trunk/doc/pcrepartial.3

.TH PCREPARTIAL 3
.SH NAME
PCRE - Perl-compatible regular expressions
.SH "PARTIAL MATCHING IN PCRE"
.rs
.sp
In normal use of PCRE, if the subject string that is passed to
\fBpcre_exec()\fP or \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP matches as far as it goes, but is
too short to match the entire pattern, PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is returned. There
are circumstances where it might be helpful to distinguish this case from other
cases in which there is no match.
.P
Consider, for example, an application where a human is required to type in data
for a field with specific formatting requirements. An example might be a date
in the form \fIddmmmyy\fP, defined by this pattern:
.sp
  ^\ed?\ed(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\ed\ed$
.sp
If the application sees the user's keystrokes one by one, and can check that
what has been typed so far is potentially valid, it is able to raise an error
as soon as a mistake is made, possibly beeping and not reflecting the
character that has been typed. This immediate feedback is likely to be a better
user interface than a check that is delayed until the entire string has been
entered.
.P
PCRE supports the concept of partial matching by means of the PCRE_PARTIAL
option, which can be set when calling \fBpcre_exec()\fP or
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. When this flag is set for \fBpcre_exec()\fP, the return
code PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is converted into PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL if at any time
during the matching process the last part of the subject string matched part of
the pattern. Unfortunately, for non-anchored matching, it is not possible to
obtain the position of the start of the partial match. No captured data is set
when PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL is returned.
.P
When PCRE_PARTIAL is set for \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP, the return code
PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is converted into PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL if the end of the
subject is reached, there have been no complete matches, but there is still at
least one matching possibility. The portion of the string that provided the
partial match is set as the first matching string.
.P
Using PCRE_PARTIAL disables one of PCRE's optimizations. PCRE remembers the
last literal byte in a pattern, and abandons matching immediately if such a
byte is not present in the subject string. This optimization cannot be used
for a subject string that might match only partially.
.
.
.SH "RESTRICTED PATTERNS FOR PCRE_PARTIAL"
.rs
.sp
Because of the way certain internal optimizations are implemented in the
\fBpcre_exec()\fP function, the PCRE_PARTIAL option cannot be used with all
patterns. These restrictions do not apply when \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP is used.
For \fBpcre_exec()\fP, repeated single characters such as
.sp
  a{2,4}
.sp
and repeated single metasequences such as
.sp
  \ed+
.sp
are not permitted if the maximum number of occurrences is greater than one.
Optional items such as \ed? (where the maximum is one) are permitted.
Quantifiers with any values are permitted after parentheses, so the invalid
examples above can be coded thus:
.sp
  (a){2,4}
  (\ed)+
.sp
These constructions run more slowly, but for the kinds of application that are
envisaged for this facility, this is not felt to be a major restriction.
.P
If PCRE_PARTIAL is set for a pattern that does not conform to the restrictions,
\fBpcre_exec()\fP returns the error code PCRE_ERROR_BADPARTIAL (-13).
.
.
.SH "EXAMPLE OF PARTIAL MATCHING USING PCRETEST"
.rs
.sp
If the escape sequence \eP is present in a \fBpcretest\fP data line, the
PCRE_PARTIAL flag is used for the match. Here is a run of \fBpcretest\fP that
uses the date example quoted above:
.sp
    re> /^\ed?\ed(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\ed\ed$/
  data> 25jun04\P
   0: 25jun04
   1: jun
  data> 25dec3\P
  Partial match
  data> 3ju\P
  Partial match
  data> 3juj\P
  No match
  data> j\P
  No match
.sp
The first data string is matched completely, so \fBpcretest\fP shows the
matched substrings. The remaining four strings do not match the complete
pattern, but the first two are partial matches. The same test, using DFA
matching (by means of the \eD escape sequence), produces the following output:
.sp
    re> /^\d?\d(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\d\d$/
  data> 25jun04\eP\eD
   0: 25jun04
  data> 23dec3\eP\eD
  Partial match: 23dec3
  data> 3ju\eP\eD
  Partial match: 3ju
  data> 3juj\eP\eD
  No match
  data> j\eP\eD
  No match
.sp
Notice that in this case the portion of the string that was matched is made
available.
.
.
.SH "MULTI-SEGMENT MATCHING WITH pcre_dfa_exec()"
.rs
.sp
When a partial match has been found using \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP, it is possible
to continue the match by providing additional subject data and calling
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP again with the PCRE_DFA_RESTART option and the same
working space (where details of the previous partial match are stored). Here is
an example using \fBpcretest\fP, where the \eR escape sequence sets the
PCRE_DFA_RESTART option and the \eD escape sequence requests the use of
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP:
.sp
    re> /^\d?\d(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\d\d$/
  data> 23ja\eP\eD
  Partial match: 23ja
  data> n05\eR\eD
   0: n05
.sp
The first call has "23ja" as the subject, and requests partial matching; the
second call has "n05" as the subject for the continued (restarted) match.
