| 21 |
description of PCRE's regular expressions is intended as reference material. |
description of PCRE's regular expressions is intended as reference material. |
| 22 |
.P |
.P |
| 23 |
The original operation of PCRE was on strings of one-byte characters. However, |
The original operation of PCRE was on strings of one-byte characters. However, |
| 24 |
there is now also support for UTF-8 character strings. To use this, |
there is now also support for UTF-8 character strings. To use this, |
| 25 |
PCRE must be built to include UTF-8 support, and you must call |
PCRE must be built to include UTF-8 support, and you must call |
| 26 |
\fBpcre_compile()\fP or \fBpcre_compile2()\fP with the PCRE_UTF8 option. There |
\fBpcre_compile()\fP or \fBpcre_compile2()\fP with the PCRE_UTF8 option. There |
| 27 |
is also a special sequence that can be given at the start of a pattern: |
is also a special sequence that can be given at the start of a pattern: |
| 32 |
option. This feature is not Perl-compatible. How setting UTF-8 mode affects |
option. This feature is not Perl-compatible. How setting UTF-8 mode affects |
| 33 |
pattern matching is mentioned in several places below. There is also a summary |
pattern matching is mentioned in several places below. There is also a summary |
| 34 |
of UTF-8 features in the |
of UTF-8 features in the |
|
.\" HTML <a href="pcre.html#utf8support"> |
|
|
.\" </a> |
|
|
section on UTF-8 support |
|
|
.\" |
|
|
in the main |
|
| 35 |
.\" HREF |
.\" HREF |
| 36 |
\fBpcre\fP |
\fBpcreunicode\fP |
| 37 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 38 |
page. |
page. |
| 39 |
.P |
.P |
| 40 |
|
Another special sequence that may appear at the start of a pattern or in |
| 41 |
|
combination with (*UTF8) is: |
| 42 |
|
.sp |
| 43 |
|
(*UCP) |
| 44 |
|
.sp |
| 45 |
|
This has the same effect as setting the PCRE_UCP option: it causes sequences |
| 46 |
|
such as \ed and \ew to use Unicode properties to determine character types, |
| 47 |
|
instead of recognizing only characters with codes less than 128 via a lookup |
| 48 |
|
table. |
| 49 |
|
.P |
| 50 |
|
If a pattern starts with (*NO_START_OPT), it has the same effect as setting the |
| 51 |
|
PCRE_NO_START_OPTIMIZE option either at compile or matching time. There are |
| 52 |
|
also some more of these special sequences that are concerned with the handling |
| 53 |
|
of newlines; they are described below. |
| 54 |
|
.P |
| 55 |
The remainder of this document discusses the patterns that are supported by |
The remainder of this document discusses the patterns that are supported by |
| 56 |
PCRE when its main matching function, \fBpcre_exec()\fP, is used. |
PCRE when its main matching function, \fBpcre_exec()\fP, is used. |
| 57 |
From release 6.0, PCRE offers a second matching function, |
From release 6.0, PCRE offers a second matching function, |
| 66 |
page. |
page. |
| 67 |
. |
. |
| 68 |
. |
. |
| 69 |
|
.\" HTML <a name="newlines"></a> |
| 70 |
.SH "NEWLINE CONVENTIONS" |
.SH "NEWLINE CONVENTIONS" |
| 71 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 72 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 94 |
(*ANYCRLF) any of the three above |
(*ANYCRLF) any of the three above |
| 95 |
(*ANY) all Unicode newline sequences |
(*ANY) all Unicode newline sequences |
| 96 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 97 |
These override the default and the options given to \fBpcre_compile()\fP or |
These override the default and the options given to \fBpcre_compile()\fP or |
| 98 |
\fBpcre_compile2()\fP. For example, on a Unix system where LF is the default |
\fBpcre_compile2()\fP. For example, on a Unix system where LF is the default |
| 99 |
newline sequence, the pattern |
newline sequence, the pattern |
| 100 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 106 |
they must be in upper case. If more than one of them is present, the last one |
they must be in upper case. If more than one of them is present, the last one |
| 107 |
is used. |
is used. |
| 108 |
.P |
.P |
| 109 |
The newline convention does not affect what the \eR escape sequence matches. By |
The newline convention affects the interpretation of the dot metacharacter when |
| 110 |
default, this is any Unicode newline sequence, for Perl compatibility. However, |
PCRE_DOTALL is not set, and also the behaviour of \eN. However, it does not |
| 111 |
this can be changed; see the description of \eR in the section entitled |
affect what the \eR escape sequence matches. By default, this is any Unicode |
| 112 |
|
newline sequence, for Perl compatibility. However, this can be changed; see the |
| 113 |
|
description of \eR in the section entitled |
| 114 |
.\" HTML <a href="#newlineseq"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#newlineseq"> |
| 115 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 116 |
"Newline sequences" |
"Newline sequences" |
| 182 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 183 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 184 |
The backslash character has several uses. Firstly, if it is followed by a |
The backslash character has several uses. Firstly, if it is followed by a |
| 185 |
non-alphanumeric character, it takes away any special meaning that character |
character that is not a number or a letter, it takes away any special meaning |
| 186 |
may have. This use of backslash as an escape character applies both inside and |
that character may have. This use of backslash as an escape character applies |
| 187 |
outside character classes. |
both inside and outside character classes. |
| 188 |
.P |
.P |
| 189 |
For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \e* in the pattern. |
For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \e* in the pattern. |
| 190 |
This escaping action applies whether or not the following character would |
This escaping action applies whether or not the following character would |
| 192 |
non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify that it stands for itself. In |
non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify that it stands for itself. In |
| 193 |
particular, if you want to match a backslash, you write \e\e. |
particular, if you want to match a backslash, you write \e\e. |
| 194 |
.P |
.P |
| 195 |
|
In UTF-8 mode, only ASCII numbers and letters have any special meaning after a |
| 196 |
|
backslash. All other characters (in particular, those whose codepoints are |
| 197 |
|
greater than 127) are treated as literals. |
| 198 |
|
.P |
| 199 |
If a pattern is compiled with the PCRE_EXTENDED option, whitespace in the |
If a pattern is compiled with the PCRE_EXTENDED option, whitespace in the |
| 200 |
pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a # outside |
pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a # outside |
| 201 |
a character class and the next newline are ignored. An escaping backslash can |
a character class and the next newline are ignored. An escaping backslash can |
| 215 |
\eQabc\eE\e$\eQxyz\eE abc$xyz abc$xyz |
\eQabc\eE\e$\eQxyz\eE abc$xyz abc$xyz |
| 216 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 217 |
The \eQ...\eE sequence is recognized both inside and outside character classes. |
The \eQ...\eE sequence is recognized both inside and outside character classes. |
| 218 |
|
An isolated \eE that is not preceded by \eQ is ignored. If \eQ is not followed |
| 219 |
|
by \eE later in the pattern, the literal interpretation continues to the end of |
| 220 |
|
the pattern (that is, \eE is assumed at the end). If the isolated \eQ is inside |
| 221 |
|
a character class, this causes an error, because the character class is not |
| 222 |
|
terminated. |
| 223 |
. |
. |
| 224 |
. |
. |
| 225 |
.\" HTML <a name="digitsafterbackslash"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="digitsafterbackslash"></a> |
| 233 |
one of the following escape sequences than the binary character it represents: |
one of the following escape sequences than the binary character it represents: |
| 234 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 235 |
\ea alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07) |
\ea alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07) |
| 236 |
\ecx "control-x", where x is any character |
\ecx "control-x", where x is any ASCII character |
| 237 |
\ee escape (hex 1B) |
\ee escape (hex 1B) |
| 238 |
\ef formfeed (hex 0C) |
\ef formfeed (hex 0C) |
| 239 |
\en linefeed (hex 0A) |
\en linefeed (hex 0A) |
| 240 |
\er carriage return (hex 0D) |
\er carriage return (hex 0D) |
| 241 |
\et tab (hex 09) |
\et tab (hex 09) |
| 242 |
\eddd character with octal code ddd, or backreference |
\eddd character with octal code ddd, or back reference |
| 243 |
\exhh character with hex code hh |
\exhh character with hex code hh |
| 244 |
\ex{hhh..} character with hex code hhh.. |
\ex{hhh..} character with hex code hhh.. |
| 245 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 246 |
The precise effect of \ecx is as follows: if x is a lower case letter, it |
The precise effect of \ecx is as follows: if x is a lower case letter, it |
