trunk/doc/pcregrep.txt

NAME
     pcregrep - a grep with Perl-compatible regular expressions.


SYNOPSIS
     pcregrep [-Vcfhilnrsuvx] [long options] [pattern] [file1


DESCRIPTION

     pcregrep searches files for character patterns, in the  same
     way  as other grep commands do, but it uses the PCRE regular
     expression library to support patterns that  are  compatible
     with  the regular expressions of Perl 5. See pcrepattern for
     a full description of syntax and semantics  of  the  regular
     expressions that PCRE supports.

     A pattern must be specified on the command line  unless  the
     -f option is used (see below).

     If no files  are  specified,  pcregrep  reads  the  standard
     input.  By  default,  each  line that matches the pattern is
     copied to the standard output, and if there is more than one
     file,  the  file name is printed before each line of output.
     However, there are options  that  can  change  how  pcregrep
     behaves.

     Lines are limited to BUFSIZ characters. BUFSIZ is defined in
     <stdio.h>.  The newline character is removed from the end of
     each line before it is matched against the pattern.


OPTIONS


     -V        Write the version number of the PCRE library being
               used to the standard error stream.

     -c        Do not print individual lines; instead just  print
               a  count  of the number of lines that would other-
               wise have  been  printed.  If  several  files  are
               given, a count is printed for each of them.

     -ffilename
               Read a number of patterns from the file,  one  per
               line,  and  match all of them against each line of
               input. A line is output if  any  of  the  patterns
               match  it.   When  -f is used, no pattern is taken
               from the command line; all arguments  are  treated
               as file names. There is a maximum of 100 patterns.
               Trailing white space is removed, and  blank  lines
               are  ignored.  An  empty file contains no patterns
               and therefore matches nothing.

     -h        Suppress printing of filenames when searching mul-
               tiple files.

     -i        Ignore upper/lower case distinctions  during  com-
               parisons.

     -l        Instead of printing lines  from  the  files,  just
               print the names of the files containing lines that
               would have been printed. Each file name is printed
               once, on a separate line.

     -n        Precede each line by its line number in the file.

     -r        If any file is a directory, recursively  scan  the
               files  it  contains.  Without  -r  a  directory is
               scanned as a normal file.

     -s        Work silently, that  is,  display  nothing  except
               error messages.  The exit status indicates whether
               any matches were found.

     -u        Operate in UTF-8 mode. This  option  is  available
               only if PCRE has been compiled with UTF-8 support.
               Both the pattern and each subject line are assumed
               to be valid strings of UTF-8 characters.

     -v        Invert the sense of the match, so that lines which
               do not match the pattern are now the ones that are
               found.

     -x        Force the pattern to be anchored  (it  must  start
               matching  at  the  beginning  of  the line) and in
               addition, require it to  match  the  entire  line.
               This is equivalent to having ^ and $ characters at
               the start and end of each  alternative  branch  in
               the regular expression.


LONG OPTIONS

     Long forms of all the options are available, as in GNU grep.
     They are shown in the following table:

       -c   --count
       -h   --no-filename
       -i   --ignore-case
       -l   --files-with-matches
       -n   --line-number
       -r   --recursive
       -s   --no-messages
       -u   --utf-8
       -V   --version
       -v   --invert-match
       -x   --line-regex
       -x   --line-regexp

     In addition, --file=filename is  equivalent  to  -ffilename,
     and --help shows the list of options and then exits.


DIAGNOSTICS

     Exit status is 0 if any matches were found, 1 if no  matches
     were  found,  and  2  for syntax errors or inacessible files
     (even if matches were found).


AUTHOR

     Philip Hazel <ph10@cam.ac.uk>
     University Computing Service
     Cambridge CB2 3QG, England.