Notice that when the match is complete, only the last part is shown; PCRE does
not retain the previously partially-matched string. It is up to the calling
program to do that if it needs to.
.P
This facility can be used to pass very long subject strings to
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. However, some care is needed for certain types of
pattern.
.P
1. If the pattern contains tests for the beginning or end of a line, you need
to pass the PCRE_NOTBOL or PCRE_NOTEOL options, as appropriate, when the
subject string for any call does not contain the beginning or end of a line.
.P
2. If the pattern contains backward assertions (including \eb or \eB), you need
to arrange for some overlap in the subject strings to allow for this. For
example, you could pass the subject in chunks that were 500 bytes long, but in
a buffer of 700 bytes, with the starting offset set to 200 and the previous 200
bytes at the start of the buffer.
.P
3. Matching a subject string that is split into multiple segments does not
always produce exactly the same result as matching over one single long string.
The difference arises when there are multiple matching possibilities, because a
partial match result is given only when there are no completed matches in a
call to fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. This means that as soon as the shortest match has
been found, continuation to a new subject segment is no longer possible.
Consider this \fBpcretest\fP example:
.sp
    re> /dog(sbody)?/
  data> do\eP\eD
  Partial match: do
  data> gsb\eR\eP\eD
   0: g
  data> dogsbody\eD
   0: dogsbody
   1: dog
.sp
The pattern matches the words "dog" or "dogsbody". When the subject is
presented in several parts ("do" and "gsb" being the first two) the match stops
when "dog" has been found, and it is not possible to continue. On the other
hand, if "dogsbody" is presented as a single string, both matches are found.
.P
Because of this phenomenon, it does not usually make sense to end a pattern
that is going to be matched in this way with a variable repeat.
.
.
.P
.in 0
Last updated: 28 February 2005
.br
Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge.
1	.TH PCREPARTIAL 3
2	.SH NAME
3	PCRE - Perl-compatible regular expressions
4	.SH "PARTIAL MATCHING IN PCRE"
5	.rs
6	.sp
7	In normal use of PCRE, if the subject string that is passed to
8	\fBpcre_exec()\fP or \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP matches as far as it goes, but is
9	too short to match the entire pattern, PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is returned. There
10	are circumstances where it might be helpful to distinguish this case from other
11	cases in which there is no match.
12	.P
13	Consider, for example, an application where a human is required to type in data
14	for a field with specific formatting requirements. An example might be a date
15	in the form \fIddmmmyy\fP, defined by this pattern:
16	.sp
17	^\ed?\ed(jan\|feb\|mar\|apr\|may\|jun\|jul\|aug\|sep\|oct\|nov\|dec)\ed\ed$
18	.sp
19	If the application sees the user's keystrokes one by one, and can check that
20	what has been typed so far is potentially valid, it is able to raise an error
21	as soon as a mistake is made, possibly beeping and not reflecting the
22	character that has been typed. This immediate feedback is likely to be a better
23	user interface than a check that is delayed until the entire string has been
24	entered.
25	.P
26	PCRE supports the concept of partial matching by means of the PCRE_PARTIAL
27	option, which can be set when calling \fBpcre_exec()\fP or
28	\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. When this flag is set for \fBpcre_exec()\fP, the return
29	code PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is converted into PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL if at any time
30	during the matching process the last part of the subject string matched part of
31	the pattern. Unfortunately, for non-anchored matching, it is not possible to
32	obtain the position of the start of the partial match. No captured data is set
33	when PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL is returned.
34	.P
35	When PCRE_PARTIAL is set for \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP, the return code
36	PCRE_ERROR_NOMATCH is converted into PCRE_ERROR_PARTIAL if the end of the
37	subject is reached, there have been no complete matches, but there is still at
38	least one matching possibility. The portion of the string that provided the
39	partial match is set as the first matching string.
40	.P
41	Using PCRE_PARTIAL disables one of PCRE's optimizations. PCRE remembers the
42	last literal byte in a pattern, and abandons matching immediately if such a
43	byte is not present in the subject string. This optimization cannot be used
44	for a subject string that might match only partially.
45	.
46	.
47	.SH "RESTRICTED PATTERNS FOR PCRE_PARTIAL"
48	.rs
49	.sp
50	Because of the way certain internal optimizations are implemented in the
51	\fBpcre_exec()\fP function, the PCRE_PARTIAL option cannot be used with all
52	patterns. These restrictions do not apply when \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP is used.
53	For \fBpcre_exec()\fP, repeated single characters such as
54	.sp
55	a{2,4}
56	.sp
57	and repeated single metasequences such as
58	.sp
59	\ed+
60	.sp
61	are not permitted if the maximum number of occurrences is greater than one.
62	Optional items such as \ed? (where the maximum is one) are permitted.
63	Quantifiers with any values are permitted after parentheses, so the invalid
64	examples above can be coded thus:
65	.sp
66	(a){2,4}
67	(\ed)+
68	.sp
69	These constructions run more slowly, but for the kinds of application that are
70	envisaged for this facility, this is not felt to be a major restriction.