| 247 |
is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the character (hex 40) is inverted. |
is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the character (hex 40) is inverted. |
| 248 |
Thus \ecz becomes hex 1A, but \ec{ becomes hex 3B, while \ec; becomes hex |
Thus \ecz becomes hex 1A (z is 7A), but \ec{ becomes hex 3B ({ is 7B), while |
| 249 |
7B. |
\ec; becomes hex 7B (; is 3B). If the byte following \ec has a value greater |
| 250 |
|
than 127, a compile-time error occurs. This locks out non-ASCII characters in |
| 251 |
|
both byte mode and UTF-8 mode. (When PCRE is compiled in EBCDIC mode, all byte |
| 252 |
|
values are valid. A lower case letter is converted to upper case, and then the |
| 253 |
|
0xc0 bits are flipped.) |
| 254 |
.P |
.P |
| 255 |
After \ex, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read (letters can be in |
After \ex, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read (letters can be in |
| 256 |
upper or lower case). Any number of hexadecimal digits may appear between \ex{ |
upper or lower case). Any number of hexadecimal digits may appear between \ex{ |
| 321 |
.P |
.P |
| 322 |
All the sequences that define a single character value can be used both inside |
All the sequences that define a single character value can be used both inside |
| 323 |
and outside character classes. In addition, inside a character class, the |
and outside character classes. In addition, inside a character class, the |
| 324 |
sequence \eb is interpreted as the backspace character (hex 08), and the |
sequence \eb is interpreted as the backspace character (hex 08). The sequences |
| 325 |
sequences \eR and \eX are interpreted as the characters "R" and "X", |
\eB, \eN, \eR, and \eX are not special inside a character class. Like any other |
| 326 |
respectively. Outside a character class, these sequences have different |
unrecognized escape sequences, they are treated as the literal characters "B", |
| 327 |
meanings |
"N", "R", and "X" by default, but cause an error if the PCRE_EXTRA option is |
| 328 |
.\" HTML <a href="#uniextseq"> |
set. Outside a character class, these sequences have different meanings. |
|
.\" </a> |
|
|
(see below). |
|
|
.\" |
|
| 329 |
. |
. |
| 330 |
. |
. |
| 331 |
.SS "Absolute and relative back references" |
.SS "Absolute and relative back references" |
| 356 |
later. |
later. |
| 357 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 358 |
Note that \eg{...} (Perl syntax) and \eg<...> (Oniguruma syntax) are \fInot\fP |
Note that \eg{...} (Perl syntax) and \eg<...> (Oniguruma syntax) are \fInot\fP |
| 359 |
synonymous. The former is a back reference; the latter is a |
synonymous. The former is a back reference; the latter is a |
| 360 |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
| 361 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 362 |
subroutine |
subroutine |
| 364 |
call. |
call. |
| 365 |
. |
. |
| 366 |
. |
. |
| 367 |
|
.\" HTML <a name="genericchartypes"></a> |
| 368 |
.SS "Generic character types" |
.SS "Generic character types" |
| 369 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 370 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 371 |
Another use of backslash is for specifying generic character types. The |
Another use of backslash is for specifying generic character types: |
|
following are always recognized: |
|
| 372 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 373 |
\ed any decimal digit |
\ed any decimal digit |
| 374 |
\eD any character that is not a decimal digit |
\eD any character that is not a decimal digit |
| 381 |
\ew any "word" character |
\ew any "word" character |
| 382 |
\eW any "non-word" character |
\eW any "non-word" character |
| 383 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 384 |
Each pair of escape sequences partitions the complete set of characters into |
There is also the single sequence \eN, which matches a non-newline character. |
| 385 |
two disjoint sets. Any given character matches one, and only one, of each pair. |
This is the same as |
| 386 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="#fullstopdot"> |
| 387 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 388 |
|
the "." metacharacter |
| 389 |
|
.\" |
| 390 |
|
when PCRE_DOTALL is not set. |
| 391 |
.P |
.P |
| 392 |
These character type sequences can appear both inside and outside character |
Each pair of lower and upper case escape sequences partitions the complete set |
| 393 |
|
of characters into two disjoint sets. Any given character matches one, and only |
| 394 |
|
one, of each pair. The sequences can appear both inside and outside character |
| 395 |
classes. They each match one character of the appropriate type. If the current |
classes. They each match one character of the appropriate type. If the current |
| 396 |
matching point is at the end of the subject string, all of them fail, since |
matching point is at the end of the subject string, all of them fail, because |
| 397 |
there is no character to match. |
there is no character to match. |
| 398 |
.P |
.P |
| 399 |
For compatibility with Perl, \es does not match the VT character (code 11). |
For compatibility with Perl, \es does not match the VT character (code 11). |
| 402 |
included in a Perl script, \es may match the VT character. In PCRE, it never |
included in a Perl script, \es may match the VT character. In PCRE, it never |
| 403 |
does. |
does. |
| 404 |
.P |
.P |
| 405 |
In UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 never match \ed, \es, or |
A "word" character is an underscore or any character that is a letter or digit. |
| 406 |
\ew, and always match \eD, \eS, and \eW. This is true even when Unicode |
By default, the definition of letters and digits is controlled by PCRE's |
| 407 |
character property support is available. These sequences retain their original |
low-valued character tables, and may vary if locale-specific matching is taking |
| 408 |
meanings from before UTF-8 support was available, mainly for efficiency |
place (see |
| 409 |
reasons. Note that this also affects \eb, because it is defined in terms of \ew |
.\" HTML <a href="pcreapi.html#localesupport"> |
| 410 |
and \eW. |
.\" </a> |
| 411 |
.P |
"Locale support" |
| 412 |
The sequences \eh, \eH, \ev, and \eV are Perl 5.10 features. In contrast to the |
.\" |
| 413 |
other sequences, these do match certain high-valued codepoints in UTF-8 mode. |
in the |
| 414 |
The horizontal space characters are: |
.\" HREF |
| 415 |
|
\fBpcreapi\fP |
| 416 |
|
.\" |
| 417 |
|
page). For example, in a French locale such as "fr_FR" in Unix-like systems, |
| 418 |
|
or "french" in Windows, some character codes greater than 128 are used for |
| 419 |
|
accented letters, and these are then matched by \ew. The use of locales with |
| 420 |
|
Unicode is discouraged. |
| 421 |
|
.P |
| 422 |
|
By default, in UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 never match |
| 423 |
|
\ed, \es, or \ew, and always match \eD, \eS, and \eW. These sequences retain |
| 424 |
|
their original meanings from before UTF-8 support was available, mainly for |
| 425 |
|
efficiency reasons. However, if PCRE is compiled with Unicode property support, |
| 426 |
|
and the PCRE_UCP option is set, the behaviour is changed so that Unicode |
| 427 |
|
properties are used to determine character types, as follows: |
| 428 |
|
.sp |
| 429 |
|
\ed any character that \ep{Nd} matches (decimal digit) |
| 430 |
|
\es any character that \ep{Z} matches, plus HT, LF, FF, CR |
| 431 |
|
\ew any character that \ep{L} or \ep{N} matches, plus underscore |
| 432 |
|
.sp |
| 433 |
|
The upper case escapes match the inverse sets of characters. Note that \ed |
| 434 |
|
matches only decimal digits, whereas \ew matches any Unicode digit, as well as |
| 435 |
|
any Unicode letter, and underscore. Note also that PCRE_UCP affects \eb, and |
| 436 |
|
\eB because they are defined in terms of \ew and \eW. Matching these sequences |
| 437 |
|
is noticeably slower when PCRE_UCP is set. |
| 438 |
|
.P |
| 439 |
|
The sequences \eh, \eH, \ev, and \eV are features that were added to Perl at |
| 440 |
|
release 5.10. In contrast to the other sequences, which match only ASCII |
| 441 |
|
characters by default, these always match certain high-valued codepoints in |
| 442 |
|
UTF-8 mode, whether or not PCRE_UCP is set. The horizontal space characters |
| 443 |
|
are: |
| 444 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 445 |
U+0009 Horizontal tab |
U+0009 Horizontal tab |
| 446 |
U+0020 Space |
U+0020 Space |
| 471 |
U+0085 Next line |
U+0085 Next line |
| 472 |
U+2028 Line separator |
U+2028 Line separator |
| 473 |
U+2029 Paragraph separator |
U+2029 Paragraph separator |
|
.P |
|
|
A "word" character is an underscore or any character less than 256 that is a |
|
|
letter or digit. The definition of letters and digits is controlled by PCRE's |
|
|
low-valued character tables, and may vary if locale-specific matching is taking |
|
|
place (see |
|
|
.\" HTML <a href="pcreapi.html#localesupport"> |
