | See the pcrecallout documentation for details. | See the pcrecallout documentation for details. |
| 2015 | ||
| 2016 | PCRE_ERROR_BADUTF8 (-10) | PCRE_ERROR_BADUTF8 (-10) |
| 2017 | ||
| 2018 | A string that contains an invalid UTF-8 byte sequence was passed as a | A string that contains an invalid UTF-8 byte sequence was passed as a |
| 2019 | subject. | subject. |
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | PCRE_ERROR_BADUTF8_OFFSET (-11) | PCRE_ERROR_BADUTF8_OFFSET (-11) |
| 2022 | ||
| 2023 | The UTF-8 byte sequence that was passed as a subject was valid, but the | The UTF-8 byte sequence that was passed as a subject was valid, but the |
| 2024 | value of startoffset did not point to the beginning of a UTF-8 charac- | value of startoffset did not point to the beginning of a UTF-8 charac- |
| 2025 | ter. | ter. |
| 2026 | ||
| 2027 | PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL (-12) | PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL (-12) |
| 2028 | ||
| 2029 | The subject string did not match, but it did match partially. See the | The subject string did not match, but it did match partially. See the |
| 2030 | pcrepartial documentation for details of partial matching. | pcrepartial documentation for details of partial matching. |
| 2031 | ||
| 2032 | PCRE_ERROR_BADPARTIAL (-13) | PCRE_ERROR_BADPARTIAL (-13) |
| 2033 | ||
| 2034 | The PCRE_PARTIAL option was used with a compiled pattern containing | The PCRE_PARTIAL option was used with a compiled pattern containing |
| 2035 | items that are not supported for partial matching. See the pcrepartial | items that are not supported for partial matching. See the pcrepartial |
| 2036 | documentation for details of partial matching. | documentation for details of partial matching. |
| 2037 | ||
| 2038 | PCRE_ERROR_INTERNAL (-14) | PCRE_ERROR_INTERNAL (-14) |
| 2039 | ||
| 2040 | An unexpected internal error has occurred. This error could be caused | An unexpected internal error has occurred. This error could be caused |
| 2041 | by a bug in PCRE or by overwriting of the compiled pattern. | by a bug in PCRE or by overwriting of the compiled pattern. |
| 2042 | ||
| 2043 | PCRE_ERROR_BADCOUNT (-15) | PCRE_ERROR_BADCOUNT (-15) |
| 2044 | ||
| 2045 | This error is given if the value of the ovecsize argument is negative. | This error is given if the value of the ovecsize argument is negative. |
| 2046 | ||
| 2047 | PCRE_ERROR_RECURSIONLIMIT (-21) | |
| 2048 | ||
| 2049 | The internal recursion limit, as specified by the match_limit_recursion | |
| 2050 | field in a pcre_extra structure (or defaulted) was reached. See the | |
| 2051 | description above. | |
| 2052 | ||
| 2053 | PCRE_ERROR_NULLWSLIMIT (-22) | |
| 2054 | ||
| 2055 | When a group that can match an empty substring is repeated with an | |
| 2056 | unbounded upper limit, the subject position at the start of the group | |
| 2057 | must be remembered, so that a test for an empty string can be made when | |
| 2058 | the end of the group is reached. Some workspace is required for this; | |
| 2059 | if it runs out, this error is given. | |
| 2060 | ||
| 2061 | PCRE_ERROR_BADNEWLINE (-23) | |
| 2062 | ||
| 2063 | An invalid combination of PCRE_NEWLINE_xxx options was given. | |
| 2064 | ||
| 2065 | Error numbers -16 to -20 are not used by pcre_exec(). | |
| 2066 | ||
| 2067 | ||
| 2068 | EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER | EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER |
| # | Line 1768 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER | Line 2078 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER |
| 2078 | int pcre_get_substring_list(const char *subject, | int pcre_get_substring_list(const char *subject, |
| 2079 | int *ovector, int stringcount, const char ***listptr); | int *ovector, int stringcount, const char ***listptr); |
| 2080 | ||
| 2081 | Captured substrings can be accessed directly by using the offsets | Captured substrings can be accessed directly by using the offsets |
| 2082 | returned by pcre_exec() in ovector. For convenience, the functions | returned by pcre_exec() in ovector. For convenience, the functions |
| 2083 | pcre_copy_substring(), pcre_get_substring(), and pcre_get_sub- | pcre_copy_substring(), pcre_get_substring(), and pcre_get_sub- |
| 2084 | string_list() are provided for extracting captured substrings as new, | string_list() are provided for extracting captured substrings as new, |
| 2085 | separate, zero-terminated strings. These functions identify substrings | separate, zero-terminated strings. These functions identify substrings |
| 2086 | by number. The next section describes functions for extracting named | by number. The next section describes functions for extracting named |
| 2087 | substrings. A substring that contains a binary zero is correctly | substrings. |
| 2088 | extracted and has a further zero added on the end, but the result is | |
| 2089 | not, of course, a C string. | A substring that contains a binary zero is correctly extracted and has |
| 2090 | a further zero added on the end, but the result is not, of course, a C | |
| 2091 | string. However, you can process such a string by referring to the | |
| 2092 | length that is returned by pcre_copy_substring() and pcre_get_sub- | |
| 2093 | string(). Unfortunately, the interface to pcre_get_substring_list() is | |
| 2094 | not adequate for handling strings containing binary zeros, because the | |
| 2095 | end of the final string is not independently indicated. | |
| 2096 | ||
| 2097 | The first three arguments are the same for all three of these func- | The first three arguments are the same for all three of these func- |
| 2098 | tions: subject is the subject string that has just been successfully | tions: subject is the subject string that has just been successfully |
| 2099 | matched, ovector is a pointer to the vector of integer offsets that was | matched, ovector is a pointer to the vector of integer offsets that was |
| 2100 | passed to pcre_exec(), and stringcount is the number of substrings that | passed to pcre_exec(), and stringcount is the number of substrings that |
| 2101 | were captured by the match, including the substring that matched the | were captured by the match, including the substring that matched the |
| 2102 | entire regular expression. This is the value returned by pcre_exec() if | entire regular expression. This is the value returned by pcre_exec() if |
| 2103 | it is greater than zero. If pcre_exec() returned zero, indicating that | it is greater than zero. If pcre_exec() returned zero, indicating that |
| 2104 | it ran out of space in ovector, the value passed as stringcount should | it ran out of space in ovector, the value passed as stringcount should |
| 2105 | be the number of elements in the vector divided by three. | be the number of elements in the vector divided by three. |
| 2106 | ||
| 2107 | The functions pcre_copy_substring() and pcre_get_substring() extract a | The functions pcre_copy_substring() and pcre_get_substring() extract a |
| 2108 | single substring, whose number is given as stringnumber. A value of | single substring, whose number is given as stringnumber. A value of |
| 2109 | zero extracts the substring that matched the entire pattern, whereas | zero extracts the substring that matched the entire pattern, whereas |
| 2110 | higher values extract the captured substrings. For pcre_copy_sub- | higher values extract the captured substrings. For pcre_copy_sub- |
| 2111 | string(), the string is placed in buffer, whose length is given by | string(), the string is placed in buffer, whose length is given by |
| 2112 | buffersize, while for pcre_get_substring() a new block of memory is | buffersize, while for pcre_get_substring() a new block of memory is |
| 2113 | obtained via pcre_malloc, and its address is returned via stringptr. | obtained via pcre_malloc, and its address is returned via stringptr. |
| 2114 | The yield of the function is the length of the string, not including | The yield of the function is the length of the string, not including |
| 2115 | the terminating zero, or one of | the terminating zero, or one of these error codes: |
| 2116 | ||
| 2117 | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) |
| 2118 | ||
| 2119 | The buffer was too small for pcre_copy_substring(), or the attempt to | The buffer was too small for pcre_copy_substring(), or the attempt to |
| 2120 | get memory failed for pcre_get_substring(). | get memory failed for pcre_get_substring(). |
| 2121 | ||
| 2122 | PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) | PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) |
| 2123 | ||
| 2124 | There is no substring whose number is stringnumber. | There is no substring whose number is stringnumber. |
| 2125 | ||
| 2126 | The pcre_get_substring_list() function extracts all available sub- | The pcre_get_substring_list() function extracts all available sub- |
| 2127 | strings and builds a list of pointers to them. All this is done in a | strings and builds a list of pointers to them. All this is done in a |
| 2128 | single block of memory that is obtained via pcre_malloc. The address of | single block of memory that is obtained via pcre_malloc. The address of |
| 2129 | the memory block is returned via listptr, which is also the start of | the memory block is returned via listptr, which is also the start of |
| 2130 | the list of string pointers. The end of the list is marked by a NULL | the list of string pointers. The end of the list is marked by a NULL |
| 2131 | pointer. The yield of the function is zero if all went well, or | pointer. The yield of the function is zero if all went well, or the |
| 2132 | error code | |
| 2133 | ||
| 2134 | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) | PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY (-6) |
| 2135 | ||
| # | Line 1831 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER | Line 2148 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NUMBER |
| 2148 | tively. They do nothing more than call the function pointed to by | tively. They do nothing more than call the function pointed to by |
| 2149 | pcre_free, which of course could be called directly from a C program. | pcre_free, which of course could be called directly from a C program. |
| 2150 | However, PCRE is used in some situations where it is linked via a spe- | However, PCRE is used in some situations where it is linked via a spe- |
| 2151 | cial interface to another programming language which cannot use | cial interface to another programming language that cannot use |
| 2152 | pcre_free directly; it is for these cases that the functions are pro- | pcre_free directly; it is for these cases that the functions are pro- |
| 2153 | vided. | vided. |
| 2154 | ||
| # | Line 1854 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NAME | Line 2171 EXTRACTING CAPTURED SUBSTRINGS BY NAME |
| 2171 | To extract a substring by name, you first have to find associated num- | To extract a substring by name, you first have to find associated num- |
| 2172 | ber. For example, for this pattern | ber. For example, for this pattern |
| 2173 | ||
| 2174 | (a+)b(?P<xxx>\d+)... | (a+)b(?<xxx>\d+)... |
| 2175 | ||
| 2176 | the number of the subpattern called "xxx" is 2. You can find the number | the number of the subpattern called "xxx" is 2. If the name is known to |
| 2177 | from the name by calling pcre_get_stringnumber(). The first argument is | be unique (PCRE_DUPNAMES was not set), you can find the number from the |
| 2178 | the compiled pattern, and the second is the name. The yield of the | name by calling pcre_get_stringnumber(). The first argument is the com- |
| 2179 | function is the subpattern number, or PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) if | piled pattern, and the second is the name. The yield of the function is |
| 2180 | there is no subpattern of that name. | the subpattern number, or PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) if there is no |
| 2181 | subpattern of that name. | |
| 2182 | ||
| 2183 | Given the number, you can extract the substring directly, or use one of | Given the number, you can extract the substring directly, or use one of |
| 2184 | the functions described in the previous section. For convenience, there | the functions described in the previous section. For convenience, there |
| 2185 | are also two functions that do the whole job. | are also two functions that do the whole job. |
| 2186 | ||
| 2187 | Most of the arguments of pcre_copy_named_substring() and | Most of the arguments of pcre_copy_named_substring() and |
| 2188 | pcre_get_named_substring() are the same as those for the similarly | pcre_get_named_substring() are the same as those for the similarly |
| 2189 | named functions that extract by number. As these are described in the | named functions that extract by number. As these are described in the |
| 2190 | previous section, they are not re-described here. There are just two | previous section, they are not re-described here. There are just two |
| 2191 | differences: | differences: |
| 2192 | ||
| 2193 | First, instead of a substring number, a substring name is given. Sec- | First, instead of a substring number, a substring name is given. Sec- |
| 2194 | ond, there is an extra argument, given at the start, which is a pointer | ond, there is an extra argument, given at the start, which is a pointer |
| 2195 | to the compiled pattern. This is needed in order to gain access to the | to the compiled pattern. This is needed in order to gain access to the |
| 2196 | name-to-number translation table. | name-to-number translation table. |
| 2197 | ||
| 2198 | These functions call pcre_get_stringnumber(), and if it succeeds, they | These functions call pcre_get_stringnumber(), and if it succeeds, they |
| 2199 | then call pcre_copy_substring() or pcre_get_substring(), as appropri- | then call pcre_copy_substring() or pcre_get_substring(), as appropri- |
| 2200 | ate. | ate. NOTE: If PCRE_DUPNAMES is set and there are duplicate names, the |
| 2201 | behaviour may not be what you want (see the next section). | |
| 2202 | ||
| 2203 | ||
| 2204 | DUPLICATE SUBPATTERN NAMES | |
| 2205 | ||
| 2206 | int pcre_get_stringtable_entries(const pcre *code, | |
| 2207 | const char *name, char **first, char **last); | |
| 2208 | ||
| 2209 | When a pattern is compiled with the PCRE_DUPNAMES option, names for | |
| 2210 | subpatterns are not required to be unique. Normally, patterns with | |
| 2211 | duplicate names are such that in any one match, only one of the named | |
| 2212 | subpatterns participates. An example is shown in the pcrepattern docu- | |
| 2213 | mentation. When duplicates are present, pcre_copy_named_substring() and | |
| 2214 | pcre_get_named_substring() return the first substring corresponding to | |
| 2215 | the given name that is set. If none are set, an empty string is | |
| 2216 | returned. The pcre_get_stringnumber() function returns one of the num- | |
| 2217 | bers that are associated with the name, but it is not defined which it | |
| 2218 | is. | |
| 2219 | ||
| 2220 | If you want to get full details of all captured substrings for a given | |
| 2221 | name, you must use the pcre_get_stringtable_entries() function. The | |
| 2222 | first argument is the compiled pattern, and the second is the name. The | |
| 2223 | third and fourth are pointers to variables which are updated by the | |
| 2224 | function. After it has run, they point to the first and last entries in | |
| 2225 | the name-to-number table for the given name. The function itself | |
| 2226 | returns the length of each entry, or PCRE_ERROR_NOSUBSTRING (-7) if | |
| 2227 | there are none. The format of the table is described above in the sec- | |
| 2228 | tion entitled Information about a pattern. Given all the relevant | |
| 2229 | entries for the name, you can extract each of their numbers, and hence | |
| 2230 | the captured data, if any. | |
| 2231 | ||
| 2232 | ||
| 2233 | FINDING ALL POSSIBLE MATCHES | FINDING ALL POSSIBLE MATCHES |