Last updated: 03 February 2003
Copyright (c) 1997-2003 University of Cambridge.
1	nigel	49	NAME
2			pcregrep - a grep with Perl-compatible regular expressions.
3
4
5			SYNOPSIS
6	nigel	63	pcregrep [-Vcfhilnrsuvx] [long options] [pattern] [file1
7	nigel	49
8
9	nigel	63	DESCRIPTION
10	nigel	49
11			pcregrep searches files for character patterns, in the same
12			way as other grep commands do, but it uses the PCRE regular
13			expression library to support patterns that are compatible
14	nigel	63	with the regular expressions of Perl 5. See pcrepattern for
15			a full description of syntax and semantics of the regular
16			expressions that PCRE supports.
17	nigel	49
18	nigel	63	A pattern must be specified on the command line unless the
19			-f option is used (see below).
20
21	nigel	49	If no files are specified, pcregrep reads the standard
22			input. By default, each line that matches the pattern is
23			copied to the standard output, and if there is more than one
24			file, the file name is printed before each line of output.
25			However, there are options that can change how pcregrep
26			behaves.
27
28			Lines are limited to BUFSIZ characters. BUFSIZ is defined in
29			<stdio.h>. The newline character is removed from the end of
30			each line before it is matched against the pattern.
31
32
33	nigel	63	OPTIONS
34	nigel	49
35	nigel	63
36	nigel	49	-V Write the version number of the PCRE library being
37			used to the standard error stream.
38
39			-c Do not print individual lines; instead just print
40			a count of the number of lines that would other-
41			wise have been printed. If several files are
42			given, a count is printed for each of them.
43
44	nigel	61	-ffilename
45	nigel	63	Read a number of patterns from the file, one per
46			line, and match all of them against each line of
47			input. A line is output if any of the patterns
48			match it. When -f is used, no pattern is taken
49			from the command line; all arguments are treated
50			as file names. There is a maximum of 100 patterns.
51			Trailing white space is removed, and blank lines
52			are ignored. An empty file contains no patterns
53			and therefore matches nothing.
54	nigel	53
55	nigel	49	-h Suppress printing of filenames when searching mul-
56			tiple files.
57
58			-i Ignore upper/lower case distinctions during com-
59			parisons.
60
61			-l Instead of printing lines from the files, just
62			print the names of the files containing lines that
63			would have been printed. Each file name is printed
64			once, on a separate line.
65
66			-n Precede each line by its line number in the file.
67
68	nigel	53	-r If any file is a directory, recursively scan the
69			files it contains. Without -r a directory is
70			scanned as a normal file.
71
72	nigel	49	-s Work silently, that is, display nothing except
73			error messages. The exit status indicates whether
74			any matches were found.
75
76	nigel	63	-u Operate in UTF-8 mode. This option is available
77			only if PCRE has been compiled with UTF-8 support.
78			Both the pattern and each subject line are assumed
79			to be valid strings of UTF-8 characters.
80
81	nigel	49	-v Invert the sense of the match, so that lines which
82			do not match the pattern are now the ones that are
83			found.
84
85			-x Force the pattern to be anchored (it must start
86			matching at the beginning of the line) and in
87			addition, require it to match the entire line.
88			This is equivalent to having ^ and $ characters at
89			the start and end of each alternative branch in
90			the regular expression.
91
92
93	nigel	63	LONG OPTIONS
94	nigel	49
95	nigel	63	Long forms of all the options are available, as in GNU grep.
96			They are shown in the following table:
97	nigel	49
98	nigel	63	-c --count
99			-h --no-filename
100			-i --ignore-case
101			-l --files-with-matches
102			-n --line-number
103			-r --recursive
104			-s --no-messages
105			-u --utf-8
106			-V --version
107			-v --invert-match
108			-x --line-regex
109			-x --line-regexp
110	nigel	49
111	nigel	63	In addition, --file=filename is equivalent to -ffilename,
112			and --help shows the list of options and then exits.
113	nigel	49
114
115	nigel	63	DIAGNOSTICS
116	nigel	49
117			Exit status is 0 if any matches were found, 1 if no matches
118			were found, and 2 for syntax errors or inacessible files
119			(even if matches were found).
120
121
122
123			AUTHOR
124	nigel	63
125	nigel	49	Philip Hazel <ph10@cam.ac.uk>
126	nigel	63	University Computing Service
127			Cambridge CB2 3QG, England.
128	nigel	49
129	nigel	63	Last updated: 03 February 2003
130			Copyright (c) 1997-2003 University of Cambridge.