|
|
.\" </a> |
|
|
"Locale support" |
|
|
.\" |
|
|
in the |
|
|
.\" HREF |
|
|
\fBpcreapi\fP |
|
|
.\" |
|
|
page). For example, in a French locale such as "fr_FR" in Unix-like systems, |
|
|
or "french" in Windows, some character codes greater than 128 are used for |
|
|
accented letters, and these are matched by \ew. The use of locales with Unicode |
|
|
is discouraged. |
|
| 474 |
. |
. |
| 475 |
. |
. |
| 476 |
.\" HTML <a name="newlineseq"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="newlineseq"></a> |
| 478 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 479 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 480 |
Outside a character class, by default, the escape sequence \eR matches any |
Outside a character class, by default, the escape sequence \eR matches any |
| 481 |
Unicode newline sequence. This is a Perl 5.10 feature. In non-UTF-8 mode \eR is |
Unicode newline sequence. In non-UTF-8 mode \eR is equivalent to the following: |
|
equivalent to the following: |
|
| 482 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 483 |
(?>\er\en|\en|\ex0b|\ef|\er|\ex85) |
(?>\er\en|\en|\ex0b|\ef|\er|\ex85) |
| 484 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 509 |
(*BSR_ANYCRLF) CR, LF, or CRLF only |
(*BSR_ANYCRLF) CR, LF, or CRLF only |
| 510 |
(*BSR_UNICODE) any Unicode newline sequence |
(*BSR_UNICODE) any Unicode newline sequence |
| 511 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 512 |
These override the default and the options given to \fBpcre_compile()\fP or |
These override the default and the options given to \fBpcre_compile()\fP or |
| 513 |
\fBpcre_compile2()\fP, but they can be overridden by options given to |
\fBpcre_compile2()\fP, but they can be overridden by options given to |
| 514 |
\fBpcre_exec()\fP or \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. Note that these special settings, |
\fBpcre_exec()\fP or \fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. Note that these special settings, |
| 515 |
which are not Perl-compatible, are recognized only at the very start of a |
which are not Perl-compatible, are recognized only at the very start of a |
| 516 |
pattern, and that they must be in upper case. If more than one of them is |
pattern, and that they must be in upper case. If more than one of them is |
| 517 |
present, the last one is used. They can be combined with a change of newline |
present, the last one is used. They can be combined with a change of newline |
| 518 |
convention, for example, a pattern can start with: |
convention; for example, a pattern can start with: |
| 519 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 520 |
(*ANY)(*BSR_ANYCRLF) |
(*ANY)(*BSR_ANYCRLF) |
| 521 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 522 |
Inside a character class, \eR matches the letter "R". |
They can also be combined with the (*UTF8) or (*UCP) special sequences. Inside |
| 523 |
|
a character class, \eR is treated as an unrecognized escape sequence, and so |
| 524 |
|
matches the letter "R" by default, but causes an error if PCRE_EXTRA is set. |
| 525 |
. |
. |
| 526 |
. |
. |
| 527 |
.\" HTML <a name="uniextseq"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="uniextseq"></a> |
| 539 |
\eX an extended Unicode sequence |
\eX an extended Unicode sequence |
| 540 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 541 |
The property names represented by \fIxx\fP above are limited to the Unicode |
The property names represented by \fIxx\fP above are limited to the Unicode |
| 542 |
script names, the general category properties, and "Any", which matches any |
script names, the general category properties, "Any", which matches any |
| 543 |
character (including newline). Other properties such as "InMusicalSymbols" are |
character (including newline), and some special PCRE properties (described |
| 544 |
not currently supported by PCRE. Note that \eP{Any} does not match any |
in the |
| 545 |
characters, so always causes a match failure. |
.\" HTML <a href="#extraprops"> |
| 546 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 547 |
|
next section). |
| 548 |
|
.\" |
| 549 |
|
Other Perl properties such as "InMusicalSymbols" are not currently supported by |
| 550 |
|
PCRE. Note that \eP{Any} does not match any characters, so always causes a |
| 551 |
|
match failure. |
| 552 |
.P |
.P |
| 553 |
Sets of Unicode characters are defined as belonging to certain scripts. A |
Sets of Unicode characters are defined as belonging to certain scripts. A |
| 554 |
character from one of these sets can be matched using a script name. For |
character from one of these sets can be matched using a script name. For |
| 562 |
.P |
.P |
| 563 |
Arabic, |
Arabic, |
| 564 |
Armenian, |
Armenian, |
| 565 |
|
Avestan, |
| 566 |
Balinese, |
Balinese, |
| 567 |
|
Bamum, |
| 568 |
Bengali, |
Bengali, |
| 569 |
Bopomofo, |
Bopomofo, |
| 570 |
Braille, |
Braille, |
| 571 |
Buginese, |
Buginese, |
| 572 |
Buhid, |
Buhid, |
| 573 |
Canadian_Aboriginal, |
Canadian_Aboriginal, |
| 574 |
|
Carian, |
| 575 |
|
Cham, |
| 576 |
Cherokee, |
Cherokee, |
| 577 |
Common, |
Common, |
| 578 |
Coptic, |
Coptic, |
| 581 |
Cyrillic, |
Cyrillic, |
| 582 |
Deseret, |
Deseret, |
| 583 |
Devanagari, |
Devanagari, |
| 584 |
|
Egyptian_Hieroglyphs, |
| 585 |
Ethiopic, |
Ethiopic, |
| 586 |
Georgian, |
Georgian, |
| 587 |
Glagolitic, |
Glagolitic, |
| 594 |
Hanunoo, |
Hanunoo, |
| 595 |
Hebrew, |
Hebrew, |
| 596 |
Hiragana, |
Hiragana, |
| 597 |
|
Imperial_Aramaic, |
| 598 |
Inherited, |
Inherited, |
| 599 |
|
Inscriptional_Pahlavi, |
| 600 |
|
Inscriptional_Parthian, |
| 601 |
|
Javanese, |
| 602 |
|
Kaithi, |
| 603 |
Kannada, |
Kannada, |
| 604 |
Katakana, |
Katakana, |
| 605 |
|
Kayah_Li, |
| 606 |
Kharoshthi, |
Kharoshthi, |
| 607 |
Khmer, |
Khmer, |
| 608 |
Lao, |
Lao, |
| 609 |
Latin, |
Latin, |
| 610 |
|
Lepcha, |
| 611 |
Limbu, |
Limbu, |
| 612 |
Linear_B, |
Linear_B, |
| 613 |
|
Lisu, |
| 614 |
|
Lycian, |
| 615 |
|
Lydian, |
| 616 |
Malayalam, |
Malayalam, |
| 617 |
|
Meetei_Mayek, |
| 618 |
Mongolian, |
Mongolian, |
| 619 |
Myanmar, |
Myanmar, |
| 620 |
New_Tai_Lue, |
New_Tai_Lue, |
| 622 |
Ogham, |
Ogham, |
| 623 |
Old_Italic, |
Old_Italic, |
| 624 |
Old_Persian, |
Old_Persian, |
| 625 |
|
Old_South_Arabian, |
| 626 |
|
Old_Turkic, |
| 627 |
|
Ol_Chiki, |
| 628 |
Oriya, |
Oriya, |
| 629 |
Osmanya, |
Osmanya, |
| 630 |
Phags_Pa, |
Phags_Pa, |
| 631 |
Phoenician, |
Phoenician, |
| 632 |
|
Rejang, |
| 633 |
Runic, |
Runic, |
| 634 |
|
Samaritan, |
| 635 |
|
Saurashtra, |
| 636 |
Shavian, |
Shavian, |
| 637 |
Sinhala, |
Sinhala, |
| 638 |
|
Sundanese, |
| 639 |
Syloti_Nagri, |
Syloti_Nagri, |
| 640 |
Syriac, |
Syriac, |
| 641 |
Tagalog, |
Tagalog, |
| 642 |
Tagbanwa, |
Tagbanwa, |
| 643 |
Tai_Le, |
Tai_Le, |
| 644 |
|
Tai_Tham, |
| 645 |
|
Tai_Viet, |
| 646 |
Tamil, |
Tamil, |
| 647 |
Telugu, |
Telugu, |
| 648 |
Thaana, |
Thaana, |
| 650 |
Tibetan, |
Tibetan, |
| 651 |
Tifinagh, |
Tifinagh, |
| 652 |
Ugaritic, |
Ugaritic, |
| 653 |
|
Vai, |
| 654 |
Yi. |
Yi. |
| 655 |
.P |
.P |
| 656 |
Each character has exactly one general category property, specified by a |
Each character has exactly one Unicode general category property, specified by |
| 657 |
two-letter abbreviation. For compatibility with Perl, negation can be specified |
a two-letter abbreviation. For compatibility with Perl, negation can be |
| 658 |
by including a circumflex between the opening brace and the property name. For |
specified by including a circumflex between the opening brace and the property |
| 659 |
example, \ep{^Lu} is the same as \eP{Lu}. |
name. For example, \ep{^Lu} is the same as \eP{Lu}. |
| 660 |
.P |
.P |
| 661 |
If only one letter is specified with \ep or \eP, it includes all the general |
If only one letter is specified with \ep or \eP, it includes all the general |
| 662 |
category properties that start with that letter. In this case, in the absence |
category properties that start with that letter. In this case, in the absence |
| 752 |
preceding character. None of them have codepoints less than 256, so in |
preceding character. None of them have codepoints less than 256, so in |
| 753 |
non-UTF-8 mode \eX matches any one character. |
non-UTF-8 mode \eX matches any one character. |
| 754 |
.P |
.P |
| 755 |
|
Note that recent versions of Perl have changed \eX to match what Unicode calls |
| 756 |
|
an "extended grapheme cluster", which has a more complicated definition. |
| 757 |
|
.P |
| 758 |
Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, because PCRE has to search |
Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, because PCRE has to search |
| 759 |
a structure that contains data for over fifteen thousand characters. That is |
a structure that contains data for over fifteen thousand characters. That is |
| 760 |
why the traditional escape sequences such as \ed and \ew do not use Unicode |
why the traditional escape sequences such as \ed and \ew do not use Unicode |
| 761 |
properties in PCRE. |
properties in PCRE by default, though you can make them do so by setting the |