| 2234 | ||
| 2235 | The traditional matching function uses a similar algorithm to Perl, | The traditional matching function uses a similar algorithm to Perl, |
| 2236 | which stops when it finds the first match, starting at a given point in | which stops when it finds the first match, starting at a given point in |
| 2237 | the subject. If you want to find all possible matches, or the longest | the subject. If you want to find all possible matches, or the longest |
| 2238 | possible match, consider using the alternative matching function (see | possible match, consider using the alternative matching function (see |
| 2239 | below) instead. If you cannot use the alternative function, but still | below) instead. If you cannot use the alternative function, but still |
| 2240 | need to find all possible matches, you can kludge it up by making use | need to find all possible matches, you can kludge it up by making use |
| 2241 | of the callout facility, which is described in the pcrecallout documen- | of the callout facility, which is described in the pcrecallout documen- |
| 2242 | tation. | tation. |
| 2243 | ||
| 2244 | What you have to do is to insert a callout right at the end of the pat- | What you have to do is to insert a callout right at the end of the pat- |
| 2245 | tern. When your callout function is called, extract and save the cur- | tern. When your callout function is called, extract and save the cur- |
| 2246 | rent matched substring. Then return 1, which forces pcre_exec() to | rent matched substring. Then return 1, which forces pcre_exec() to |
| 2247 | backtrack and try other alternatives. Ultimately, when it runs out of | backtrack and try other alternatives. Ultimately, when it runs out of |
| 2248 | matches, pcre_exec() will yield PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH. | matches, pcre_exec() will yield PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH. |
| 2249 | ||
| 2250 | ||
| # | Line 1907 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2255 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2255 | int options, int *ovector, int ovecsize, | int options, int *ovector, int ovecsize, |
| 2256 | int *workspace, int wscount); | int *workspace, int wscount); |
| 2257 | ||
| 2258 | The function pcre_dfa_exec() is called to match a subject string | The function pcre_dfa_exec() is called to match a subject string |
| 2259 | against a compiled pattern, using a "DFA" matching algorithm. This has | against a compiled pattern, using a matching algorithm that scans the |
| 2260 | different characteristics to the normal algorithm, and is not compati- | subject string just once, and does not backtrack. This has different |
| 2261 | ble with Perl. Some of the features of PCRE patterns are not supported. | characteristics to the normal algorithm, and is not compatible with |
| 2262 | Nevertheless, there are times when this kind of matching can be useful. | Perl. Some of the features of PCRE patterns are not supported. Never- |
| 2263 | For a discussion of the two matching algorithms, see the pcrematching | theless, there are times when this kind of matching can be useful. For |
| 2264 | documentation. | a discussion of the two matching algorithms, see the pcrematching docu- |
| 2265 | mentation. | |
| 2266 | ||
| 2267 | The arguments for the pcre_dfa_exec() function are the same as for | The arguments for the pcre_dfa_exec() function are the same as for |
| 2268 | pcre_exec(), plus two extras. The ovector argument is used in a differ- | pcre_exec(), plus two extras. The ovector argument is used in a differ- |
| # | Line 1925 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2274 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2274 | workspace vector should contain at least 20 elements. It is used for | workspace vector should contain at least 20 elements. It is used for |
| 2275 | keeping track of multiple paths through the pattern tree. More | keeping track of multiple paths through the pattern tree. More |
| 2276 | workspace will be needed for patterns and subjects where there are a | workspace will be needed for patterns and subjects where there are a |
| 2277 | lot of possible matches. | lot of potential matches. |
| 2278 | ||
| 2279 | Here is an example of a simple call to pcre_exec(): | Here is an example of a simple call to pcre_dfa_exec(): |
| 2280 | ||
| 2281 | int rc; | int rc; |
| 2282 | int ovector[10]; | int ovector[10]; |
| 2283 | int wspace[20]; | int wspace[20]; |
| 2284 | rc = pcre_exec( | rc = pcre_dfa_exec( |
| 2285 | re, /* result of pcre_compile() */ | re, /* result of pcre_compile() */ |
| 2286 | NULL, /* we didn't study the pattern */ | NULL, /* we didn't study the pattern */ |
| 2287 | "some string", /* the subject string */ | "some string", /* the subject string */ |
| # | Line 1947 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2296 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2296 | Option bits for pcre_dfa_exec() | Option bits for pcre_dfa_exec() |
| 2297 | ||
| 2298 | The unused bits of the options argument for pcre_dfa_exec() must be | The unused bits of the options argument for pcre_dfa_exec() must be |
| 2299 | zero. The only bits that may be set are PCRE_ANCHORED, PCRE_NOTBOL, | zero. The only bits that may be set are PCRE_ANCHORED, PCRE_NEW- |
| 2300 | PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK, PCRE_PARTIAL, | LINE_xxx, PCRE_NOTBOL, PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK, |
| 2301 | PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST, and PCRE_DFA_RESTART. All but the last three of | PCRE_PARTIAL, PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST, and PCRE_DFA_RESTART. All but the last |
| 2302 | these are the same as for pcre_exec(), so their description is not | three of these are the same as for pcre_exec(), so their description is |
| 2303 | repeated here. | not repeated here. |
| 2304 | ||
| 2305 | PCRE_PARTIAL | PCRE_PARTIAL |
| 2306 | ||
| # | Line 1966 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2315 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2315 | PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST | PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST |
| 2316 | ||
| 2317 | Setting the PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST option causes the matching algorithm to | Setting the PCRE_DFA_SHORTEST option causes the matching algorithm to |
| 2318 | stop as soon as it has found one match. Because of the way the DFA | stop as soon as it has found one match. Because of the way the alterna- |
| 2319 | algorithm works, this is necessarily the shortest possible match at the | tive algorithm works, this is necessarily the shortest possible match |
| 2320 | first possible matching point in the subject string. | at the first possible matching point in the subject string. |
| 2321 | ||
| 2322 | PCRE_DFA_RESTART | PCRE_DFA_RESTART |
| 2323 | ||
| # | Line 2004 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2353 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2353 | On success, the yield of the function is a number greater than zero, | On success, the yield of the function is a number greater than zero, |
| 2354 | which is the number of matched substrings. The substrings themselves | which is the number of matched substrings. The substrings themselves |
| 2355 | are returned in ovector. Each string uses two elements; the first is | are returned in ovector. Each string uses two elements; the first is |
| 2356 | the offset to the start, and the second is the offset to the end. All | the offset to the start, and the second is the offset to the end. In |
| 2357 | the strings have the same start offset. (Space could have been saved by | fact, all the strings have the same start offset. (Space could have |
| 2358 | giving this only once, but it was decided to retain some compatibility | been saved by giving this only once, but it was decided to retain some |
| 2359 | with the way pcre_exec() returns data, even though the meaning of the | compatibility with the way pcre_exec() returns data, even though the |
| 2360 | strings is different.) | meaning of the strings is different.) |
| 2361 | ||
| 2362 | The strings are returned in reverse order of length; that is, the long- | The strings are returned in reverse order of length; that is, the long- |
| 2363 | est matching string is given first. If there were too many matches to | est matching string is given first. If there were too many matches to |
| # | Line 2030 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2379 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2379 | ||
| 2380 | PCRE_ERROR_DFA_UCOND (-17) | PCRE_ERROR_DFA_UCOND (-17) |
| 2381 | ||
| 2382 | This return is given if pcre_dfa_exec() encounters a condition item in | This return is given if pcre_dfa_exec() encounters a condition item |
| 2383 | a pattern that uses a back reference for the condition. This is not | that uses a back reference for the condition, or a test for recursion |
| 2384 | supported. | in a specific group. These are not supported. |
| 2385 | ||
| 2386 | PCRE_ERROR_DFA_UMLIMIT (-18) | PCRE_ERROR_DFA_UMLIMIT (-18) |
| 2387 | ||
| # | Line 2052 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC | Line 2401 MATCHING A PATTERN: THE ALTERNATIVE FUNC |
| 2401 | This error is given if the output vector is not large enough. This | This error is given if the output vector is not large enough. This |
| 2402 | should be extremely rare, as a vector of size 1000 is used. | should be extremely rare, as a vector of size 1000 is used. |
| 2403 | ||
| 2404 | Last updated: 16 May 2005 | |
| 2405 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | SEE ALSO |
| 2406 | ||
| 2407 | pcrebuild(3), pcrecallout(3), pcrecpp(3)(3), pcrematching(3), pcrepar- | |
| 2408 | tial(3), pcreposix(3), pcreprecompile(3), pcresample(3), pcrestack(3). | |
| 2409 | ||
| 2410 | ||
| 2411 | AUTHOR | |
| 2412 | ||
| 2413 | Philip Hazel | |
| 2414 | University Computing Service | |
| 2415 | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. | |
| 2416 | ||
| 2417 | ||
| 2418 | REVISION | |
| 2419 | ||
| 2420 | Last updated: 13 June 2007 | |
| 2421 | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. | |
| 2422 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 2423 | ||
| 2424 | ||
| # | Line 2080 PCRE CALLOUTS | Line 2445 PCRE CALLOUTS |
| 2445 | default value is zero. For example, this pattern has two callout | default value is zero. For example, this pattern has two callout |
| 2446 | points: | points: |
| 2447 | ||
| 2448 | (?C1)eabc(?C2)def | (?C1)abc(?C2)def |
| 2449 | ||
| 2450 | If the PCRE_AUTO_CALLOUT option bit is set when pcre_compile() is | If the PCRE_AUTO_CALLOUT option bit is set when pcre_compile() is |
| 2451 | called, PCRE automatically inserts callouts, all with number 255, | called, PCRE automatically inserts callouts, all with number 255, |
| # | Line 2155 THE CALLOUT INTERFACE | Line 2520 THE CALLOUT INTERFACE |
| 2520 | The subject and subject_length fields contain copies of the values that | The subject and subject_length fields contain copies of the values that |
| 2521 | were passed to pcre_exec(). | were passed to pcre_exec(). |
| 2522 | ||
| 2523 | The start_match field contains the offset within the subject at which | The start_match field normally contains the offset within the subject |
| 2524 | the current match attempt started. If the pattern is not anchored, the | at which the current match attempt started. However, if the escape |
| 2525 | callout function may be called several times from the same point in the | sequence \K has been encountered, this value is changed to reflect the |
| 2526 | pattern for different starting points in the subject. | modified starting point. If the pattern is not anchored, the callout |
| 2527 | function may be called several times from the same point in the pattern | |
| 2528 | for different starting points in the subject. | |
| 2529 | ||
| 2530 | The current_position field contains the offset within the subject of | The current_position field contains the offset within the subject of |
| 2531 | the current match pointer. | the current match pointer. |
| # | Line 2211 RETURN VALUES | Line 2578 RETURN VALUES |
| 2578 | reserved for use by callout functions; it will never be used by PCRE | reserved for use by callout functions; it will never be used by PCRE |
| 2579 | itself. | itself. |
| 2580 | ||
| 2581 | Last updated: 28 February 2005 | |
| 2582 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | AUTHOR |
| 2583 | ||
| 2584 | Philip Hazel | |
| 2585 | University Computing Service | |
| 2586 | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. | |
| 2587 | ||
| 2588 | ||
| 2589 | REVISION | |
| 2590 | ||
| 2591 | Last updated: 29 May 2007 | |
| 2592 | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. | |
| 2593 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 2594 | ||
| 2595 | ||
| # | Line 2226 NAME | Line 2603 NAME |
| 2603 | DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL | DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL |
| 2604 | ||
| 2605 | This document describes the differences in the ways that PCRE and Perl | This document describes the differences in the ways that PCRE and Perl |
| 2606 | handle regular expressions. The differences described here are with | handle regular expressions. The differences described here are mainly |
| 2607 | respect to Perl 5.8. | with respect to Perl 5.8, though PCRE versions 7.0 and later contain |
| 2608 | some features that are expected to be in the forthcoming Perl 5.10. | |
| 2609 | 1. PCRE does not have full UTF-8 support. Details of what it does have | |
| 2610 | are given in the section on UTF-8 support in the main pcre page. | 1. PCRE has only a subset of Perl's UTF-8 and Unicode support. Details |
| 2611 | of what it does have are given in the section on UTF-8 support in the | |
| 2612 | main pcre page. | |
| 2613 | ||
| 2614 | 2. PCRE does not allow repeat quantifiers on lookahead assertions. Perl | 2. PCRE does not allow repeat quantifiers on lookahead assertions. Perl |
| 2615 | permits them, but they do not mean what you might think. For example, | permits them, but they do not mean what you might think. For example, |
| # | Line 2257 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL | Line 2636 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL |
| 2636 | 6. The Perl escape sequences \p, \P, and \X are supported only if PCRE | 6. The Perl escape sequences \p, \P, and \X are supported only if PCRE |
| 2637 | is built with Unicode character property support. The properties that | is built with Unicode character property support. The properties that |
| 2638 | can be tested with \p and \P are limited to the general category prop- | can be tested with \p and \P are limited to the general category prop- |
| 2639 | erties such as Lu and Nd. | erties such as Lu and Nd, script names such as Greek or Han, and the |
| 2640 | derived properties Any and L&. | |
| 2641 | ||
| 2642 | 7. PCRE does support the \Q...\E escape for quoting substrings. Charac- | 7. PCRE does support the \Q...\E escape for quoting substrings. Charac- |
| 2643 | ters in between are treated as literals. This is slightly different | ters in between are treated as literals. This is slightly different |
| 2644 | from Perl in that $ and @ are also handled as literals inside the | from Perl in that $ and @ are also handled as literals inside the |
| 2645 | quotes. In Perl, they cause variable interpolation (but of course PCRE | quotes. In Perl, they cause variable interpolation (but of course PCRE |
| 2646 | does not have variables). Note the following examples: | does not have variables). Note the following examples: |
| 2647 | ||
| 2648 | Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches | Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches |
| # | Line 2272 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL | Line 2652 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL |
| 2652 | \Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz | \Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz |
| 2653 | \Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz | \Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz |
| 2654 | ||
| 2655 | The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside character | The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside character |
| 2656 | classes. | classes. |
| 2657 | ||
| 2658 | 8. Fairly obviously, PCRE does not support the (?{code}) and (?p{code}) | 8. Fairly obviously, PCRE does not support the (?{code}) and (??{code}) |
| 2659 | constructions. However, there is support for recursive patterns using | constructions. However, there is support for recursive patterns. This |
| 2660 | the non-Perl items (?R), (?number), and (?P>name). Also, the PCRE | is not available in Perl 5.8, but will be in Perl 5.10. Also, the PCRE |
| 2661 | "callout" feature allows an external function to be called during pat- | "callout" feature allows an external function to be called during pat- |
| 2662 | tern matching. See the pcrecallout documentation for details. | tern matching. See the pcrecallout documentation for details. |
| 2663 | ||
| 2664 | 9. There are some differences that are concerned with the settings of | 9. Subpatterns that are called recursively or as "subroutines" are |
| 2665 | captured strings when part of a pattern is repeated. For example, | always treated as atomic groups in PCRE. This is like Python, but |
| 2666 | matching "aba" against the pattern /^(a(b)?)+$/ in Perl leaves $2 | unlike Perl. |
| 2667 | ||
| 2668 | 10. There are some differences that are concerned with the settings of | |
| 2669 | captured strings when part of a pattern is repeated. For example, | |
| 2670 | matching "aba" against the pattern /^(a(b)?)+$/ in Perl leaves $2 | |
| 2671 | unset, but in PCRE it is set to "b". | unset, but in PCRE it is set to "b". |
| 2672 | ||
| 2673 | 10. PCRE provides some extensions to the Perl regular expression facil- | 11. PCRE provides some extensions to the Perl regular expression facil- |
| 2674 | ities: | ities. Perl 5.10 will include new features that are not in earlier |
| 2675 | versions, some of which (such as named parentheses) have been in PCRE | |
| 2676 | for some time. This list is with respect to Perl 5.10: | |
| 2677 | ||
| 2678 | (a) Although lookbehind assertions must match fixed length strings, | (a) Although lookbehind assertions must match fixed length strings, |
| 2679 | each alternative branch of a lookbehind assertion can match a different | each alternative branch of a lookbehind assertion can match a different |
| 2680 | length of string. Perl requires them all to have the same length. | length of string. Perl requires them all to have the same length. |
| 2681 | ||
| 2682 | (b) If PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY is set and PCRE_MULTILINE is not set, the $ | (b) If PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY is set and PCRE_MULTILINE is not set, the $ |
| 2683 | meta-character matches only at the very end of the string. | meta-character matches only at the very end of the string. |
| 2684 | ||
| 2685 | (c) If PCRE_EXTRA is set, a backslash followed by a letter with no spe- | (c) If PCRE_EXTRA is set, a backslash followed by a letter with no spe- |
| 2686 | cial meaning is faulted. | cial meaning is faulted. Otherwise, like Perl, the backslash is quietly |
| 2687 | ignored. (Perl can be made to issue a warning.) | |
| 2688 | ||
| 2689 | (d) If PCRE_UNGREEDY is set, the greediness of the repetition quanti- | (d) If PCRE_UNGREEDY is set, the greediness of the repetition quanti- |
| 2690 | fiers is inverted, that is, by default they are not greedy, but if fol- | fiers is inverted, that is, by default they are not greedy, but if fol- |
| # | Line 2309 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL | Line 2696 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PCRE AND PERL |
| 2696 | (f) The PCRE_NOTBOL, PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, and PCRE_NO_AUTO_CAP- | (f) The PCRE_NOTBOL, PCRE_NOTEOL, PCRE_NOTEMPTY, and PCRE_NO_AUTO_CAP- |
| 2697 | TURE options for pcre_exec() have no Perl equivalents. | TURE options for pcre_exec() have no Perl equivalents. |
| 2698 | ||
| 2699 | (g) The (?R), (?number), and (?P>name) constructs allows for recursive | (g) The callout facility is PCRE-specific. |
| pattern matching (Perl can do this using the (?p{code}) construct, | ||
| which PCRE cannot support.) | ||
| 2700 | ||
| 2701 | (h) PCRE supports named capturing substrings, using the Python syntax. | (h) The partial matching facility is PCRE-specific. |
| 2702 | ||
| 2703 | (i) PCRE supports the possessive quantifier "++" syntax, taken from | (i) Patterns compiled by PCRE can be saved and re-used at a later time, |
| 2704 | Sun's Java package. | even on different hosts that have the other endianness. |
| 2705 | ||
| 2706 | (j) The (R) condition, for testing recursion, is a PCRE extension. | (j) The alternative matching function (pcre_dfa_exec()) matches in a |
| 2707 | different way and is not Perl-compatible. | |
| 2708 | ||
| (k) The callout facility is PCRE-specific. | ||
| 2709 | ||
| 2710 | (l) The partial matching facility is PCRE-specific. | AUTHOR |
| 2711 | ||
| 2712 | (m) Patterns compiled by PCRE can be saved and re-used at a later time, | Philip Hazel |
| 2713 | even on different hosts that have the other endianness. | University Computing Service |
| 2714 | Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. | |
| 2715 | ||
| (n) The alternative matching function (pcre_dfa_exec()) matches in a | ||
| different way and is not Perl-compatible. | ||
| 2716 | ||
| 2717 | Last updated: 28 February 2005 | REVISION |
| 2718 | Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge. | |
| 2719 | Last updated: 13 June 2007 | |
| 2720 | Copyright (c) 1997-2007 University of Cambridge. | |
| 2721 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| 2722 | ||
| 2723 | ||
| # | Line 2363 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS | Line 2749 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS |
| 2749 | ported by PCRE when its main matching function, pcre_exec(), is used. | ported by PCRE when its main matching function, pcre_exec(), is used. |
| 2750 | From release 6.0, PCRE offers a second matching function, | From release 6.0, PCRE offers a second matching function, |
| 2751 | pcre_dfa_exec(), which matches using a different algorithm that is not | pcre_dfa_exec(), which matches using a different algorithm that is not |
| 2752 | Perl-compatible. The advantages and disadvantages of the alternative | Perl-compatible. Some of the features discussed below are not available |
| 2753 | function, and how it differs from the normal function, are discussed in | when pcre_dfa_exec() is used. The advantages and disadvantages of the |
| 2754 | the pcrematching page. | alternative function, and how it differs from the normal function, are |
| 2755 | discussed in the pcrematching page. | |
| 2756 | A regular expression is a pattern that is matched against a subject | |
| 2757 | string from left to right. Most characters stand for themselves in a | |
| 2758 | pattern, and match the corresponding characters in the subject. As a | CHARACTERS AND METACHARACTERS |
| 2759 | ||
| 2760 | A regular expression is a pattern that is matched against a subject | |
| 2761 | string from left to right. Most characters stand for themselves in a | |
| 2762 | pattern, and match the corresponding characters in the subject. As a | |
| 2763 | trivial example, the pattern | trivial example, the pattern |
| 2764 | ||
| 2765 | The quick brown fox | The quick brown fox |
| 2766 | ||
| 2767 | matches a portion of a subject string that is identical to itself. When | matches a portion of a subject string that is identical to itself. When |
| 2768 | caseless matching is specified (the PCRE_CASELESS option), letters are | caseless matching is specified (the PCRE_CASELESS option), letters are |
| 2769 | matched independently of case. In UTF-8 mode, PCRE always understands | matched independently of case. In UTF-8 mode, PCRE always understands |
| 2770 | the concept of case for characters whose values are less than 128, so | the concept of case for characters whose values are less than 128, so |
| 2771 | caseless matching is always possible. For characters with higher val- | caseless matching is always possible. For characters with higher val- |
| 2772 | ues, the concept of case is supported if PCRE is compiled with Unicode | ues, the concept of case is supported if PCRE is compiled with Unicode |
| 2773 | property support, but not otherwise. If you want to use caseless | property support, but not otherwise. If you want to use caseless |
| 2774 | matching for characters 128 and above, you must ensure that PCRE is | matching for characters 128 and above, you must ensure that PCRE is |
| 2775 | compiled with Unicode property support as well as with UTF-8 support. | compiled with Unicode property support as well as with UTF-8 support. |
| 2776 | ||
| 2777 | The power of regular expressions comes from the ability to include | The power of regular expressions comes from the ability to include |
| 2778 | alternatives and repetitions in the pattern. These are encoded in the | alternatives and repetitions in the pattern. These are encoded in the |
| 2779 | pattern by the use of metacharacters, which do not stand for themselves | pattern by the use of metacharacters, which do not stand for themselves |
| 2780 | but instead are interpreted in some special way. | but instead are interpreted in some special way. |
| 2781 | ||
| 2782 | There are two different sets of metacharacters: those that are recog- | There are two different sets of metacharacters: those that are recog- |
| 2783 | nized anywhere in the pattern except within square brackets, and those | nized anywhere in the pattern except within square brackets, and those |
| 2784 | that are recognized in square brackets. Outside square brackets, the | that are recognized within square brackets. Outside square brackets, |
| 2785 | metacharacters are as follows: | the metacharacters are as follows: |
| 2786 | ||
| 2787 | \ general escape character with several uses | \ general escape character with several uses |
| 2788 | ^ assert start of string (or line, in multiline mode) | ^ assert start of string (or line, in multiline mode) |
| # | Line 2410 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS | Line 2800 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS |
| 2800 | also "possessive quantifier" | also "possessive quantifier" |
| 2801 | { start min/max quantifier | { start min/max quantifier |
| 2802 | ||
| 2803 | Part of a pattern that is in square brackets is called a "character | Part of a pattern that is in square brackets is called a "character |
| 2804 | class". In a character class the only metacharacters are: | class". In a character class the only metacharacters are: |
| 2805 | ||
| 2806 | \ general escape character | \ general escape character |
| # | Line 2420 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS | Line 2810 PCRE REGULAR EXPRESSION DETAILS |
| 2810 | syntax) | syntax) |
| 2811 | ] terminates the character class | ] terminates the character class |
| 2812 | ||
| 2813 | The following sections describe the use of each of the metacharacters. | The following sections describe the use of each of the metacharacters. |
| 2814 | ||
| 2815 | ||
| 2816 | BACKSLASH | BACKSLASH |
| 2817 | ||
| 2818 | The backslash character has several uses. Firstly, if it is followed by | The backslash character has several uses. Firstly, if it is followed by |
| 2819 | a non-alphanumeric character, it takes away any special meaning that | a non-alphanumeric character, it takes away any special meaning that |
| 2820 | character may have. This use of backslash as an escape character | character may have. This use of backslash as an escape character |
| 2821 | applies both inside and outside character classes. | applies both inside and outside character classes. |
| 2822 | ||
| 2823 | For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \* in the | For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \* in the |
| 2824 | pattern. This escaping action applies whether or not the following | pattern. This escaping action applies whether or not the following |
| 2825 | character would otherwise be interpreted as a metacharacter, so it is | character would otherwise be interpreted as a metacharacter, so it is |
| 2826 | always safe to precede a non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify | always safe to precede a non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify |
| 2827 | that it stands for itself. In particular, if you want to match a back- | that it stands for itself. In particular, if you want to match a back- |
| 2828 | slash, you write \\. | slash, you write \\. |
| 2829 | ||
| 2830 | If a pattern is compiled with the PCRE_EXTENDED option, whitespace in | If a pattern is compiled with the PCRE_EXTENDED option, whitespace in |
| 2831 | the pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a | the pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a |
| 2832 | # outside a character class and the next newline character are ignored. | # outside a character class and the next newline are ignored. An escap- |
| 2833 | An escaping backslash can be used to include a whitespace or # charac- | ing backslash can be used to include a whitespace or # character as |
| 2834 | ter as part of the pattern. | part of the pattern. |
| 2835 | ||
| 2836 | If you want to remove the special meaning from a sequence of charac- | If you want to remove the special meaning from a sequence of charac- |
| 2837 | ters, you can do so by putting them between \Q and \E. This is differ- | ters, you can do so by putting them between \Q and \E. This is differ- |
| 2838 | ent from Perl in that $ and @ are handled as literals in \Q...\E | ent from Perl in that $ and @ are handled as literals in \Q...\E |
| 2839 | sequences in PCRE, whereas in Perl, $ and @ cause variable interpola- | sequences in PCRE, whereas in Perl, $ and @ cause variable interpola- |
| 2840 | tion. Note the following examples: | tion. Note the following examples: |
| 2841 | ||
| 2842 | Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches | Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches |
| # | Line 2456 BACKSLASH | Line 2846 BACKSLASH |
| 2846 | \Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz | \Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz |
| 2847 | \Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz | \Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz |
| 2848 | ||
| 2849 | The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside character | The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside character |
| 2850 | classes. | classes. |
| 2851 | ||
| 2852 | Non-printing characters | Non-printing characters |
| 2853 | ||
| 2854 | A second use of backslash provides a way of encoding non-printing char- | A second use of backslash provides a way of encoding non-printing char- |
| 2855 | acters in patterns in a visible manner. There is no restriction on the | acters in patterns in a visible manner. There is no restriction on the |
| 2856 | appearance of non-printing characters, apart from the binary zero that | appearance of non-printing characters, apart from the binary zero that |
| 2857 | terminates a pattern, but when a pattern is being prepared by text | terminates a pattern, but when a pattern is being prepared by text |
| 2858 | editing, it is usually easier to use one of the following escape | editing, it is usually easier to use one of the following escape |
| 2859 | sequences than the binary character it represents: | sequences than the binary character it represents: |
| 2860 | ||
| 2861 | \a alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07) | \a alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07) |