71	.P
72	If PCRE_PARTIAL is set for a pattern that does not conform to the restrictions,
73	\fBpcre_exec()\fP returns the error code PCRE_ERROR_BADPARTIAL (-13).
74	.
75	.
76	.SH "EXAMPLE OF PARTIAL MATCHING USING PCRETEST"
77	.rs
78	.sp
79	If the escape sequence \eP is present in a \fBpcretest\fP data line, the
80	PCRE_PARTIAL flag is used for the match. Here is a run of \fBpcretest\fP that
81	uses the date example quoted above:
82	.sp
83	re> /^\ed?\ed(jan\|feb\|mar\|apr\|may\|jun\|jul\|aug\|sep\|oct\|nov\|dec)\ed\ed$/
84	data> 25jun04\P
85	0: 25jun04
86	1: jun
87	data> 25dec3\P
88	Partial match
89	data> 3ju\P
90	Partial match
91	data> 3juj\P
92	No match
93	data> j\P
94	No match
95	.sp
96	The first data string is matched completely, so \fBpcretest\fP shows the
97	matched substrings. The remaining four strings do not match the complete
98	pattern, but the first two are partial matches. The same test, using DFA
99	matching (by means of the \eD escape sequence), produces the following output:
100	.sp
101	re> /^\d?\d(jan\|feb\|mar\|apr\|may\|jun\|jul\|aug\|sep\|oct\|nov\|dec)\d\d$/
102	data> 25jun04\eP\eD
103	0: 25jun04
104	data> 23dec3\eP\eD
105	Partial match: 23dec3
106	data> 3ju\eP\eD
107	Partial match: 3ju
108	data> 3juj\eP\eD
109	No match
110	data> j\eP\eD
111	No match
112	.sp
113	Notice that in this case the portion of the string that was matched is made
114	available.
115	.
116	.
117	.SH "MULTI-SEGMENT MATCHING WITH pcre_dfa_exec()"
118	.rs
119	.sp
120	When a partial match has been found using \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP, it is possible
121	to continue the match by providing additional subject data and calling
122	\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP again with the PCRE_DFA_RESTART option and the same
123	working space (where details of the previous partial match are stored). Here is
124	an example using \fBpcretest\fP, where the \eR escape sequence sets the
125	PCRE_DFA_RESTART option and the \eD escape sequence requests the use of
126	\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP:
127	.sp
128	re> /^\d?\d(jan\|feb\|mar\|apr\|may\|jun\|jul\|aug\|sep\|oct\|nov\|dec)\d\d$/
129	data> 23ja\eP\eD
130	Partial match: 23ja
131	data> n05\eR\eD
132	0: n05
133	.sp
134	The first call has "23ja" as the subject, and requests partial matching; the
135	second call has "n05" as the subject for the continued (restarted) match.
136	Notice that when the match is complete, only the last part is shown; PCRE does
137	not retain the previously partially-matched string. It is up to the calling
138	program to do that if it needs to.
139	.P
140	This facility can be used to pass very long subject strings to
141	\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. However, some care is needed for certain types of
142	pattern.
143	.P
144	1. If the pattern contains tests for the beginning or end of a line, you need
145	to pass the PCRE_NOTBOL or PCRE_NOTEOL options, as appropriate, when the
146	subject string for any call does not contain the beginning or end of a line.
147	.P
148	2. If the pattern contains backward assertions (including \eb or \eB), you need
149	to arrange for some overlap in the subject strings to allow for this. For
150	example, you could pass the subject in chunks that were 500 bytes long, but in
151	a buffer of 700 bytes, with the starting offset set to 200 and the previous 200
152	bytes at the start of the buffer.
153	.P
154	3. Matching a subject string that is split into multiple segments does not
155	always produce exactly the same result as matching over one single long string.
156	The difference arises when there are multiple matching possibilities, because a
157	partial match result is given only when there are no completed matches in a
158	call to fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. This means that as soon as the shortest match has
159	been found, continuation to a new subject segment is no longer possible.
160	Consider this \fBpcretest\fP example:
161	.sp
162	re> /dog(sbody)?/
163	data> do\eP\eD
164	Partial match: do
165	data> gsb\eR\eP\eD
166	0: g
167	data> dogsbody\eD
168	0: dogsbody
169	1: dog
170	.sp
171	The pattern matches the words "dog" or "dogsbody". When the subject is
172	presented in several parts ("do" and "gsb" being the first two) the match stops
173	when "dog" has been found, and it is not possible to continue. On the other
174	hand, if "dogsbody" is presented as a single string, both matches are found.
175	.P
176	Because of this phenomenon, it does not usually make sense to end a pattern
177	that is going to be matched in this way with a variable repeat.
178	.
179	.
180	.P
181	.in 0
182	Last updated: 28 February 2005
183	.br
184	Copyright (c) 1997-2005 University of Cambridge.