| 762 |
|
PCRE_UCP option for \fBpcre_compile()\fP or by starting the pattern with |
| 763 |
|
(*UCP). |
| 764 |
|
. |
| 765 |
|
. |
| 766 |
|
.\" HTML <a name="extraprops"></a> |
| 767 |
|
.SS PCRE's additional properties |
| 768 |
|
.rs |
| 769 |
|
.sp |
| 770 |
|
As well as the standard Unicode properties described in the previous |
| 771 |
|
section, PCRE supports four more that make it possible to convert traditional |
| 772 |
|
escape sequences such as \ew and \es and POSIX character classes to use Unicode |
| 773 |
|
properties. PCRE uses these non-standard, non-Perl properties internally when |
| 774 |
|
PCRE_UCP is set. They are: |
| 775 |
|
.sp |
| 776 |
|
Xan Any alphanumeric character |
| 777 |
|
Xps Any POSIX space character |
| 778 |
|
Xsp Any Perl space character |
| 779 |
|
Xwd Any Perl "word" character |
| 780 |
|
.sp |
| 781 |
|
Xan matches characters that have either the L (letter) or the N (number) |
| 782 |
|
property. Xps matches the characters tab, linefeed, vertical tab, formfeed, or |
| 783 |
|
carriage return, and any other character that has the Z (separator) property. |
| 784 |
|
Xsp is the same as Xps, except that vertical tab is excluded. Xwd matches the |
| 785 |
|
same characters as Xan, plus underscore. |
| 786 |
. |
. |
| 787 |
. |
. |
| 788 |
.\" HTML <a name="resetmatchstart"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="resetmatchstart"></a> |
| 789 |
.SS "Resetting the match start" |
.SS "Resetting the match start" |
| 790 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 791 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 792 |
The escape sequence \eK, which is a Perl 5.10 feature, causes any previously |
The escape sequence \eK causes any previously matched characters not to be |
| 793 |
matched characters not to be included in the final matched sequence. For |
included in the final matched sequence. For example, the pattern: |
|
example, the pattern: |
|
| 794 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 795 |
foo\eKbar |
foo\eKbar |
| 796 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 812 |
(foo)\eKbar |
(foo)\eKbar |
| 813 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 814 |
matches "foobar", the first substring is still set to "foo". |
matches "foobar", the first substring is still set to "foo". |
| 815 |
|
.P |
| 816 |
|
Perl documents that the use of \eK within assertions is "not well defined". In |
| 817 |
|
PCRE, \eK is acted upon when it occurs inside positive assertions, but is |
| 818 |
|
ignored in negative assertions. |
| 819 |
. |
. |
| 820 |
. |
. |
| 821 |
.\" HTML <a name="smallassertions"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="smallassertions"></a> |
| 840 |
\ez matches only at the end of the subject |
\ez matches only at the end of the subject |
| 841 |
\eG matches at the first matching position in the subject |
\eG matches at the first matching position in the subject |
| 842 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 843 |
These assertions may not appear in character classes (but note that \eb has a |
Inside a character class, \eb has a different meaning; it matches the backspace |
| 844 |
different meaning, namely the backspace character, inside a character class). |
character. If any other of these assertions appears in a character class, by |
| 845 |
|
default it matches the corresponding literal character (for example, \eB |
| 846 |
|
matches the letter B). However, if the PCRE_EXTRA option is set, an "invalid |
| 847 |
|
escape sequence" error is generated instead. |
| 848 |
.P |
.P |
| 849 |
A word boundary is a position in the subject string where the current character |
A word boundary is a position in the subject string where the current character |
| 850 |
and the previous character do not both match \ew or \eW (i.e. one matches |
and the previous character do not both match \ew or \eW (i.e. one matches |
| 851 |
\ew and the other matches \eW), or the start or end of the string if the |
\ew and the other matches \eW), or the start or end of the string if the |
| 852 |
first or last character matches \ew, respectively. Neither PCRE nor Perl has a |
first or last character matches \ew, respectively. In UTF-8 mode, the meanings |
| 853 |
separte "start of word" or "end of word" metasequence. However, whatever |
of \ew and \eW can be changed by setting the PCRE_UCP option. When this is |
| 854 |
follows \eb normally determines which it is. For example, the fragment |
done, it also affects \eb and \eB. Neither PCRE nor Perl has a separate "start |
| 855 |
\eba matches "a" at the start of a word. |
of word" or "end of word" metasequence. However, whatever follows \eb normally |
| 856 |
|
determines which it is. For example, the fragment \eba matches "a" at the start |
| 857 |
|
of a word. |
| 858 |
.P |
.P |
| 859 |
The \eA, \eZ, and \ez assertions differ from the traditional circumflex and |
The \eA, \eZ, and \ez assertions differ from the traditional circumflex and |
| 860 |
dollar (described in the next section) in that they only ever match at the very |
dollar (described in the next section) in that they only ever match at the very |
| 938 |
\eA it is always anchored, whether or not PCRE_MULTILINE is set. |
\eA it is always anchored, whether or not PCRE_MULTILINE is set. |
| 939 |
. |
. |
| 940 |
. |
. |
| 941 |
.SH "FULL STOP (PERIOD, DOT)" |
.\" HTML <a name="fullstopdot"></a> |
| 942 |
|
.SH "FULL STOP (PERIOD, DOT) AND \eN" |
| 943 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 944 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 945 |
Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any one character in |
Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any one character in |
| 961 |
The handling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of circumflex and |
The handling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of circumflex and |
| 962 |
dollar, the only relationship being that they both involve newlines. Dot has no |
dollar, the only relationship being that they both involve newlines. Dot has no |
| 963 |
special meaning in a character class. |
special meaning in a character class. |
| 964 |
|
.P |
| 965 |
|
The escape sequence \eN behaves like a dot, except that it is not affected by |
| 966 |
|
the PCRE_DOTALL option. In other words, it matches any character except one |
| 967 |
|
that signifies the end of a line. |
| 968 |
. |
. |
| 969 |
. |
. |
| 970 |
.SH "MATCHING A SINGLE BYTE" |
.SH "MATCHING A SINGLE BYTE" |
| 973 |
Outside a character class, the escape sequence \eC matches any one byte, both |
Outside a character class, the escape sequence \eC matches any one byte, both |
| 974 |
in and out of UTF-8 mode. Unlike a dot, it always matches any line-ending |
in and out of UTF-8 mode. Unlike a dot, it always matches any line-ending |
| 975 |
characters. The feature is provided in Perl in order to match individual bytes |
characters. The feature is provided in Perl in order to match individual bytes |
| 976 |
in UTF-8 mode. Because it breaks up UTF-8 characters into individual bytes, |
in UTF-8 mode. Because it breaks up UTF-8 characters into individual bytes, the |
| 977 |
what remains in the string may be a malformed UTF-8 string. For this reason, |
rest of the string may start with a malformed UTF-8 character. For this reason, |
| 978 |
the \eC escape sequence is best avoided. |
the \eC escape sequence is best avoided. |
| 979 |
.P |
.P |
| 980 |
PCRE does not allow \eC to appear in lookbehind assertions |
PCRE does not allow \eC to appear in lookbehind assertions |
| 991 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 992 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 993 |
An opening square bracket introduces a character class, terminated by a closing |
An opening square bracket introduces a character class, terminated by a closing |
| 994 |
square bracket. A closing square bracket on its own is not special by default. |
square bracket. A closing square bracket on its own is not special by default. |
| 995 |
However, if the PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT option is set, a lone closing square |
However, if the PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT option is set, a lone closing square |
| 996 |
bracket causes a compile-time error. If a closing square bracket is required as |
bracket causes a compile-time error. If a closing square bracket is required as |
| 997 |
a member of the class, it should be the first data character in the class |
a member of the class, it should be the first data character in the class |
| 998 |
(after an initial circumflex, if present) or escaped with a backslash. |
(after an initial circumflex, if present) or escaped with a backslash. |
| 1059 |
characters with values greater than 128 only when it is compiled with Unicode |
characters with values greater than 128 only when it is compiled with Unicode |
| 1060 |
property support. |
property support. |
| 1061 |
.P |
.P |
| 1062 |
The character types \ed, \eD, \ep, \eP, \es, \eS, \ew, and \eW may also appear |