| # | Line 2477 BACKSLASH | Line 2867 BACKSLASH |
| 2867 | \t tab (hex 09) | \t tab (hex 09) |
| 2868 | \ddd character with octal code ddd, or backreference | \ddd character with octal code ddd, or backreference |
| 2869 | \xhh character with hex code hh | \xhh character with hex code hh |
| 2870 | \x{hhh..} character with hex code hhh... (UTF-8 mode only) | \x{hhh..} character with hex code hhh.. |
| 2871 | ||
| 2872 | The precise effect of \cx is as follows: if x is a lower case letter, | The precise effect of \cx is as follows: if x is a lower case letter, |
| 2873 | it is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the character (hex 40) is | it is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the character (hex 40) is |
| 2874 | inverted. Thus \cz becomes hex 1A, but \c{ becomes hex 3B, while \c; | inverted. Thus \cz becomes hex 1A, but \c{ becomes hex 3B, while \c; |
| 2875 | becomes hex 7B. | becomes hex 7B. |
| 2876 | ||
| 2877 | After \x, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read (letters can be | After \x, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read (letters can be |
| 2878 | in upper or lower case). In UTF-8 mode, any number of hexadecimal dig- | in upper or lower case). Any number of hexadecimal digits may appear |
| 2879 | its may appear between \x{ and }, but the value of the character code | between \x{ and }, but the value of the character code must be less |
| 2880 | must be less than 2**31 (that is, the maximum hexadecimal value is | than 256 in non-UTF-8 mode, and less than 2**31 in UTF-8 mode (that is, |
| 2881 | 7FFFFFFF). If characters other than hexadecimal digits appear between | the maximum hexadecimal value is 7FFFFFFF). If characters other than |
| 2882 | \x{ and }, or if there is no terminating }, this form of escape is not | hexadecimal digits appear between \x{ and }, or if there is no termi- |
| 2883 | recognized. Instead, the initial \x will be interpreted as a basic | nating }, this form of escape is not recognized. Instead, the initial |
| 2884 | hexadecimal escape, with no following digits, giving a character whose | \x will be interpreted as a basic hexadecimal escape, with no following |
| 2885 | value is zero. | digits, giving a character whose value is zero. |
| 2886 | ||
| 2887 | Characters whose value is less than 256 can be defined by either of the | Characters whose value is less than 256 can be defined by either of the |
| 2888 | two syntaxes for \x when PCRE is in UTF-8 mode. There is no difference | two syntaxes for \x. There is no difference in the way they are han- |
| 2889 | in the way they are handled. For example, \xdc is exactly the same as | dled. For example, \xdc is exactly the same as \x{dc}. |
| 2890 | \x{dc}. | |
| 2891 | After \0 up to two further octal digits are read. If there are fewer | |
| 2892 | After \0 up to two further octal digits are read. In both cases, if | than two digits, just those that are present are used. Thus the |
| 2893 | there are fewer than two digits, just those that are present are used. | sequence \0\x\07 specifies two binary zeros followed by a BEL character |
| 2894 | Thus the sequence \0\x\07 specifies two binary zeros followed by a BEL | (code value 7). Make sure you supply two digits after the initial zero |
| 2895 | character (code value 7). Make sure you supply two digits after the | if the pattern character that follows is itself an octal digit. |
| initial zero if the pattern character that follows is itself an octal | ||
| digit. | ||
| 2896 | ||
| 2897 | The handling of a backslash followed by a digit other than 0 is compli- | The handling of a backslash followed by a digit other than 0 is compli- |
| 2898 | cated. Outside a character class, PCRE reads it and any following dig- | cated. Outside a character class, PCRE reads it and any following dig- |
| 2899 | its as a decimal number. If the number is less than 10, or if there | its as a decimal number. If the number is less than 10, or if there |
| 2900 | have been at least that many previous capturing left parentheses in the | have been at least that many previous capturing left parentheses in the |
| 2901 | expression, the entire sequence is taken as a back reference. A | expression, the entire sequence is taken as a back reference. A |
| 2902 | description of how this works is given later, following the discussion | description of how this works is given later, following the discussion |
| 2903 | of parenthesized subpatterns. | of parenthesized subpatterns. |
| 2904 | ||
| 2905 | Inside a character class, or if the decimal number is greater than 9 | Inside a character class, or if the decimal number is greater than 9 |
| 2906 | and there have not been that many capturing subpatterns, PCRE re-reads | and there have not been that many capturing subpatterns, PCRE re-reads |
| 2907 | up to three octal digits following the backslash, and generates a sin- | up to three octal digits following the backslash, and uses them to gen- |
| 2908 | gle byte from the least significant 8 bits of the value. Any subsequent | erate a data character. Any subsequent digits stand for themselves. In |
| 2909 | digits stand for themselves. For example: | non-UTF-8 mode, the value of a character specified in octal must be |
| 2910 | less than \400. In UTF-8 mode, values up to \777 are permitted. For | |
| 2911 | example: | |
| 2912 | ||
| 2913 | \040 is another way of writing a space | \040 is another way of writing a space |
| 2914 | \40 is the same, provided there are fewer than 40 | \40 is the same, provided there are fewer than 40 |
| # | Line 2535 BACKSLASH | Line 2925 BACKSLASH |
| 2925 | \81 is either a back reference, or a binary zero | \81 is either a back reference, or a binary zero |
| 2926 | followed by the two characters "8" and "1" | followed by the two characters "8" and "1" |
| 2927 | ||
| 2928 | Note that octal values of 100 or greater must not be introduced by a | Note that octal values of 100 or greater must not be introduced by a |
| 2929 | leading zero, because no more than three octal digits are ever read. | leading zero, because no more than three octal digits are ever read. |
| 2930 | ||
| 2931 | All the sequences that define a single byte value or a single UTF-8 | All the sequences that define a single character value can be used both |
| 2932 | character (in UTF-8 mode) can be used both inside and outside character | inside and outside character classes. In addition, inside a character |
| 2933 | classes. In addition, inside a character class, the sequence \b is | class, the sequence \b is interpreted as the backspace character (hex |
| 2934 | interpreted as the backspace character (hex 08), and the sequence \X is | 08), and the sequences \R and \X are interpreted as the characters "R" |
| 2935 | interpreted as the character "X". Outside a character class, these | and "X", respectively. Outside a character class, these sequences have |
| 2936 | sequences have different meanings (see below). | different meanings (see below). |
| 2937 | ||
| 2938 | Absolute and relative back references | |
| 2939 | ||
| 2940 | The sequence \g followed by a positive or negative number, optionally | |
| 2941 | enclosed in braces, is an absolute or relative back reference. A named | |
| 2942 | back reference can be coded as \g{name}. Back references are discussed | |
| 2943 | later, following the discussion of parenthesized subpatterns. | |
| 2944 | ||
| 2945 | Generic character types | Generic character types |
| 2946 | ||
| 2947 | The third use of backslash is for specifying generic character types. | Another use of backslash is for specifying generic character types. The |
| 2948 | The following are always recognized: | following are always recognized: |
| 2949 | ||
| 2950 | \d any decimal digit | \d any decimal digit |
| 2951 | \D any character that is not a decimal digit | \D any character that is not a decimal digit |
| 2952 | \h any horizontal whitespace character | |
| 2953 | \H any character that is not a horizontal whitespace character | |
| 2954 | \s any whitespace character | \s any whitespace character |
| 2955 | \S any character that is not a whitespace character | \S any character that is not a whitespace character |
| 2956 | \v any vertical whitespace character | |
| 2957 | \V any character that is not a vertical whitespace character | |
| 2958 | \w any "word" character | \w any "word" character |
| 2959 | \W any "non-word" character | \W any "non-word" character |
| 2960 | ||
| # | Line 2568 BACKSLASH | Line 2969 BACKSLASH |
| 2969 | ||
| 2970 | For compatibility with Perl, \s does not match the VT character (code | For compatibility with Perl, \s does not match the VT character (code |
| 2971 | 11). This makes it different from the the POSIX "space" class. The \s | 11). This makes it different from the the POSIX "space" class. The \s |
| 2972 | characters are HT (9), LF (10), FF (12), CR (13), and space (32). | characters are HT (9), LF (10), FF (12), CR (13), and space (32). If |
| 2973 | "use locale;" is included in a Perl script, \s may match the VT charac- | |
| 2974 | ter. In PCRE, it never does. | |
| 2975 | ||
| 2976 | In UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 never match \d, | |
| 2977 | \s, or \w, and always match \D, \S, and \W. This is true even when Uni- | |
| 2978 | code character property support is available. These sequences retain | |
| 2979 | their original meanings from before UTF-8 support was available, mainly | |
| 2980 | for efficiency reasons. | |
| 2981 | ||
| 2982 | The sequences \h, \H, \v, and \V are Perl 5.10 features. In contrast to | |
| 2983 | the other sequences, these do match certain high-valued codepoints in | |
| 2984 | UTF-8 mode. The horizontal space characters are: | |
| 2985 | ||
| 2986 | U+0009 Horizontal tab | |
| 2987 | U+0020 Space | |
| 2988 | U+00A0 Non-break space | |
| 2989 | U+1680 Ogham space mark | |
| 2990 | U+180E Mongolian vowel separator | |
| 2991 | U+2000 En quad | |
| 2992 | U+2001 Em quad | |
| 2993 | U+2002 En space | |
| 2994 | U+2003 Em space | |
| 2995 | U+2004 Three-per-em space | |
| 2996 | U+2005 Four-per-em space | |
| 2997 | U+2006 Six-per-em space | |
| 2998 | U+2007 Figure space | |
| 2999 | U+2008 Punctuation space | |
| 3000 | U+2009 Thin space | |
| 3001 | U+200A Hair space | |
| 3002 | U+202F Narrow no-break space | |
| 3003 | U+205F Medium mathematical space | |
| 3004 | U+3000 Ideographic space | |
| 3005 | ||
| 3006 | The vertical space characters are: | |
| 3007 | ||
| 3008 | U+000A Linefeed | |
| 3009 | U+000B Vertical tab | |
| 3010 | U+000C Formfeed | |
| 3011 | U+000D Carriage return | |
| 3012 | U+0085 Next line | |
| 3013 | U+2028 Line separator | |
| 3014 | U+2029 Paragraph separator | |
| 3015 | ||
| 3016 | A "word" character is an underscore or any character less than 256 that | A "word" character is an underscore or any character less than 256 that |
| 3017 | is a letter or digit. The definition of letters and digits is con- | is a letter or digit. The definition of letters and digits is con- |
| 3018 | trolled by PCRE's low-valued character tables, and may vary if locale- | trolled by PCRE's low-valued character tables, and may vary if locale- |
| 3019 | specific matching is taking place (see "Locale support" in the pcreapi | specific matching is taking place (see "Locale support" in the pcreapi |
| 3020 | page). For example, in the "fr_FR" (French) locale, some character | page). For example, in a French locale such as "fr_FR" in Unix-like |
| 3021 | codes greater than 128 are used for accented letters, and these are | systems, or "french" in Windows, some character codes greater than 128 |
| 3022 | matched by \w. | are used for accented letters, and these are matched by \w. The use of |
| 3023 | locales with Unicode is discouraged. | |
| 3024 | ||
| 3025 | Newline sequences | |
| 3026 | ||
| 3027 | Outside a character class, the escape sequence \R matches any Unicode | |
| 3028 | newline sequence. This is a Perl 5.10 feature. In non-UTF-8 mode \R is | |
| 3029 | equivalent to the following: | |
| 3030 | ||
| 3031 | (?>\r\n|\n|\x0b|\f|\r|\x85) | |
| 3032 | ||
| 3033 | This is an example of an "atomic group", details of which are given | |
| 3034 | below. This particular group matches either the two-character sequence | |
| 3035 | CR followed by LF, or one of the single characters LF (linefeed, | |
| 3036 | U+000A), VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), CR (carriage | |
| 3037 | return, U+000D), or NEL (next line, U+0085). The two-character sequence | |
| 3038 | is treated as a single unit that cannot be split. | |
| 3039 | ||
| 3040 | In UTF-8 mode, two additional characters whose codepoints are greater | |
| 3041 | than 255 are added: LS (line separator, U+2028) and PS (paragraph sepa- | |
| 3042 | rator, U+2029). Unicode character property support is not needed for | |
| 3043 | these characters to be recognized. | |
| 3044 | ||
| 3045 | In UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 never match \d, | Inside a character class, \R matches the letter "R". |
| \s, or \w, and always match \D, \S, and \W. This is true even when Uni- | ||
| code character property support is available. | ||
| 3046 | ||
| 3047 | Unicode character properties | Unicode character properties |
| 3048 | ||
| 3049 | When PCRE is built with Unicode character property support, three addi- | When PCRE is built with Unicode character property support, three addi- |
| 3050 | tional escape sequences to match generic character types are available | tional escape sequences to match character properties are available |
| 3051 | when UTF-8 mode is selected. They are: | when UTF-8 mode is selected. They are: |
| 3052 | ||
| 3053 | \p{xx} a character with the xx property | \p{xx} a character with the xx property |
| 3054 | \P{xx} a character without the xx property | \P{xx} a character without the xx property |
| 3055 | \X an extended Unicode sequence | \X an extended Unicode sequence |
| 3056 | ||
| 3057 | The property names represented by xx above are limited to the Unicode | The property names represented by xx above are limited to the Unicode |
| 3058 | general category properties. Each character has exactly one such prop- | script names, the general category properties, and "Any", which matches |
| 3059 | erty, specified by a two-letter abbreviation. For compatibility with | any character (including newline). Other properties such as "InMusical- |
| 3060 | Perl, negation can be specified by including a circumflex between the | Symbols" are not currently supported by PCRE. Note that \P{Any} does |
| 3061 | opening brace and the property name. For example, \p{^Lu} is the same | not match any characters, so always causes a match failure. |
| 3062 | as \P{Lu}. | |
| 3063 | Sets of Unicode characters are defined as belonging to certain scripts. | |
| 3064 | If only one letter is specified with \p or \P, it includes all the | A character from one of these sets can be matched using a script name. |
| 3065 | properties that start with that letter. In this case, in the absence of | For example: |
| 3066 | negation, the curly brackets in the escape sequence are optional; these | |
| 3067 | two examples have the same effect: | \p{Greek} |
| 3068 | \P{Han} | |
| 3069 | ||
| 3070 | Those that are not part of an identified script are lumped together as | |
| 3071 | "Common". The current list of scripts is: | |
| 3072 | ||
| 3073 | Arabic, Armenian, Balinese, Bengali, Bopomofo, Braille, Buginese, | |
| 3074 | Buhid, Canadian_Aboriginal, Cherokee, Common, Coptic, Cuneiform, | |
| 3075 | Cypriot, Cyrillic, Deseret, Devanagari, Ethiopic, Georgian, Glagolitic, | |
| 3076 | Gothic, Greek, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Han, Hangul, Hanunoo, Hebrew, Hira- | |
| 3077 | gana, Inherited, Kannada, Katakana, Kharoshthi, Khmer, Lao, Latin, | |
| 3078 | Limbu, Linear_B, Malayalam, Mongolian, Myanmar, New_Tai_Lue, Nko, | |
| 3079 | Ogham, Old_Italic, Old_Persian, Oriya, Osmanya, Phags_Pa, Phoenician, | |
| 3080 | Runic, Shavian, Sinhala, Syloti_Nagri, Syriac, Tagalog, Tagbanwa, | |