The character escape sequences \ed, \eD, \eh, \eH, \ep, \eP, \es, \eS, \ev, |
| 1063 |
in a character class, and add the characters that they match to the class. For |
\eV, \ew, and \eW may appear in a character class, and add the characters that |
| 1064 |
example, [\edABCDEF] matches any hexadecimal digit. A circumflex can |
they match to the class. For example, [\edABCDEF] matches any hexadecimal |
| 1065 |
conveniently be used with the upper case character types to specify a more |
digit. In UTF-8 mode, the PCRE_UCP option affects the meanings of \ed, \es, \ew |
| 1066 |
restricted set of characters than the matching lower case type. For example, |
and their upper case partners, just as it does when they appear outside a |
| 1067 |
the class [^\eW_] matches any letter or digit, but not underscore. |
character class, as described in the section entitled |
| 1068 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="#genericchartypes"> |
| 1069 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 1070 |
|
"Generic character types" |
| 1071 |
|
.\" |
| 1072 |
|
above. The escape sequence \eb has a different meaning inside a character |
| 1073 |
|
class; it matches the backspace character. The sequences \eB, \eN, \eR, and \eX |
| 1074 |
|
are not special inside a character class. Like any other unrecognized escape |
| 1075 |
|
sequences, they are treated as the literal characters "B", "N", "R", and "X" by |
| 1076 |
|
default, but cause an error if the PCRE_EXTRA option is set. |
| 1077 |
|
.P |
| 1078 |
|
A circumflex can conveniently be used with the upper case character types to |
| 1079 |
|
specify a more restricted set of characters than the matching lower case type. |
| 1080 |
|
For example, the class [^\eW_] matches any letter or digit, but not underscore, |
| 1081 |
|
whereas [\ew] includes underscore. A positive character class should be read as |
| 1082 |
|
"something OR something OR ..." and a negative class as "NOT something AND NOT |
| 1083 |
|
something AND NOT ...". |
| 1084 |
.P |
.P |
| 1085 |
The only metacharacters that are recognized in character classes are backslash, |
The only metacharacters that are recognized in character classes are backslash, |
| 1086 |
hyphen (only where it can be interpreted as specifying a range), circumflex |
hyphen (only where it can be interpreted as specifying a range), circumflex |
| 1100 |
[01[:alpha:]%] |
[01[:alpha:]%] |
| 1101 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1102 |
matches "0", "1", any alphabetic character, or "%". The supported class names |
matches "0", "1", any alphabetic character, or "%". The supported class names |
| 1103 |
are |
are: |
| 1104 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1105 |
alnum letters and digits |
alnum letters and digits |
| 1106 |
alpha letters |
alpha letters |
| 1111 |
graph printing characters, excluding space |
graph printing characters, excluding space |
| 1112 |
lower lower case letters |
lower lower case letters |
| 1113 |
print printing characters, including space |
print printing characters, including space |
| 1114 |
punct printing characters, excluding letters and digits |
punct printing characters, excluding letters and digits and space |
| 1115 |
space white space (not quite the same as \es) |
space white space (not quite the same as \es) |
| 1116 |
upper upper case letters |
upper upper case letters |
| 1117 |
word "word" characters (same as \ew) |
word "word" characters (same as \ew) |
| 1132 |
syntax [.ch.] and [=ch=] where "ch" is a "collating element", but these are not |
syntax [.ch.] and [=ch=] where "ch" is a "collating element", but these are not |
| 1133 |
supported, and an error is given if they are encountered. |
supported, and an error is given if they are encountered. |
| 1134 |
.P |
.P |
| 1135 |
In UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 do not match any of |
By default, in UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 128 do not match |
| 1136 |
the POSIX character classes. |
any of the POSIX character classes. However, if the PCRE_UCP option is passed |
| 1137 |
|
to \fBpcre_compile()\fP, some of the classes are changed so that Unicode |
| 1138 |
|
character properties are used. This is achieved by replacing the POSIX classes |
| 1139 |
|
by other sequences, as follows: |
| 1140 |
|
.sp |
| 1141 |
|
[:alnum:] becomes \ep{Xan} |
| 1142 |
|
[:alpha:] becomes \ep{L} |
| 1143 |
|
[:blank:] becomes \eh |
| 1144 |
|
[:digit:] becomes \ep{Nd} |
| 1145 |
|
[:lower:] becomes \ep{Ll} |
| 1146 |
|
[:space:] becomes \ep{Xps} |
| 1147 |
|
[:upper:] becomes \ep{Lu} |
| 1148 |
|
[:word:] becomes \ep{Xwd} |
| 1149 |
|
.sp |
| 1150 |
|
Negated versions, such as [:^alpha:] use \eP instead of \ep. The other POSIX |
| 1151 |
|
classes are unchanged, and match only characters with code points less than |
| 1152 |
|
128. |
| 1153 |
. |
. |
| 1154 |
. |
. |
| 1155 |
.SH "VERTICAL BAR" |
.SH "VERTICAL BAR" |
| 1203 |
extracted by the \fBpcre_fullinfo()\fP function). |
extracted by the \fBpcre_fullinfo()\fP function). |
| 1204 |
.P |
.P |
| 1205 |
An option change within a subpattern (see below for a description of |
An option change within a subpattern (see below for a description of |
| 1206 |
subpatterns) affects only that part of the current pattern that follows it, so |
subpatterns) affects only that part of the subpattern that follows it, so |
| 1207 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1208 |
(a(?i)b)c |
(a(?i)b)c |
| 1209 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1228 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1229 |
"Newline sequences" |
"Newline sequences" |
| 1230 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1231 |
above. There is also the (*UTF8) leading sequence that can be used to set UTF-8 |
above. There are also the (*UTF8) and (*UCP) leading sequences that can be used |
| 1232 |
mode; this is equivalent to setting the PCRE_UTF8 option. |
to set UTF-8 and Unicode property modes; they are equivalent to setting the |
| 1233 |
|
PCRE_UTF8 and the PCRE_UCP options, respectively. |
| 1234 |
. |
. |
| 1235 |
. |
. |
| 1236 |
.\" HTML <a name="subpattern"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="subpattern"></a> |
| 1244 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1245 |
cat(aract|erpillar|) |
cat(aract|erpillar|) |
| 1246 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1247 |
matches one of the words "cat", "cataract", or "caterpillar". Without the |
matches "cataract", "caterpillar", or "cat". Without the parentheses, it would |
| 1248 |
parentheses, it would match "cataract", "erpillar" or an empty string. |
match "cataract", "erpillar" or an empty string. |
| 1249 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1250 |
2. It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. This means that, when |
2. It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. This means that, when |
| 1251 |
the whole pattern matches, that portion of the subject string that matched the |
the whole pattern matches, that portion of the subject string that matched the |
| 1252 |
subpattern is passed back to the caller via the \fIovector\fP argument of |
subpattern is passed back to the caller via the \fIovector\fP argument of |
| 1253 |
\fBpcre_exec()\fP. Opening parentheses are counted from left to right (starting |
\fBpcre_exec()\fP. Opening parentheses are counted from left to right (starting |
| 1254 |
from 1) to obtain numbers for the capturing subpatterns. |
from 1) to obtain numbers for the capturing subpatterns. For example, if the |
| 1255 |
.P |
string "the red king" is matched against the pattern |
|
For example, if the string "the red king" is matched against the pattern |
|
| 1256 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1257 |
the ((red|white) (king|queen)) |
the ((red|white) (king|queen)) |
| 1258 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1301 |
is useful when you want to capture part, but not all, of one of a number of |
is useful when you want to capture part, but not all, of one of a number of |
| 1302 |
alternatives. Inside a (?| group, parentheses are numbered as usual, but the |
alternatives. Inside a (?| group, parentheses are numbered as usual, but the |
| 1303 |
number is reset at the start of each branch. The numbers of any capturing |
number is reset at the start of each branch. The numbers of any capturing |
| 1304 |
buffers that follow the subpattern start after the highest number used in any |
parentheses that follow the subpattern start after the highest number used in |
| 1305 |
branch. The following example is taken from the Perl documentation. |
any branch. The following example is taken from the Perl documentation. The |
| 1306 |
The numbers underneath show in which buffer the captured content will be |
numbers underneath show in which buffer the captured content will be stored. |
|
stored. |
|
| 1307 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1308 |
# before ---------------branch-reset----------- after |
# before ---------------branch-reset----------- after |
| 1309 |