| 3081 | Tai_Le, Tamil, Telugu, Thaana, Thai, Tibetan, Tifinagh, Ugaritic, Yi. | |
| 3082 | ||
| 3083 | Each character has exactly one general category property, specified by | |
| 3084 | a two-letter abbreviation. For compatibility with Perl, negation can be | |
| 3085 | specified by including a circumflex between the opening brace and the | |
| 3086 | property name. For example, \p{^Lu} is the same as \P{Lu}. | |
| 3087 | ||
| 3088 | If only one letter is specified with \p or \P, it includes all the gen- | |
| 3089 | eral category properties that start with that letter. In this case, in | |
| 3090 | the absence of negation, the curly brackets in the escape sequence are | |
| 3091 | optional; these two examples have the same effect: | |
| 3092 | ||
| 3093 | \p{L} | \p{L} |
| 3094 | \pL | \pL |
| 3095 | ||
| 3096 | The following property codes are supported: | The following general category property codes are supported: |
| 3097 | ||
| 3098 | C Other | C Other |
| 3099 | Cc Control | Cc Control |
| # | Line 2653 BACKSLASH | Line 3139 BACKSLASH |
| 3139 | Zp Paragraph separator | Zp Paragraph separator |
| 3140 | Zs Space separator | Zs Space separator |
| 3141 | ||
| 3142 | Extended properties such as "Greek" or "InMusicalSymbols" are not sup- | The special property L& is also supported: it matches a character that |
| 3143 | ported by PCRE. | has the Lu, Ll, or Lt property, in other words, a letter that is not |
| 3144 | classified as a modifier or "other". | |
| 3145 | ||
| 3146 | The long synonyms for these properties that Perl supports (such as | |
| 3147 | \p{Letter}) are not supported by PCRE, nor is it permitted to prefix | |
| 3148 | any of these properties with "Is". | |
| 3149 | ||
| 3150 | No character that is in the Unicode table has the Cn (unassigned) prop- | |
| 3151 | erty. Instead, this property is assumed for any code point that is not | |
| 3152 | in the Unicode table. | |
| 3153 | ||
| 3154 | Specifying caseless matching does not affect these escape sequences. | Specifying caseless matching does not affect these escape sequences. |
| 3155 | For example, \p{Lu} always matches only upper case letters. | For example, \p{Lu} always matches only upper case letters. |
| 3156 | ||
| 3157 | The \X escape matches any number of Unicode characters that form an | The \X escape matches any number of Unicode characters that form an |
| 3158 | extended Unicode sequence. \X is equivalent to | extended Unicode sequence. \X is equivalent to |
| 3159 | ||
| 3160 | (?>\PM\pM*) | (?>\PM\pM*) |
| 3161 | ||
| 3162 | That is, it matches a character without the "mark" property, followed | That is, it matches a character without the "mark" property, followed |
| 3163 | by zero or more characters with the "mark" property, and treats the | by zero or more characters with the "mark" property, and treats the |
| 3164 | sequence as an atomic group (see below). Characters with the "mark" | sequence as an atomic group (see below). Characters with the "mark" |
| 3165 | property are typically accents that affect the preceding character. | property are typically accents that affect the preceding character. |
| 3166 | ||
| 3167 | Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, because PCRE has | Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, because PCRE has |
| 3168 | to search a structure that contains data for over fifteen thousand | to search a structure that contains data for over fifteen thousand |
| 3169 | characters. That is why the traditional escape sequences such as \d and | characters. That is why the traditional escape sequences such as \d and |
| 3170 | \w do not use Unicode properties in PCRE. | \w do not use Unicode properties in PCRE. |
| 3171 | ||
| 3172 | Resetting the match start | |
| 3173 | ||
| 3174 | The escape sequence \K, which is a Perl 5.10 feature, causes any previ- | |
| 3175 | ously matched characters not to be included in the final matched | |
| 3176 | sequence. For example, the pattern: | |
| 3177 | ||
| 3178 | foo\Kbar | |
| 3179 | ||
| 3180 | matches "foobar", but reports that it has matched "bar". This feature | |
| 3181 | is similar to a lookbehind assertion (described below). However, in | |
| 3182 | this case, the part of the subject before the real match does not have | |
| 3183 | to be of fixed length, as lookbehind assertions do. The use of \K does | |
| 3184 | not interfere with the setting of captured substrings. For example, | |
| 3185 | when the pattern | |
| 3186 | ||
| 3187 | (foo)\Kbar | |
| 3188 | ||
| 3189 | matches "foobar", the first substring is still set to "foo". | |
| 3190 | ||
| 3191 | Simple assertions | Simple assertions |
| 3192 | ||
| 3193 | The fourth use of backslash is for certain simple assertions. An asser- | The final use of backslash is for certain simple assertions. An asser- |
| 3194 | tion specifies a condition that has to be met at a particular point in | tion specifies a condition that has to be met at a particular point in |
| 3195 | a match, without consuming any characters from the subject string. The | a match, without consuming any characters from the subject string. The |
| 3196 | use of subpatterns for more complicated assertions is described below. | use of subpatterns for more complicated assertions is described below. |
| # | Line 2684 BACKSLASH | Line 3198 BACKSLASH |
| 3198 | ||
| 3199 | \b matches at a word boundary | \b matches at a word boundary |
| 3200 | \B matches when not at a word boundary | \B matches when not at a word boundary |
| 3201 | \A matches at start of subject | \A matches at the start of the subject |
| 3202 | \Z matches at end of subject or before newline at end | \Z matches at the end of the subject |
| 3203 | \z matches at end of subject | also matches before a newline at the end of the subject |
| 3204 | \G matches at first matching position in subject | \z matches only at the end of the subject |
| 3205 | \G matches at the first matching position in the subject | |
| 3206 | ||
| 3207 | These assertions may not appear in character classes (but note that \b | These assertions may not appear in character classes (but note that \b |
| 3208 | has a different meaning, namely the backspace character, inside a char- | has a different meaning, namely the backspace character, inside a char- |
| # | Line 2707 BACKSLASH | Line 3222 BACKSLASH |
| 3222 | However, if the startoffset argument of pcre_exec() is non-zero, indi- | However, if the startoffset argument of pcre_exec() is non-zero, indi- |
| 3223 | cating that matching is to start at a point other than the beginning of | cating that matching is to start at a point other than the beginning of |
| 3224 | the subject, \A can never match. The difference between \Z and \z is | the subject, \A can never match. The difference between \Z and \z is |
| 3225 | that \Z matches before a newline that is the last character of the | that \Z matches before a newline at the end of the string as well as at |
| 3226 | string as well as at the end of the string, whereas \z matches only at | the very end, whereas \z matches only at the end. |
| 3227 | the end. | |
| 3228 | The \G assertion is true only when the current matching position is at | |
| 3229 | The \G assertion is true only when the current matching position is at | the start point of the match, as specified by the startoffset argument |
| 3230 | the start point of the match, as specified by the startoffset argument | of pcre_exec(). It differs from \A when the value of startoffset is |
| 3231 | of pcre_exec(). It differs from \A when the value of startoffset is | non-zero. By calling pcre_exec() multiple times with appropriate argu- |
| non-zero. By calling pcre_exec() multiple times with appropriate argu- | ||
| 3232 | ments, you can mimic Perl's /g option, and it is in this kind of imple- | ments, you can mimic Perl's /g option, and it is in this kind of imple- |
| 3233 | mentation where \G can be useful. | mentation where \G can be useful. |
| 3234 | ||
| 3235 | Note, however, that PCRE's interpretation of \G, as the start of the | Note, however, that PCRE's interpretation of \G, as the start of the |
| 3236 | current match, is subtly different from Perl's, which defines it as the | current match, is subtly different from Perl's, which defines it as the |
| 3237 | end of the previous match. In Perl, these can be different when the | end of the previous match. In Perl, these can be different when the |
| 3238 | previously matched string was empty. Because PCRE does just one match | previously matched string was empty. Because PCRE does just one match |
| 3239 | at a time, it cannot reproduce this behaviour. | at a time, it cannot reproduce this behaviour. |
| 3240 | ||
| 3241 | If all the alternatives of a pattern begin with \G, the expression is | If all the alternatives of a pattern begin with \G, the expression is |
| 3242 | anchored to the starting match position, and the "anchored" flag is set | anchored to the starting match position, and the "anchored" flag is set |
| 3243 | in the compiled regular expression. | in the compiled regular expression. |
| 3244 | ||
| # | Line 2732 BACKSLASH | Line 3246 BACKSLASH |
| 3246 | CIRCUMFLEX AND DOLLAR | CIRCUMFLEX AND DOLLAR |
| 3247 | ||
| 3248 | Outside a character class, in the default matching mode, the circumflex | Outside a character class, in the default matching mode, the circumflex |
| 3249 | character is an assertion that is true only if the current matching | character is an assertion that is true only if the current matching |
| 3250 | point is at the start of the subject string. If the startoffset argu- | point is at the start of the subject string. If the startoffset argu- |
| 3251 | ment of pcre_exec() is non-zero, circumflex can never match if the | ment of pcre_exec() is non-zero, circumflex can never match if the |
| 3252 | PCRE_MULTILINE option is unset. Inside a character class, circumflex | PCRE_MULTILINE option is unset. Inside a character class, circumflex |
| 3253 | has an entirely different meaning (see below). | has an entirely different meaning (see below). |
| 3254 | ||
| 3255 | Circumflex need not be the first character of the pattern if a number | Circumflex need not be the first character of the pattern if a number |
| 3256 | of alternatives are involved, but it should be the first thing in each | of alternatives are involved, but it should be the first thing in each |
| 3257 | alternative in which it appears if the pattern is ever to match that | alternative in which it appears if the pattern is ever to match that |
| 3258 | branch. If all possible alternatives start with a circumflex, that is, | branch. If all possible alternatives start with a circumflex, that is, |
| 3259 | if the pattern is constrained to match only at the start of the sub- | if the pattern is constrained to match only at the start of the sub- |
| 3260 | ject, it is said to be an "anchored" pattern. (There are also other | ject, it is said to be an "anchored" pattern. (There are also other |
| 3261 | constructs that can cause a pattern to be anchored.) | constructs that can cause a pattern to be anchored.) |
| 3262 | ||
| 3263 | A dollar character is an assertion that is true only if the current | A dollar character is an assertion that is true only if the current |
| 3264 | matching point is at the end of the subject string, or immediately | matching point is at the end of the subject string, or immediately |
| 3265 | before a newline character that is the last character in the string (by | before a newline at the end of the string (by default). Dollar need not |
| 3266 | default). Dollar need not be the last character of the pattern if a | be the last character of the pattern if a number of alternatives are |
| 3267 | number of alternatives are involved, but it should be the last item in | involved, but it should be the last item in any branch in which it |
| 3268 | any branch in which it appears. Dollar has no special meaning in a | appears. Dollar has no special meaning in a character class. |
| character class. | ||
| 3269 | ||
| 3270 | The meaning of dollar can be changed so that it matches only at the | The meaning of dollar can be changed so that it matches only at the |
| 3271 | very end of the string, by setting the PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY option at | very end of the string, by setting the PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY option at |
| 3272 | compile time. This does not affect the \Z assertion. | compile time. This does not affect the \Z assertion. |
| 3273 | ||
| 3274 | The meanings of the circumflex and dollar characters are changed if the | The meanings of the circumflex and dollar characters are changed if the |
| 3275 | PCRE_MULTILINE option is set. When this is the case, they match immedi- | PCRE_MULTILINE option is set. When this is the case, a circumflex |
| 3276 | ately after and immediately before an internal newline character, | matches immediately after internal newlines as well as at the start of |
| 3277 | respectively, in addition to matching at the start and end of the sub- | the subject string. It does not match after a newline that ends the |
| 3278 | ject string. For example, the pattern /^abc$/ matches the subject | string. A dollar matches before any newlines in the string, as well as |
| 3279 | string "def\nabc" (where \n represents a newline character) in multi- | at the very end, when PCRE_MULTILINE is set. When newline is specified |
| 3280 | line mode, but not otherwise. Consequently, patterns that are anchored | as the two-character sequence CRLF, isolated CR and LF characters do |
| 3281 | in single line mode because all branches start with ^ are not anchored | not indicate newlines. |
| 3282 | in multiline mode, and a match for circumflex is possible when the | |
| 3283 | startoffset argument of pcre_exec() is non-zero. The PCRE_DOL- | For example, the pattern /^abc$/ matches the subject string "def\nabc" |
| 3284 | LAR_ENDONLY option is ignored if PCRE_MULTILINE is set. | (where \n represents a newline) in multiline mode, but not otherwise. |
| 3285 | Consequently, patterns that are anchored in single line mode because | |
| 3286 | Note that the sequences \A, \Z, and \z can be used to match the start | all branches start with ^ are not anchored in multiline mode, and a |
| 3287 | and end of the subject in both modes, and if all branches of a pattern | match for circumflex is possible when the startoffset argument of |
| 3288 | start with \A it is always anchored, whether PCRE_MULTILINE is set or | pcre_exec() is non-zero. The PCRE_DOLLAR_ENDONLY option is ignored if |
| 3289 | not. | PCRE_MULTILINE is set. |
| 3290 | ||
| 3291 | Note that the sequences \A, \Z, and \z can be used to match the start | |
| 3292 | and end of the subject in both modes, and if all branches of a pattern | |
| 3293 | start with \A it is always anchored, whether or not PCRE_MULTILINE is | |
| 3294 | set. | |
| 3295 | ||
| 3296 | ||
| 3297 | FULL STOP (PERIOD, DOT) | FULL STOP (PERIOD, DOT) |
| 3298 | ||
| 3299 | Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any one charac- | Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any one charac- |
| 3300 | ter in the subject, including a non-printing character, but not (by | ter in the subject string except (by default) a character that signi- |
| 3301 | default) newline. In UTF-8 mode, a dot matches any UTF-8 character, | fies the end of a line. In UTF-8 mode, the matched character may be |
| 3302 | which might be more than one byte long, except (by default) newline. If | more than one byte long. |
| 3303 | the PCRE_DOTALL option is set, dots match newlines as well. The han- | |
| 3304 | dling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of circumflex and | When a line ending is defined as a single character, dot never matches |
| 3305 | dollar, the only relationship being that they both involve newline | that character; when the two-character sequence CRLF is used, dot does |
| 3306 | characters. Dot has no special meaning in a character class. | not match CR if it is immediately followed by LF, but otherwise it |