/ ( a ) (?| x ( y ) z | (p (q) r) | (t) u (v) ) ( z ) /x |
/ ( a ) (?| x ( y ) z | (p (q) r) | (t) u (v) ) ( z ) /x |
| 1310 |
# 1 2 2 3 2 3 4 |
# 1 2 2 3 2 3 4 |
| 1311 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1312 |
A backreference to a numbered subpattern uses the most recent value that is set |
A back reference to a numbered subpattern uses the most recent value that is |
| 1313 |
for that number by any subpattern. The following pattern matches "abcabc" or |
set for that number by any subpattern. The following pattern matches "abcabc" |
| 1314 |
"defdef": |
or "defdef": |
| 1315 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1316 |
/(?|(abc)|(def))\1/ |
/(?|(abc)|(def))\e1/ |
| 1317 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1318 |
In contrast, a recursive or "subroutine" call to a numbered subpattern always |
In contrast, a subroutine call to a numbered subpattern always refers to the |
| 1319 |
refers to the first one in the pattern with the given number. The following |
first one in the pattern with the given number. The following pattern matches |
| 1320 |
pattern matches "abcabc" or "defabc": |
"abcabc" or "defabc": |
| 1321 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1322 |
/(?|(abc)|(def))(?1)/ |
/(?|(abc)|(def))(?1)/ |
| 1323 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1350 |
parentheses from other parts of the pattern, such as |
parentheses from other parts of the pattern, such as |
| 1351 |
.\" HTML <a href="#backreferences"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#backreferences"> |
| 1352 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1353 |
backreferences, |
back references, |
| 1354 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1355 |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
| 1356 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1371 |
.P |
.P |
| 1372 |
By default, a name must be unique within a pattern, but it is possible to relax |
By default, a name must be unique within a pattern, but it is possible to relax |
| 1373 |
this constraint by setting the PCRE_DUPNAMES option at compile time. (Duplicate |
this constraint by setting the PCRE_DUPNAMES option at compile time. (Duplicate |
| 1374 |
names are also always permitted for subpatterns with the same number, set up as |
names are also always permitted for subpatterns with the same number, set up as |
| 1375 |
described in the previous section.) Duplicate names can be useful for patterns |
described in the previous section.) Duplicate names can be useful for patterns |
| 1376 |
where only one instance of the named parentheses can match. Suppose you want to |
where only one instance of the named parentheses can match. Suppose you want to |
| 1377 |
match the name of a weekday, either as a 3-letter abbreviation or as the full |
match the name of a weekday, either as a 3-letter abbreviation or as the full |
| 1390 |
.P |
.P |
| 1391 |
The convenience function for extracting the data by name returns the substring |
The convenience function for extracting the data by name returns the substring |
| 1392 |
for the first (and in this example, the only) subpattern of that name that |
for the first (and in this example, the only) subpattern of that name that |
| 1393 |
matched. This saves searching to find which numbered subpattern it was. |
matched. This saves searching to find which numbered subpattern it was. |
| 1394 |
.P |
.P |
| 1395 |
If you make a backreference to a non-unique named subpattern from elsewhere in |
If you make a back reference to a non-unique named subpattern from elsewhere in |
| 1396 |
the pattern, the one that corresponds to the first occurrence of the name is |
the pattern, the one that corresponds to the first occurrence of the name is |
| 1397 |
used. In the absence of duplicate numbers (see the previous section) this is |
used. In the absence of duplicate numbers (see the previous section) this is |
| 1398 |
the one with the lowest number. If you use a named reference in a condition |
the one with the lowest number. If you use a named reference in a condition |
| 1402 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1403 |
section about conditions |
section about conditions |
| 1404 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1405 |
below), either to check whether a subpattern has matched, or to check for |
below), either to check whether a subpattern has matched, or to check for |
| 1406 |
recursion, all subpatterns with the same name are tested. If the condition is |
recursion, all subpatterns with the same name are tested. If the condition is |
| 1407 |
true for any one of them, the overall condition is true. This is the same |
true for any one of them, the overall condition is true. This is the same |
| 1408 |
behaviour as testing by number. For further details of the interfaces for |
behaviour as testing by number. For further details of the interfaces for |
| 1430 |
the \eC escape sequence |
the \eC escape sequence |
| 1431 |
the \eX escape sequence (in UTF-8 mode with Unicode properties) |
the \eX escape sequence (in UTF-8 mode with Unicode properties) |
| 1432 |
the \eR escape sequence |
the \eR escape sequence |
| 1433 |
an escape such as \ed that matches a single character |
an escape such as \ed or \epL that matches a single character |
| 1434 |
a character class |
a character class |
| 1435 |
a back reference (see next section) |
a back reference (see next section) |
| 1436 |
a parenthesized subpattern (unless it is an assertion) |
a parenthesized subpattern (including assertions) |
| 1437 |
a recursive or "subroutine" call to a subpattern |
a subroutine call to a subpattern (recursive or otherwise) |
| 1438 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1439 |
The general repetition quantifier specifies a minimum and maximum number of |
The general repetition quantifier specifies a minimum and maximum number of |
| 1440 |
permitted matches, by giving the two numbers in curly brackets (braces), |
permitted matches, by giving the two numbers in curly brackets (braces), |
| 1472 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1473 |
subroutines |
subroutines |
| 1474 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1475 |
from elsewhere in the pattern. Items other than subpatterns that have a {0} |
from elsewhere in the pattern (but see also the section entitled |
| 1476 |
quantifier are omitted from the compiled pattern. |
.\" HTML <a href="#subdefine"> |
| 1477 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 1478 |
|
"Defining subpatterns for use by reference only" |
| 1479 |
|
.\" |
| 1480 |
|
below). Items other than subpatterns that have a {0} quantifier are omitted |
| 1481 |
|
from the compiled pattern. |
| 1482 |
.P |
.P |
| 1483 |
For convenience, the three most common quantifiers have single-character |
For convenience, the three most common quantifiers have single-character |
| 1484 |
abbreviations: |
abbreviations: |
| 1550 |
alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly. |
alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly. |
| 1551 |
.P |
.P |
| 1552 |
However, there is one situation where the optimization cannot be used. When .* |
However, there is one situation where the optimization cannot be used. When .* |
| 1553 |
is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a backreference |
is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a back reference |
| 1554 |
elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start may fail where a later one |
elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start may fail where a later one |
| 1555 |
succeeds. Consider, for example: |
succeeds. Consider, for example: |
| 1556 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1703 |
subpattern is possible using named parentheses (see below). |
subpattern is possible using named parentheses (see below). |
| 1704 |
.P |
.P |
| 1705 |
Another way of avoiding the ambiguity inherent in the use of digits following a |
Another way of avoiding the ambiguity inherent in the use of digits following a |
| 1706 |
backslash is to use the \eg escape sequence, which is a feature introduced in |
backslash is to use the \eg escape sequence. This escape must be followed by an |
| 1707 |
Perl 5.10. This escape must be followed by an unsigned number or a negative |
unsigned number or a negative number, optionally enclosed in braces. These |
| 1708 |
number, optionally enclosed in braces. These examples are all identical: |
examples are all identical: |
| 1709 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1710 |
(ring), \e1 |
(ring), \e1 |
| 1711 |
(ring), \eg1 |
(ring), \eg1 |
| 1719 |
(abc(def)ghi)\eg{-1} |
(abc(def)ghi)\eg{-1} |
| 1720 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1721 |
The sequence \eg{-1} is a reference to the most recently started capturing |
The sequence \eg{-1} is a reference to the most recently started capturing |
| 1722 |
subpattern before \eg, that is, is it equivalent to \e2. Similarly, \eg{-2} |
subpattern before \eg, that is, is it equivalent to \e2 in this example. |