| 3307 | matches all characters (including isolated CRs and LFs). When any Uni- | |
| 3308 | code line endings are being recognized, dot does not match CR or LF or | |
| 3309 | any of the other line ending characters. | |
| 3310 | ||
| 3311 | The behaviour of dot with regard to newlines can be changed. If the | |
| 3312 | PCRE_DOTALL option is set, a dot matches any one character, without | |
| 3313 | exception. If the two-character sequence CRLF is present in the subject | |
| 3314 | string, it takes two dots to match it. | |
| 3315 | ||
| 3316 | The handling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of circum- | |
| 3317 | flex and dollar, the only relationship being that they both involve | |
| 3318 | newlines. Dot has no special meaning in a character class. | |
| 3319 | ||
| 3320 | ||
| 3321 | MATCHING A SINGLE BYTE | MATCHING A SINGLE BYTE |
| 3322 | ||
| 3323 | Outside a character class, the escape sequence \C matches any one byte, | Outside a character class, the escape sequence \C matches any one byte, |
| 3324 | both in and out of UTF-8 mode. Unlike a dot, it can match a newline. | both in and out of UTF-8 mode. Unlike a dot, it always matches any |
| 3325 | The feature is provided in Perl in order to match individual bytes in | line-ending characters. The feature is provided in Perl in order to |
| 3326 | UTF-8 mode. Because it breaks up UTF-8 characters into individual | match individual bytes in UTF-8 mode. Because it breaks up UTF-8 char- |
| 3327 | bytes, what remains in the string may be a malformed UTF-8 string. For | acters into individual bytes, what remains in the string may be a mal- |
| 3328 | this reason, the \C escape sequence is best avoided. | formed UTF-8 string. For this reason, the \C escape sequence is best |
| 3329 | avoided. | |
| 3330 | ||
| 3331 | PCRE does not allow \C to appear in lookbehind assertions (described | PCRE does not allow \C to appear in lookbehind assertions (described |
| 3332 | below), because in UTF-8 mode this would make it impossible to calcu- | below), because in UTF-8 mode this would make it impossible to calcu- |
| # | Line 2842 SQUARE BRACKETS AND CHARACTER CLASSES | Line 3373 SQUARE BRACKETS AND CHARACTER CLASSES |
| 3373 | PCRE is compiled with Unicode property support as well as with UTF-8 | PCRE is compiled with Unicode property support as well as with UTF-8 |
| 3374 | support. | support. |
| 3375 | ||
| 3376 | The newline character is never treated in any special way in character | Characters that might indicate line breaks are never treated in any |
| 3377 | classes, whatever the setting of the PCRE_DOTALL or PCRE_MULTILINE | special way when matching character classes, whatever line-ending |
| 3378 | options is. A class such as [^a] will always match a newline. | sequence is in use, and whatever setting of the PCRE_DOTALL and |
| 3379 | PCRE_MULTILINE options is used. A class such as [^a] always matches one | |
| 3380 | of these characters. | |
| 3381 | ||
| 3382 | The minus (hyphen) character can be used to specify a range of charac- | The minus (hyphen) character can be used to specify a range of charac- |
| 3383 | ters in a character class. For example, [d-m] matches any letter | ters in a character class. For example, [d-m] matches any letter |
| # | Line 2870 SQUARE BRACKETS AND CHARACTER CLASSES | Line 3403 SQUARE BRACKETS AND CHARACTER CLASSES |
| 3403 | If a range that includes letters is used when caseless matching is set, | If a range that includes letters is used when caseless matching is set, |
| 3404 | it matches the letters in either case. For example, [W-c] is equivalent | it matches the letters in either case. For example, [W-c] is equivalent |
| 3405 | to [][\\^_`wxyzabc], matched caselessly, and in non-UTF-8 mode, if | to [][\\^_`wxyzabc], matched caselessly, and in non-UTF-8 mode, if |
| 3406 | character tables for the "fr_FR" locale are in use, [\xc8-\xcb] matches | character tables for a French locale are in use, [\xc8-\xcb] matches |
| 3407 | accented E characters in both cases. In UTF-8 mode, PCRE supports the | accented E characters in both cases. In UTF-8 mode, PCRE supports the |
| 3408 | concept of case for characters with values greater than 128 only when | concept of case for characters with values greater than 128 only when |
| 3409 | it is compiled with Unicode property support. | it is compiled with Unicode property support. |
| # | Line 2945 VERTICAL BAR | Line 3478 VERTICAL BAR |
| 3478 | ||
| 3479 | matches either "gilbert" or "sullivan". Any number of alternatives may | matches either "gilbert" or "sullivan". Any number of alternatives may |
| 3480 | appear, and an empty alternative is permitted (matching the empty | appear, and an empty alternative is permitted (matching the empty |
| 3481 | string). The matching process tries each alternative in turn, from | string). The matching process tries each alternative in turn, from left |
| 3482 | left to right, and the first one that succeeds is used. If the alterna- | to right, and the first one that succeeds is used. If the alternatives |
| 3483 | tives are within a subpattern (defined below), "succeeds" means match- | are within a subpattern (defined below), "succeeds" means matching the |
| 3484 | ing the rest of the main pattern as well as the alternative in the sub- | rest of the main pattern as well as the alternative in the subpattern. |
| pattern. | ||
| 3485 | ||
| 3486 | ||
| 3487 | INTERNAL OPTION SETTING | INTERNAL OPTION SETTING |
| # | Line 2977 INTERNAL OPTION SETTING | Line 3509 INTERNAL OPTION SETTING |
| 3509 | PCRE extracts it into the global options (and it will therefore show up | PCRE extracts it into the global options (and it will therefore show up |
| 3510 | in data extracted by the pcre_fullinfo() function). | in data extracted by the pcre_fullinfo() function). |
| 3511 | ||
| 3512 | An option change within a subpattern affects only that part of the cur- | An option change within a subpattern (see below for a description of |
| 3513 | rent pattern that follows it, so | subpatterns) affects only that part of the current pattern that follows |
| 3514 | it, so | |
| 3515 | ||
| 3516 | (a(?i)b)c | (a(?i)b)c |
| 3517 | ||
| 3518 | matches abc and aBc and no other strings (assuming PCRE_CASELESS is not | matches abc and aBc and no other strings (assuming PCRE_CASELESS is not |
| 3519 | used). By this means, options can be made to have different settings | used). By this means, options can be made to have different settings |
| 3520 | in different parts of the pattern. Any changes made in one alternative | in different parts of the pattern. Any changes made in one alternative |
| 3521 | do carry on into subsequent branches within the same subpattern. For | do carry on into subsequent branches within the same subpattern. For |
| 3522 | example, | example, |
| 3523 | ||
| 3524 | (a(?i)b|c) | (a(?i)b|c) |
| 3525 | ||
| 3526 | matches "ab", "aB", "c", and "C", even though when matching "C" the | matches "ab", "aB", "c", and "C", even though when matching "C" the |
| 3527 | first branch is abandoned before the option setting. This is because | first branch is abandoned before the option setting. This is because |
| 3528 | the effects of option settings happen at compile time. There would be | the effects of option settings happen at compile time. There would be |
| 3529 | some very weird behaviour otherwise. | some very weird behaviour otherwise. |
| 3530 | ||
| 3531 | The PCRE-specific options PCRE_UNGREEDY and PCRE_EXTRA can be changed | The PCRE-specific options PCRE_DUPNAMES, PCRE_UNGREEDY, and PCRE_EXTRA |
| 3532 | in the same way as the Perl-compatible options by using the characters | can be changed in the same way as the Perl-compatible options by using |
| 3533 | U and X respectively. The (?X) flag setting is special in that it must | the characters J, U and X respectively. |
| always occur earlier in the pattern than any of the additional features | ||
| it turns on, even when it is at top level. It is best to put it at the | ||
| start. | ||
| 3534 | ||
| 3535 | ||
| 3536 | SUBPATTERNS | SUBPATTERNS |
| # | Line 3013 SUBPATTERNS | Line 3543 SUBPATTERNS |
| 3543 | cat(aract|erpillar|) | cat(aract|erpillar|) |
| 3544 | ||
| 3545 | matches one of the words "cat", "cataract", or "caterpillar". Without | matches one of the words "cat", "cataract", or "caterpillar". Without |
| 3546 | the parentheses, it would match "cataract", "erpillar" or the empty | the parentheses, it would match "cataract", "erpillar" or an empty |
| 3547 | string. | string. |
| 3548 | ||
| 3549 | 2. It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. This means | 2. It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. This means |
| # | Line 3042 SUBPATTERNS | Line 3572 SUBPATTERNS |
| 3572 | the ((?:red|white) (king|queen)) | the ((?:red|white) (king|queen)) |
| 3573 | ||
| 3574 | the captured substrings are "white queen" and "queen", and are numbered | the captured substrings are "white queen" and "queen", and are numbered |
| 3575 | 1 and 2. The maximum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535, and the | 1 and 2. The maximum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535. |
| maximum depth of nesting of all subpatterns, both capturing and non- | ||
| capturing, is 200. | ||
| 3576 | ||
| 3577 | As a convenient shorthand, if any option settings are required at the | As a convenient shorthand, if any option settings are required at the |
| 3578 | start of a non-capturing subpattern, the option letters may appear | start of a non-capturing subpattern, the option letters may appear |
| # | Line 3060 SUBPATTERNS | Line 3588 SUBPATTERNS |
| 3588 | "Saturday". | "Saturday". |
| 3589 | ||
| 3590 | ||
| 3591 | DUPLICATE SUBPATTERN NUMBERS | |
| 3592 | ||
| 3593 | Perl 5.10 introduced a feature whereby each alternative in a subpattern | |
| 3594 | uses the same numbers for its capturing parentheses. Such a subpattern | |
| 3595 | starts with (?| and is itself a non-capturing subpattern. For example, | |
| 3596 | consider this pattern: | |
| 3597 | ||
| 3598 | (?|(Sat)ur|(Sun))day | |
| 3599 | ||
| 3600 | Because the two alternatives are inside a (?| group, both sets of cap- | |
| 3601 | turing parentheses are numbered one. Thus, when the pattern matches, | |
| 3602 | you can look at captured substring number one, whichever alternative | |
| 3603 | matched. This construct is useful when you want to capture part, but | |
| 3604 | not all, of one of a number of alternatives. Inside a (?| group, paren- | |
| 3605 | theses are numbered as usual, but the number is reset at the start of | |
| 3606 | each branch. The numbers of any capturing buffers that follow the sub- | |
| 3607 | pattern start after the highest number used in any branch. The follow- | |
| 3608 | ing example is taken from the Perl documentation. The numbers under- | |
| 3609 | neath show in which buffer the captured content will be stored. | |
| 3610 | ||
| 3611 | # before ---------------branch-reset----------- after | |
| 3612 | / ( a ) (?| x ( y ) z | (p (q) r) | (t) u (v) ) ( z ) /x | |
| 3613 | # 1 2 2 3 2 3 4 | |
| 3614 | ||
| 3615 | A backreference or a recursive call to a numbered subpattern always | |
| 3616 | refers to the first one in the pattern with the given number. | |
| 3617 | ||
| 3618 | An alternative approach to using this "branch reset" feature is to use | |
| 3619 | duplicate named subpatterns, as described in the next section. | |
| 3620 | ||
| 3621 | ||
| 3622 | NAMED SUBPATTERNS | NAMED SUBPATTERNS |
| 3623 | ||
| 3624 | Identifying capturing parentheses by number is simple, but it can be | Identifying capturing parentheses by number is simple, but it can be |
| 3625 | very hard to keep track of the numbers in complicated regular expres- | very hard to keep track of the numbers in complicated regular expres- |
| 3626 | sions. Furthermore, if an expression is modified, the numbers may | sions. Furthermore, if an expression is modified, the numbers may |
| 3627 | change. To help with this difficulty, PCRE supports the naming of sub- | change. To help with this difficulty, PCRE supports the naming of sub- |
| 3628 | patterns, something that Perl does not provide. The Python syntax | patterns. This feature was not added to Perl until release 5.10. Python |
| 3629 | (?P<name>...) is used. Names consist of alphanumeric characters and | had the feature earlier, and PCRE introduced it at release 4.0, using |
| 3630 | underscores, and must be unique within a pattern. | the Python syntax. PCRE now supports both the Perl and the Python syn- |
| 3631 | tax. | |
| 3632 | ||
| 3633 | In PCRE, a subpattern can be named in one of three ways: (?<name>...) | |
| 3634 | or (?'name'...) as in Perl, or (?P<name>...) as in Python. References | |
| 3635 | to capturing parentheses from other parts of the pattern, such as back- | |
| 3636 | references, recursion, and conditions, can be made by name as well as | |
| 3637 | by number. | |
| 3638 | ||
| 3639 | Names consist of up to 32 alphanumeric characters and underscores. | |
| 3640 | Named capturing parentheses are still allocated numbers as well as | Named capturing parentheses are still allocated numbers as well as |
| 3641 | names. The PCRE API provides function calls for extracting the name-to- | names, exactly as if the names were not present. The PCRE API provides |
| 3642 | number translation table from a compiled pattern. There is also a con- | function calls for extracting the name-to-number translation table from |
| 3643 | venience function for extracting a captured substring by name. For fur- | a compiled pattern. There is also a convenience function for extracting |
| 3644 | ther details see the pcreapi documentation. | a captured substring by name. |
| 3645 | ||
| 3646 | By default, a name must be unique within a pattern, but it is possible | |
| 3647 | to relax this constraint by setting the PCRE_DUPNAMES option at compile | |
| 3648 | time. This can be useful for patterns where only one instance of the | |
| 3649 | named parentheses can match. Suppose you want to match the name of a | |
| 3650 | weekday, either as a 3-letter abbreviation or as the full name, and in | |
| 3651 | both cases you want to extract the abbreviation. This pattern (ignoring | |
| 3652 | the line breaks) does the job: | |
| 3653 | ||
| 3654 | (?<DN>Mon|Fri|Sun)(?:day)?| | |
| 3655 | (?<DN>Tue)(?:sday)?| | |
| 3656 | (?<DN>Wed)(?:nesday)?| | |
| 3657 | (?<DN>Thu)(?:rsday)?| | |
| 3658 | (?<DN>Sat)(?:urday)? | |
| 3659 | ||
| 3660 | There are five capturing substrings, but only one is ever set after a | |
| 3661 | match. (An alternative way of solving this problem is to use a "branch | |
| 3662 | reset" subpattern, as described in the previous section.) | |
| 3663 | ||
| 3664 | The convenience function for extracting the data by name returns the | |
| 3665 | substring for the first (and in this example, the only) subpattern of | |
| 3666 | that name that matched. This saves searching to find which numbered | |
| 3667 | subpattern it was. If you make a reference to a non-unique named sub- | |
| 3668 | pattern from elsewhere in the pattern, the one that corresponds to the | |
| 3669 | lowest number is used. For further details of the interfaces for han- | |
| 3670 | dling named subpatterns, see the pcreapi documentation. | |
| 3671 | ||
| 3672 | ||
| 3673 | REPETITION | REPETITION |
| # | Line 3083 REPETITION | Line 3676 REPETITION |
| 3676 | following items: | following items: |
| 3677 | ||
| 3678 | a literal data character | a literal data character |
| 3679 | the . metacharacter | the dot metacharacter |
| 3680 | the \C escape sequence | the \C escape sequence |
| 3681 | the \X escape sequence (in UTF-8 mode with Unicode properties) | the \X escape sequence (in UTF-8 mode with Unicode properties) |
| 3682 | the \R escape sequence | |
| 3683 | an escape such as \d that matches a single character | an escape such as \d that matches a single character |
| 3684 | a character class | a character class |
| 3685 | a back reference (see next section) | a back reference (see next section) |
| # | Line 3125 REPETITION | Line 3719 REPETITION |
| 3719 | The quantifier {0} is permitted, causing the expression to behave as if | The quantifier {0} is permitted, causing the expression to behave as if |
| 3720 | the previous item and the quantifier were not present. | the previous item and the quantifier were not present. |
| 3721 | ||
| 3722 | For convenience (and historical compatibility) the three most common | For convenience, the three most common quantifiers have single-charac- |
| 3723 | quantifiers have single-character abbreviations: | ter abbreviations: |
| 3724 | ||
| 3725 | * is equivalent to {0,} | * is equivalent to {0,} |
| 3726 | + is equivalent to {1,} | + is equivalent to {1,} |
| # | Line 3178 REPETITION | Line 3772 REPETITION |
| 3772 | which matches one digit by preference, but can match two if that is the | which matches one digit by preference, but can match two if that is the |
| 3773 | only way the rest of the pattern matches. | only way the rest of the pattern matches. |
| 3774 | ||
| 3775 | If the PCRE_UNGREEDY option is set (an option which is not available in | If the PCRE_UNGREEDY option is set (an option that is not available in |
| 3776 | Perl), the quantifiers are not greedy by default, but individual ones | Perl), the quantifiers are not greedy by default, but individual ones |
| 3777 | can be made greedy by following them with a question mark. In other | can be made greedy by following them with a question mark. In other |
| 3778 | words, it inverts the default behaviour. | words, it inverts the default behaviour. |
| # | Line 3189 REPETITION | Line 3783 REPETITION |
| 3783 | minimum or maximum. | minimum or maximum. |
| 3784 | ||
| 3785 | If a pattern starts with .* or .{0,} and the PCRE_DOTALL option (equiv- | If a pattern starts with .* or .{0,} and the PCRE_DOTALL option (equiv- |
| 3786 | alent to Perl's /s) is set, thus allowing the . to match newlines, the | alent to Perl's /s) is set, thus allowing the dot to match newlines, |
| 3787 | pattern is implicitly anchored, because whatever follows will be tried | the pattern is implicitly anchored, because whatever follows will be |
| 3788 | against every character position in the subject string, so there is no | tried against every character position in the subject string, so there |
| 3789 | point in retrying the overall match at any position after the first. | is no point in retrying the overall match at any position after the |
| 3790 | PCRE normally treats such a pattern as though it were preceded by \A. | first. PCRE normally treats such a pattern as though it were preceded |
| 3791 | by \A. | |
| 3792 | ||
| 3793 | In cases where it is known that the subject string contains no new- | In cases where it is known that the subject string contains no new- |
| 3794 | lines, it is worth setting PCRE_DOTALL in order to obtain this opti- | lines, it is worth setting PCRE_DOTALL in order to obtain this opti- |
| 3795 | mization, or alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly. | mization, or alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly. |
| 3796 | ||
| 3797 | However, there is one situation where the optimization cannot be used. | However, there is one situation where the optimization cannot be used. |
| 3798 | When .* is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a | When .* is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a |
| 3799 | backreference elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start may fail, | backreference elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start may fail |
| 3800 | and a later one succeed. Consider, for example: | where a later one succeeds. Consider, for example: |
| 3801 | ||
| 3802 | (.*)abc\1 | (.*)abc\1 |
| 3803 | ||
| 3804 | If the subject is "xyz123abc123" the match point is the fourth charac- | If the subject is "xyz123abc123" the match point is the fourth charac- |
| 3805 | ter. For this reason, such a pattern is not implicitly anchored. | ter. For this reason, such a pattern is not implicitly anchored. |
| 3806 | ||
| 3807 | When a capturing subpattern is repeated, the value captured is the sub- | When a capturing subpattern is repeated, the value captured is the sub- |
| # | Line 3215 REPETITION | Line 3810 REPETITION |
| 3810 | (tweedle[dume]{3}\s*)+ | (tweedle[dume]{3}\s*)+ |
| 3811 | ||
| 3812 | has matched "tweedledum tweedledee" the value of the captured substring | has matched "tweedledum tweedledee" the value of the captured substring |
| 3813 | is "tweedledee". However, if there are nested capturing subpatterns, | is "tweedledee". However, if there are nested capturing subpatterns, |
| 3814 | the corresponding captured values may have been set in previous itera- | the corresponding captured values may have been set in previous itera- |
| 3815 | tions. For example, after | tions. For example, after |
| 3816 | ||
| 3817 | /(a|(b))+/ | /(a|(b))+/ |
| # | Line 3226 REPETITION | Line 3821 REPETITION |
| 3821 | ||
| 3822 | ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIERS | ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIERS |
| 3823 | ||
| 3824 | With both maximizing and minimizing repetition, failure of what follows | With both maximizing ("greedy") and minimizing ("ungreedy" or "lazy") |
| 3825 | normally causes the repeated item to be re-evaluated to see if a dif- | repetition, failure of what follows normally causes the repeated item |
| 3826 | ferent number of repeats allows the rest of the pattern to match. Some- | to be re-evaluated to see if a different number of repeats allows the |
| 3827 | times it is useful to prevent this, either to change the nature of the | rest of the pattern to match. Sometimes it is useful to prevent this, |
| 3828 | match, or to cause it fail earlier than it otherwise might, when the | either to change the nature of the match, or to cause it fail earlier |
| 3829 | author of the pattern knows there is no point in carrying on. | than it otherwise might, when the author of the pattern knows there is |
| 3830 | no point in carrying on. | |
| 3831 | ||
| 3832 | Consider, for example, the pattern \d+foo when applied to the subject | Consider, for example, the pattern \d+foo when applied to the subject |
| 3833 | line | line |
| # | Line 3245 ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIE | Line 3841 ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIE |
| 3841 | the means for specifying that once a subpattern has matched, it is not | the means for specifying that once a subpattern has matched, it is not |
| 3842 | to be re-evaluated in this way. | to be re-evaluated in this way. |
| 3843 | ||
| 3844 | If we use atomic grouping for the previous example, the matcher would | If we use atomic grouping for the previous example, the matcher gives |
| 3845 | give up immediately on failing to match "foo" the first time. The nota- | up immediately on failing to match "foo" the first time. The notation |
| 3846 | tion is a kind of special parenthesis, starting with (?> as in this | is a kind of special parenthesis, starting with (?> as in this example: |
| example: | ||
| 3847 | ||
| 3848 | (?>\d+)foo | (?>\d+)foo |
| 3849 | ||
| # | Line 3280 ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIE | Line 3875 ATOMIC GROUPING AND POSSESSIVE QUANTIFIE |
| 3875 | Possessive quantifiers are always greedy; the setting of the | Possessive quantifiers are always greedy; the setting of the |
| 3876 | PCRE_UNGREEDY option is ignored. They are a convenient notation for the | PCRE_UNGREEDY option is ignored. They are a convenient notation for the |
| 3877 | simpler forms of atomic group. However, there is no difference in the | simpler forms of atomic group. However, there is no difference in the |
| 3878 | meaning or processing of a possessive quantifier and the equivalent | meaning of a possessive quantifier and the equivalent atomic group, |
| 3879 | atomic group. | though there may be a performance difference; possessive quantifiers |
| 3880 | should be slightly faster. | |
| 3881 | The possessive quantifier syntax is an extension to the Perl syntax. It | |
| 3882 | originates in Sun's Java package. | The possessive quantifier syntax is an extension to the Perl 5.8 syn- |
| 3883 | tax. Jeffrey Friedl originated the idea (and the name) in the first | |
| 3884 | When a pattern contains an unlimited repeat inside a subpattern that | edition of his book. Mike McCloskey liked it, so implemented it when he |
| 3885 | can itself be repeated an unlimited number of times, the use of an | built Sun's Java package, and PCRE copied it from there. It ultimately |
| 3886 | atomic group is the only way to avoid some failing matches taking a | found its way into Perl at release 5.10. |
| 3887 | ||
| 3888 | PCRE has an optimization that automatically "possessifies" certain sim- | |
| 3889 | ple pattern constructs. For example, the sequence A+B is treated as | |
| 3890 | A++B because there is no point in backtracking into a sequence of A's | |
| 3891 | when B must follow. | |
| 3892 | ||
| 3893 | When a pattern contains an unlimited repeat inside a subpattern that | |
| 3894 | can itself be repeated an unlimited number of times, the use of an | |
| 3895 | atomic group is the only way to avoid some failing matches taking a | |
| 3896 | very long time indeed. The pattern | very long time indeed. The pattern |
| 3897 | ||
| 3898 | (\D+|<\d+>)*[!?] | (\D+|<\d+>)*[!?] |
| 3899 | ||
| 3900 | matches an unlimited number of substrings that either consist of non- | matches an unlimited number of substrings that either consist of non- |
| 3901 | digits, or digits enclosed in <>, followed by either ! or ?. When it | digits, or digits enclosed in <>, followed by either ! or ?. When it |
| 3902 | matches, it runs quickly. However, if it is applied to | matches, it runs quickly. However, if it is applied to |
| 3903 | ||
| 3904 | aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa | aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa |
| 3905 | ||
| 3906 | it takes a long time before reporting failure. This is because the | it takes a long time before reporting failure. This is because the |
| 3907 | string can be divided between the internal \D+ repeat and the external | string can be divided between the internal \D+ repeat and the external |
| 3908 | * repeat in a large number of ways, and all have to be tried. (The | * repeat in a large number of ways, and all have to be tried. (The |
| 3909 | example uses [!?] rather than a single character at the end, because | example uses [!?] rather than a single character at the end, because |
| 3910 | both PCRE and Perl have an optimization that allows for fast failure | both PCRE and Perl have an optimization that allows for fast failure |
| 3911 | when a single character is used. They remember the last single charac- | when a single character is used. They remember the last single charac- |
| 3912 | ter that is required for a match, and fail early if it is not present | ter that is required for a match, and fail early if it is not present |
| 3913 | in the string.) If the pattern is changed so that it uses an atomic | in the string.) If the pattern is changed so that it uses an atomic |
| 3914 | group, like this: | group, like this: |
| 3915 | ||
| 3916 | ((?>\D+)|<\d+>)*[!?] | ((?>\D+)|<\d+>)*[!?] |
| 3917 | ||
| 3918 | sequences of non-digits cannot be broken, and failure happens quickly. | sequences of non-digits cannot be broken, and failure happens quickly. |
| 3919 | ||
| 3920 | ||
| 3921 | BACK REFERENCES | BACK REFERENCES |
| 3922 | ||
| 3923 | Outside a character class, a backslash followed by a digit greater than | Outside a character class, a backslash followed by a digit greater than |
| 3924 | 0 (and possibly further digits) is a back reference to a capturing sub- | 0 (and possibly further digits) is a back reference to a capturing sub- |
| 3925 | pattern earlier (that is, to its left) in the pattern, provided there | pattern earlier (that is, to its left) in the pattern, provided there |
| 3926 | have been that many previous capturing left parentheses. | have been that many previous capturing left parentheses. |
| 3927 | ||
| 3928 | However, if the decimal number following the backslash is less than 10, | However, if the decimal number following the backslash is less than 10, |
| 3929 | it is always taken as a back reference, and causes an error only if | it is always taken as a back reference, and causes an error only if |
| 3930 | there are not that many capturing left parentheses in the entire pat- | there are not that many capturing left parentheses in the entire pat- |
| 3931 | tern. In other words, the parentheses that are referenced need not be | tern. In other words, the parentheses that are referenced need not be |
| 3932 | to the left of the reference for numbers less than 10. See the subsec- | to the left of the reference for numbers less than 10. A "forward back |
| 3933 | tion entitled "Non-printing characters" above for further details of | reference" of this type can make sense when a repetition is involved |
| 3934 | the handling of digits following a backslash. | and the subpattern to the right has participated in an earlier itera- |
| 3935 | tion. | |
| 3936 | ||
| 3937 | It is not possible to have a numerical "forward back reference" to a | |
| 3938 | subpattern whose number is 10 or more using this syntax because a | |
| 3939 | sequence such as \50 is interpreted as a character defined in octal. | |
| 3940 | See the subsection entitled "Non-printing characters" above for further | |
| 3941 | details of the handling of digits following a backslash. There is no | |
| 3942 | such problem when named parentheses are used. A back reference to any | |
| 3943 | subpattern is possible using named parentheses (see below). | |
| 3944 | ||
| 3945 | Another way of avoiding the ambiguity inherent in the use of digits | |
| 3946 | following a backslash is to use the \g escape sequence, which is a fea- | |
| 3947 | ture introduced in Perl 5.10. This escape must be followed by a posi- | |
| 3948 | tive or a negative number, optionally enclosed in braces. These exam- | |
| 3949 | ples are all identical: | |
| 3950 | ||
| 3951 | (ring), \1 | |
| 3952 | (ring), \g1 | |
| 3953 | (ring), \g{1} | |
| 3954 | ||
| 3955 | A positive number specifies an absolute reference without the ambiguity | |
| 3956 | that is present in the older syntax. It is also useful when literal | |
| 3957 | digits follow the reference. A negative number is a relative reference. | |
| 3958 | Consider this example: | |
| 3959 | ||
| 3960 | (abc(def)ghi)\g{-1} | |
| 3961 | ||
| 3962 | The sequence \g{-1} is a reference to the most recently started captur- | |
| 3963 | ing subpattern before \g, that is, is it equivalent to \2. Similarly, | |
| 3964 | \g{-2} would be equivalent to \1. The use of relative references can be | |
| 3965 | helpful in long patterns, and also in patterns that are created by | |
| 3966 | joining together fragments that contain references within themselves. | |
| 3967 | ||
| 3968 | A back reference matches whatever actually matched the capturing sub- | A back reference matches whatever actually matched the capturing sub- |
| 3969 | pattern in the current subject string, rather than anything matching | pattern in the current subject string, rather than anything matching |
| 3970 | the subpattern itself (see "Subpatterns as subroutines" below for a way | the subpattern itself (see "Subpatterns as subroutines" below for a way |
| 3971 | of doing that). So the pattern | of doing that). So the pattern |
| 3972 | ||
| 3973 | (sens|respons)e and \1ibility | (sens|respons)e and \1ibility |
| 3974 | ||
| 3975 | matches "sense and sensibility" and "response and responsibility", but | matches "sense and sensibility" and "response and responsibility", but |
| 3976 | not "sense and responsibility". If caseful matching is in force at the | not "sense and responsibility". If caseful matching is in force at the |