| 1723 |
would be equivalent to \e1. The use of relative references can be helpful in |
Similarly, \eg{-2} would be equivalent to \e1. The use of relative references |
| 1724 |
long patterns, and also in patterns that are created by joining together |
can be helpful in long patterns, and also in patterns that are created by |
| 1725 |
fragments that contain references within themselves. |
joining together fragments that contain references within themselves. |
| 1726 |
.P |
.P |
| 1727 |
A back reference matches whatever actually matched the capturing subpattern in |
A back reference matches whatever actually matched the capturing subpattern in |
| 1728 |
the current subject string, rather than anything matching the subpattern |
the current subject string, rather than anything matching the subpattern |
| 1765 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1766 |
(a|(bc))\e2 |
(a|(bc))\e2 |
| 1767 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1768 |
always fails if it starts to match "a" rather than "bc". However, if the |
always fails if it starts to match "a" rather than "bc". However, if the |
| 1769 |
PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT option is set at compile time, a back reference to an |
PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT option is set at compile time, a back reference to an |
| 1770 |
unset value matches an empty string. |
unset value matches an empty string. |
| 1771 |
.P |
.P |
| 1772 |
Because there may be many capturing parentheses in a pattern, all digits |
Because there may be many capturing parentheses in a pattern, all digits |
| 1779 |
"Comments" |
"Comments" |
| 1780 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1781 |
below) can be used. |
below) can be used. |
| 1782 |
.P |
. |
| 1783 |
|
.SS "Recursive back references" |
| 1784 |
|
.rs |
| 1785 |
|
.sp |
| 1786 |
A back reference that occurs inside the parentheses to which it refers fails |
A back reference that occurs inside the parentheses to which it refers fails |
| 1787 |
when the subpattern is first used, so, for example, (a\e1) never matches. |
when the subpattern is first used, so, for example, (a\e1) never matches. |
| 1788 |
However, such references can be useful inside repeated subpatterns. For |
However, such references can be useful inside repeated subpatterns. For |
| 1796 |
that the first iteration does not need to match the back reference. This can be |
that the first iteration does not need to match the back reference. This can be |
| 1797 |
done using alternation, as in the example above, or by a quantifier with a |
done using alternation, as in the example above, or by a quantifier with a |
| 1798 |
minimum of zero. |
minimum of zero. |
| 1799 |
|
.P |
| 1800 |
|
Back references of this type cause the group that they reference to be treated |
| 1801 |
|
as an |
| 1802 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="#atomicgroup"> |
| 1803 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 1804 |
|
atomic group. |
| 1805 |
|
.\" |
| 1806 |
|
Once the whole group has been matched, a subsequent matching failure cannot |
| 1807 |
|
cause backtracking into the middle of the group. |
| 1808 |
. |
. |
| 1809 |
. |
. |
| 1810 |
.\" HTML <a name="bigassertions"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="bigassertions"></a> |
| 1824 |
that look behind it. An assertion subpattern is matched in the normal way, |
that look behind it. An assertion subpattern is matched in the normal way, |
| 1825 |
except that it does not cause the current matching position to be changed. |
except that it does not cause the current matching position to be changed. |
| 1826 |
.P |
.P |
| 1827 |
Assertion subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns, and may not be repeated, |
Assertion subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns. If such an assertion |
| 1828 |
because it makes no sense to assert the same thing several times. If any kind |
contains capturing subpatterns within it, these are counted for the purposes of |
| 1829 |
of assertion contains capturing subpatterns within it, these are counted for |
numbering the capturing subpatterns in the whole pattern. However, substring |
| 1830 |
the purposes of numbering the capturing subpatterns in the whole pattern. |
capturing is carried out only for positive assertions, because it does not make |
| 1831 |
However, substring capturing is carried out only for positive assertions, |
sense for negative assertions. |
| 1832 |
because it does not make sense for negative assertions. |
.P |
| 1833 |
|
For compatibility with Perl, assertion subpatterns may be repeated; though |
| 1834 |
|
it makes no sense to assert the same thing several times, the side effect of |
| 1835 |
|
capturing parentheses may occasionally be useful. In practice, there only three |
| 1836 |
|
cases: |
| 1837 |
|
.sp |
| 1838 |
|
(1) If the quantifier is {0}, the assertion is never obeyed during matching. |
| 1839 |
|
However, it may contain internal capturing parenthesized groups that are called |
| 1840 |
|
from elsewhere via the |
| 1841 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
| 1842 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 1843 |
|
subroutine mechanism. |
| 1844 |
|
.\" |
| 1845 |
|
.sp |
| 1846 |
|
(2) If quantifier is {0,n} where n is greater than zero, it is treated as if it |
| 1847 |
|
were {0,1}. At run time, the rest of the pattern match is tried with and |
| 1848 |
|
without the assertion, the order depending on the greediness of the quantifier. |
| 1849 |
|
.sp |
| 1850 |
|
(3) If the minimum repetition is greater than zero, the quantifier is ignored. |
| 1851 |
|
The assertion is obeyed just once when encountered during matching. |
| 1852 |
. |
. |
| 1853 |
. |
. |
| 1854 |
.SS "Lookahead assertions" |
.SS "Lookahead assertions" |
| 1877 |
If you want to force a matching failure at some point in a pattern, the most |
If you want to force a matching failure at some point in a pattern, the most |
| 1878 |
convenient way to do it is with (?!) because an empty string always matches, so |
convenient way to do it is with (?!) because an empty string always matches, so |
| 1879 |
an assertion that requires there not to be an empty string must always fail. |
an assertion that requires there not to be an empty string must always fail. |
| 1880 |
The Perl 5.10 backtracking control verb (*FAIL) or (*F) is essentially a |
The backtracking control verb (*FAIL) or (*F) is a synonym for (?!). |
|
synonym for (?!). |
|
| 1881 |
. |
. |
| 1882 |
. |
. |
| 1883 |
.\" HTML <a name="lookbehind"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="lookbehind"></a> |
| 1902 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1903 |
causes an error at compile time. Branches that match different length strings |
causes an error at compile time. Branches that match different length strings |
| 1904 |
are permitted only at the top level of a lookbehind assertion. This is an |
are permitted only at the top level of a lookbehind assertion. This is an |
| 1905 |
extension compared with Perl (5.8 and 5.10), which requires all branches to |
extension compared with Perl, which requires all branches to match the same |
| 1906 |
match the same length of string. An assertion such as |
length of string. An assertion such as |
| 1907 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1908 |
(?<=ab(c|de)) |
(?<=ab(c|de)) |
| 1909 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1913 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1914 |
(?<=abc|abde) |
(?<=abc|abde) |
| 1915 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 1916 |
In some cases, the Perl 5.10 escape sequence \eK |
In some cases, the escape sequence \eK |
| 1917 |
.\" HTML <a href="#resetmatchstart"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#resetmatchstart"> |
| 1918 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1919 |
(see above) |
(see above) |
| 1920 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1921 |
can be used instead of a lookbehind assertion to get round the fixed-length |
can be used instead of a lookbehind assertion to get round the fixed-length |
| 1922 |
restriction. |
restriction. |
| 1923 |
.P |
.P |
| 1924 |
The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, to |
The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, to |
| 1936 |
"Subroutine" |
"Subroutine" |
| 1937 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 1938 |
calls (see below) such as (?2) or (?&X) are permitted in lookbehinds, as long |
calls (see below) such as (?2) or (?&X) are permitted in lookbehinds, as long |
| 1939 |
as the subpattern matches a fixed-length string. |
as the subpattern matches a fixed-length string. |
| 1940 |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
| 1941 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 1942 |
Recursion, |
Recursion, |
| 2009 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2010 |
It is possible to cause the matching process to obey a subpattern |