| 3977 | time of the back reference, the case of letters is relevant. For exam- | time of the back reference, the case of letters is relevant. For exam- |
| 3978 | ple, | ple, |
| 3979 | ||
| 3980 | ((?i)rah)\s+\1 | ((?i)rah)\s+\1 |
| 3981 | ||
| 3982 | matches "rah rah" and "RAH RAH", but not "RAH rah", even though the | matches "rah rah" and "RAH RAH", but not "RAH rah", even though the |
| 3983 | original capturing subpattern is matched caselessly. | original capturing subpattern is matched caselessly. |
| 3984 | ||
| 3985 | Back references to named subpatterns use the Python syntax (?P=name). | There are several different ways of writing back references to named |
| 3986 | We could rewrite the above example as follows: | subpatterns. The .NET syntax \k{name} and the Perl syntax \k<name> or |
| 3987 | \k'name' are supported, as is the Python syntax (?P=name). Perl 5.10's | |
| 3988 | unified back reference syntax, in which \g can be used for both numeric | |
| 3989 | and named references, is also supported. We could rewrite the above | |
| 3990 | example in any of the following ways: | |
| 3991 | ||
| 3992 | (?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\k<p1> | |
| 3993 | (?'p1'(?i)rah)\s+\k{p1} | |
| 3994 | (?P<p1>(?i)rah)\s+(?P=p1) | |
| 3995 | (?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\g{p1} | |
| 3996 | ||
| 3997 | (?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+(?P=p1) | A subpattern that is referenced by name may appear in the pattern |
| 3998 | before or after the reference. | |
| 3999 | ||
| 4000 | There may be more than one back reference to the same subpattern. If a | There may be more than one back reference to the same subpattern. If a |
| 4001 | subpattern has not actually been used in a particular match, any back | subpattern has not actually been used in a particular match, any back |
| # | Line 3438 ASSERTIONS | Line 4084 ASSERTIONS |
| 4084 | does find an occurrence of "bar" that is not preceded by "foo". The | does find an occurrence of "bar" that is not preceded by "foo". The |
| 4085 | contents of a lookbehind assertion are restricted such that all the | contents of a lookbehind assertion are restricted such that all the |
| 4086 | strings it matches must have a fixed length. However, if there are sev- | strings it matches must have a fixed length. However, if there are sev- |
| 4087 | eral alternatives, they do not all have to have the same fixed length. | eral top-level alternatives, they do not all have to have the same |
| 4088 | Thus | fixed length. Thus |
| 4089 | ||
| 4090 | (?<=bullock|donkey) | (?<=bullock|donkey) |
| 4091 | ||
| # | Line 3461 ASSERTIONS | Line 4107 ASSERTIONS |
| 4107 | ||
| 4108 | (?<=abc|abde) | (?<=abc|abde) |
| 4109 | ||
| 4110 | In some cases, the Perl 5.10 escape sequence \K (see above) can be used | |
| 4111 | instead of a lookbehind assertion; this is not restricted to a fixed- | |
| 4112 | length. | |
| 4113 | ||
| 4114 | The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, | The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, |
| 4115 | to temporarily move the current position back by the fixed width and | to temporarily move the current position back by the fixed length and |
| 4116 | then try to match. If there are insufficient characters before the cur- | then try to match. If there are insufficient characters before the cur- |
| 4117 | rent position, the match is deemed to fail. | rent position, the assertion fails. |
| 4118 | ||
| 4119 | PCRE does not allow the \C escape (which matches a single byte in UTF-8 | PCRE does not allow the \C escape (which matches a single byte in UTF-8 |
| 4120 | mode) to appear in lookbehind assertions, because it makes it impossi- | mode) to appear in lookbehind assertions, because it makes it impossi- |
| 4121 | ble to calculate the length of the lookbehind. The \X escape, which can | ble to calculate the length of the lookbehind. The \X and \R escapes, |
| 4122 | match different numbers of bytes, is also not permitted. | which can match different numbers of bytes, are also not permitted. |
| 4123 | ||
| 4124 | Atomic groups can be used in conjunction with lookbehind assertions to | Possessive quantifiers can be used in conjunction with lookbehind |
| 4125 | specify efficient matching at the end of the subject string. Consider a | assertions to specify efficient matching at the end of the subject |
| 4126 | simple pattern such as | string. Consider a simple pattern such as |
| 4127 | ||
| 4128 | abcd$ | abcd$ |
| 4129 | ||
| # | Line 3490 ASSERTIONS | Line 4140 ASSERTIONS |
| 4140 | again the search for "a" covers the entire string, from right to left, | again the search for "a" covers the entire string, from right to left, |
| 4141 | so we are no better off. However, if the pattern is written as | so we are no better off. However, if the pattern is written as |
| 4142 | ||
| ^(?>.*)(?<=abcd) | ||
| or, equivalently, using the possessive quantifier syntax, | ||
| 4143 | ^.*+(?<=abcd) | ^.*+(?<=abcd) |
| 4144 | ||
| 4145 | there can be no backtracking for the .* item; it can match only the | there can be no backtracking for the .*+ item; it can match only the |
| 4146 | entire string. The subsequent lookbehind assertion does a single test | entire string. The subsequent lookbehind assertion does a single test |
| 4147 | on the last four characters. If it fails, the match fails immediately. | on the last four characters. If it fails, the match fails immediately. |
| 4148 | For long strings, this approach makes a significant difference to the | For long strings, this approach makes a significant difference to the |
| # | Line 3551 CONDITIONAL SUBPATTERNS | Line 4197 CONDITIONAL SUBPATTERNS |
| 4197 | no-pattern (if present) is used. If there are more than two alterna- | no-pattern (if present) is used. If there are more than two alterna- |
| 4198 | tives in the subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. | tives in the subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. |
| 4199 | ||
| 4200 | There are three kinds of condition. If the text between the parentheses | There are four kinds of condition: references to subpatterns, refer- |
| 4201 | consists of a sequence of digits, the condition is satisfied if the | ences to recursion, a pseudo-condition called DEFINE, and assertions. |
| 4202 | capturing subpattern of that number has previously matched. The number | |
| 4203 | must be greater than zero. Consider the following pattern, which con- | Checking for a used subpattern by number |
| 4204 | tains non-significant white space to make it more readable (assume the | |
| 4205 | PCRE_EXTENDED option) and to divide it into three parts for ease of | If the text between the parentheses consists of a sequence of digits, |
| 4206 | discussion: | the condition is true if the capturing subpattern of that number has |
| 4207 | previously matched. An alternative notation is to precede the digits | |
| 4208 | with a plus or minus sign. In this case, the subpattern number is rela- | |
| 4209 | tive rather than absolute. The most recently opened parentheses can be | |
| 4210 | referenced by (?(-1), the next most recent by (?(-2), and so on. In | |
| 4211 | looping constructs it can also make sense to refer to subsequent groups | |
| 4212 | with constructs such as (?(+2). | |
| 4213 | ||
| 4214 | Consider the following pattern, which contains non-significant white | |
| 4215 | space to make it more readable (assume the PCRE_EXTENDED option) and to | |
| 4216 | divide it into three parts for ease of discussion: | |
| 4217 | ||
| 4218 | ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(1) \) ) | ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(1) \) ) |
| 4219 | ||
| # | Line 3572 CONDITIONAL SUBPATTERNS | Line 4228 CONDITIONAL SUBPATTERNS |
| 4228 | other words, this pattern matches a sequence of non-parentheses, | other words, this pattern matches a sequence of non-parentheses, |
| 4229 | optionally enclosed in parentheses. | optionally enclosed in parentheses. |
| 4230 | ||
| 4231 | If the condition is the string (R), it is satisfied if a recursive call | If you were embedding this pattern in a larger one, you could use a |
| 4232 | to the pattern or subpattern has been made. At "top level", the condi- | relative reference: |
| 4233 | tion is false. This is a PCRE extension. Recursive patterns are | |
| 4234 | described in the next section. | ...other stuff... ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(-1) \) ) ... |
| 4235 | ||
| 4236 | This makes the fragment independent of the parentheses in the larger | |
| 4237 | pattern. | |
| 4238 | ||
| 4239 | Checking for a used subpattern by name | |
| 4240 | ||
| 4241 | Perl uses the syntax (?(<name>)...) or (?('name')...) to test for a | |
| 4242 | used subpattern by name. For compatibility with earlier versions of | |
| 4243 | PCRE, which had this facility before Perl, the syntax (?(name)...) is | |
| 4244 | also recognized. However, there is a possible ambiguity with this syn- | |
| 4245 | tax, because subpattern names may consist entirely of digits. PCRE | |
| 4246 | looks first for a named subpattern; if it cannot find one and the name | |
| 4247 | consists entirely of digits, PCRE looks for a subpattern of that num- | |
| 4248 | ber, which must be greater than zero. Using subpattern names that con- | |
| 4249 | sist entirely of digits is not recommended. | |
| 4250 | ||
| 4251 | Rewriting the above example to use a named subpattern gives this: | |
| 4252 | ||
| 4253 | If the condition is not a sequence of digits or (R), it must be an | (?<OPEN> \( )? [^()]+ (?(<OPEN>) \) ) |
| 4254 | ||
| 4255 | ||
| 4256 | Checking for pattern recursion | |
| 4257 | ||
| 4258 | If the condition is the string (R), and there is no subpattern with the | |
| 4259 | name R, the condition is true if a recursive call to the whole pattern | |
| 4260 | or any subpattern has been made. If digits or a name preceded by amper- | |
| 4261 | sand follow the letter R, for example: | |
| 4262 | ||
| 4263 | (?(R3)...) or (?(R&name)...) | |
| 4264 | ||
| 4265 | the condition is true if the most recent recursion is into the subpat- | |
| 4266 | tern whose number or name is given. This condition does not check the | |
| 4267 | entire recursion stack. | |
| 4268 | ||
| 4269 | At "top level", all these recursion test conditions are false. Recur- | |
| 4270 | sive patterns are described below. | |
| 4271 | ||
| 4272 | Defining subpatterns for use by reference only | |
| 4273 | ||
| 4274 | If the condition is the string (DEFINE), and there is no subpattern | |
| 4275 | with the name DEFINE, the condition is always false. In this case, | |
| 4276 | there may be only one alternative in the subpattern. It is always | |
| 4277 | skipped if control reaches this point in the pattern; the idea of | |
| 4278 | DEFINE is that it can be used to define "subroutines" that can be ref- | |
| 4279 | erenced from elsewhere. (The use of "subroutines" is described below.) | |
| 4280 | For example, a pattern to match an IPv4 address could be written like | |
| 4281 | this (ignore whitespace and line breaks): | |
| 4282 | ||
| 4283 | (?(DEFINE) (?<byte> 2[0-4]\d | 25[0-5] | 1\d\d | [1-9]?\d) ) | |
| 4284 | \b (?&byte) (\.(?&byte)){3} \b | |
| 4285 | ||
| 4286 | The first part of the pattern is a DEFINE group inside which a another | |
| 4287 | group named "byte" is defined. This matches an individual component of | |
| 4288 | an IPv4 address (a number less than 256). When matching takes place, | |
| 4289 | this part of the pattern is skipped because DEFINE acts like a false | |
| 4290 | condition. | |
| 4291 | ||
| 4292 | The rest of the pattern uses references to the named group to match the | |
| 4293 | four dot-separated components of an IPv4 address, insisting on a word | |
| 4294 | boundary at each end. | |
| 4295 | ||
| 4296 | Assertion conditions | |
| 4297 | ||
| 4298 | If the condition is not in any of the above formats, it must be an | |
| 4299 | assertion. This may be a positive or negative lookahead or lookbehind | assertion. This may be a positive or negative lookahead or lookbehind |
| 4300 | assertion. Consider this pattern, again containing non-significant | assertion. Consider this pattern, again containing non-significant |
| 4301 | white space, and with the two alternatives on the second line: | white space, and with the two alternatives on the second line: |
| # | Line 3602 COMMENTS | Line 4320 COMMENTS |
| 4320 | at all. | at all. |
| 4321 | ||
| 4322 | If the PCRE_EXTENDED option is set, an unescaped # character outside a | If the PCRE_EXTENDED option is set, an unescaped # character outside a |
| 4323 | character class introduces a comment that continues up to the next new- | character class introduces a comment that continues to immediately |
| 4324 | line character in the pattern. | after the next newline in the pattern. |
| 4325 | ||
| 4326 | ||
| 4327 | RECURSIVE PATTERNS | RECURSIVE PATTERNS |
| # | Line 3612 RECURSIVE PATTERNS | Line 4330 RECURSIVE PATTERNS |
| 4330 | unlimited nested parentheses. Without the use of recursion, the best | unlimited nested parentheses. Without the use of recursion, the best |
| 4331 | that can be done is to use a pattern that matches up to some fixed | that can be done is to use a pattern that matches up to some fixed |
| 4332 | depth of nesting. It is not possible to handle an arbitrary nesting | depth of nesting. It is not possible to handle an arbitrary nesting |
| 4333 | depth. Perl provides a facility that allows regular expressions to | depth. |
| 4334 | recurse (amongst other things). It does this by interpolating Perl code | |
| 4335 | in the expression at run time, and the code can refer to the expression | For some time, Perl has provided a facility that allows regular expres- |
| 4336 | itself. A Perl pattern to solve the parentheses problem can be created | sions to recurse (amongst other things). It does this by interpolating |
| 4337 | like this: | Perl code in the expression at run time, and the code can refer to the |
| 4338 | expression itself. A Perl pattern using code interpolation to solve the | |
| 4339 | parentheses problem can be created like this: | |
| 4340 | ||
| 4341 | $re = qr{\( (?: (?>[^()]+) | (?p{$re}) )* \)}x; | $re = qr{\( (?: (?>[^()]+) | (?p{$re}) )* \)}x; |
| 4342 | ||
| 4343 | The (?p{...}) item interpolates Perl code at run time, and in this case | The (?p{...}) item interpolates Perl code at run time, and in this case |
| 4344 | refers recursively to the pattern in which it appears. Obviously, PCRE | refers recursively to the pattern in which it appears. |
| 4345 | cannot support the interpolation of Perl code. Instead, it supports | |
| 4346 | some special syntax for recursion of the entire pattern, and also for | Obviously, PCRE cannot support the interpolation of Perl code. Instead, |
| 4347 | individual subpattern recursion. | it supports special syntax for recursion of the entire pattern, and |
| 4348 | also for individual subpattern recursion. After its introduction in | |
| 4349 | PCRE and Python, this kind of recursion was introduced into Perl at | |
| 4350 | release 5.10. | |
| 4351 | ||
| 4352 | The special item that consists of (? followed by a number greater than | A special item that consists of (? followed by a number greater than |
| 4353 | zero and a closing parenthesis is a recursive call of the subpattern of | zero and a closing parenthesis is a recursive call of the subpattern of |
| 4354 | the given number, provided that it occurs inside that subpattern. (If | the given number, provided that it occurs inside that subpattern. (If |
| 4355 | not, it is a "subroutine" call, which is described in the next sec- | not, it is a "subroutine" call, which is described in the next sec- |
| 4356 | tion.) The special item (?R) is a recursive call of the entire regular | tion.) The special item (?R) or (?0) is a recursive call of the entire |
| 4357 | expression. | regular expression. |
| 4358 | ||
| 4359 | In PCRE (like Python, but unlike Perl), a recursive subpattern call is |