It is possible to cause the matching process to obey a subpattern |
| 2011 |
conditionally or to choose between two alternative subpatterns, depending on |
conditionally or to choose between two alternative subpatterns, depending on |
| 2012 |
the result of an assertion, or whether a specific capturing subpattern has |
the result of an assertion, or whether a specific capturing subpattern has |
| 2013 |
already been matched. The two possible forms of conditional subpattern are: |
already been matched. The two possible forms of conditional subpattern are: |
| 2014 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2015 |
(?(condition)yes-pattern) |
(?(condition)yes-pattern) |
| 2017 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2018 |
If the condition is satisfied, the yes-pattern is used; otherwise the |
If the condition is satisfied, the yes-pattern is used; otherwise the |
| 2019 |
no-pattern (if present) is used. If there are more than two alternatives in the |
no-pattern (if present) is used. If there are more than two alternatives in the |
| 2020 |
subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. |
subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. Each of the two alternatives may |
| 2021 |
|
itself contain nested subpatterns of any form, including conditional |
| 2022 |
|
subpatterns; the restriction to two alternatives applies only at the level of |
| 2023 |
|
the condition. This pattern fragment is an example where the alternatives are |
| 2024 |
|
complex: |
| 2025 |
|
.sp |
| 2026 |
|
(?(1) (A|B|C) | (D | (?(2)E|F) | E) ) |
| 2027 |
|
.sp |
| 2028 |
.P |
.P |
| 2029 |
There are four kinds of condition: references to subpatterns, references to |
There are four kinds of condition: references to subpatterns, references to |
| 2030 |
recursion, a pseudo-condition called DEFINE, and assertions. |
recursion, a pseudo-condition called DEFINE, and assertions. |
| 2034 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2035 |
If the text between the parentheses consists of a sequence of digits, the |
If the text between the parentheses consists of a sequence of digits, the |
| 2036 |
condition is true if a capturing subpattern of that number has previously |
condition is true if a capturing subpattern of that number has previously |
| 2037 |
matched. If there is more than one capturing subpattern with the same number |
matched. If there is more than one capturing subpattern with the same number |
| 2038 |
(see the earlier |
(see the earlier |
| 2039 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2040 |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
| 2041 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 2042 |
section about duplicate subpattern numbers), |
section about duplicate subpattern numbers), |
| 2043 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2044 |
the condition is true if any of them have been set. An alternative notation is |
the condition is true if any of them have matched. An alternative notation is |
| 2045 |
to precede the digits with a plus or minus sign. In this case, the subpattern |
to precede the digits with a plus or minus sign. In this case, the subpattern |
| 2046 |
number is relative rather than absolute. The most recently opened parentheses |
number is relative rather than absolute. The most recently opened parentheses |
| 2047 |
can be referenced by (?(-1), the next most recent by (?(-2), and so on. In |
can be referenced by (?(-1), the next most recent by (?(-2), and so on. Inside |
| 2048 |
looping constructs it can also make sense to refer to subsequent groups with |
loops it can also make sense to refer to subsequent groups. The next |
| 2049 |
constructs such as (?(+2). |
parentheses to be opened can be referenced as (?(+1), and so on. (The value |
| 2050 |
|
zero in any of these forms is not used; it provokes a compile-time error.) |
| 2051 |
.P |
.P |
| 2052 |
Consider the following pattern, which contains non-significant white space to |
Consider the following pattern, which contains non-significant white space to |
| 2053 |
make it more readable (assume the PCRE_EXTENDED option) and to divide it into |
make it more readable (assume the PCRE_EXTENDED option) and to divide it into |
| 2058 |
The first part matches an optional opening parenthesis, and if that |
The first part matches an optional opening parenthesis, and if that |
| 2059 |
character is present, sets it as the first captured substring. The second part |
character is present, sets it as the first captured substring. The second part |
| 2060 |
matches one or more characters that are not parentheses. The third part is a |
matches one or more characters that are not parentheses. The third part is a |
| 2061 |
conditional subpattern that tests whether the first set of parentheses matched |
conditional subpattern that tests whether or not the first set of parentheses |
| 2062 |
or not. If they did, that is, if subject started with an opening parenthesis, |
matched. If they did, that is, if subject started with an opening parenthesis, |
| 2063 |
the condition is true, and so the yes-pattern is executed and a closing |
the condition is true, and so the yes-pattern is executed and a closing |
| 2064 |
parenthesis is required. Otherwise, since no-pattern is not present, the |
parenthesis is required. Otherwise, since no-pattern is not present, the |
| 2065 |
subpattern matches nothing. In other words, this pattern matches a sequence of |
subpattern matches nothing. In other words, this pattern matches a sequence of |
| 2088 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2089 |
(?<OPEN> \e( )? [^()]+ (?(<OPEN>) \e) ) |
(?<OPEN> \e( )? [^()]+ (?(<OPEN>) \e) ) |
| 2090 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2091 |
If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is |
If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is |
| 2092 |
applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them has |
applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them has |
| 2093 |
matched. |
matched. |
| 2094 |
. |
. |
| 2095 |
.SS "Checking for pattern recursion" |
.SS "Checking for pattern recursion" |
| 2104 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2105 |
the condition is true if the most recent recursion is into a subpattern whose |
the condition is true if the most recent recursion is into a subpattern whose |
| 2106 |
number or name is given. This condition does not check the entire recursion |
number or name is given. This condition does not check the entire recursion |
| 2107 |
stack. If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is |
stack. If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is |
| 2108 |
applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them is |
applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them is |
| 2109 |
the most recent recursion. |
the most recent recursion. |
| 2110 |
.P |
.P |
| 2111 |
At "top level", all these recursion test conditions are false. |
At "top level", all these recursion test conditions are false. |
| 2112 |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#recursion"> |
| 2113 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 2114 |
The syntax for recursive patterns |
The syntax for recursive patterns |
| 2115 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2116 |
is described below. |
is described below. |
| 2117 |
. |
. |
| 2118 |
|
.\" HTML <a name="subdefine"></a> |
| 2119 |
.SS "Defining subpatterns for use by reference only" |
.SS "Defining subpatterns for use by reference only" |
| 2120 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2121 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2123 |
name DEFINE, the condition is always false. In this case, there may be only one |
name DEFINE, the condition is always false. In this case, there may be only one |
| 2124 |
alternative in the subpattern. It is always skipped if control reaches this |
alternative in the subpattern. It is always skipped if control reaches this |
| 2125 |
point in the pattern; the idea of DEFINE is that it can be used to define |
point in the pattern; the idea of DEFINE is that it can be used to define |
| 2126 |
"subroutines" that can be referenced from elsewhere. (The use of |
subroutines that can be referenced from elsewhere. (The use of |
| 2127 |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
| 2128 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 2129 |
"subroutines" |
subroutines |
| 2130 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2131 |
is described below.) For example, a pattern to match an IPv4 address could be |
is described below.) For example, a pattern to match an IPv4 address such as |
| 2132 |
written like this (ignore whitespace and line breaks): |
"192.168.23.245" could be written like this (ignore whitespace and line |
| 2133 |
|
breaks): |
| 2134 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2135 |
(?(DEFINE) (?<byte> 2[0-4]\ed | 25[0-5] | 1\ed\ed | [1-9]?\ed) ) |
(?(DEFINE) (?<byte> 2[0-4]\ed | 25[0-5] | 1\ed\ed | [1-9]?\ed) ) |
| 2136 |
\eb (?&byte) (\e.(?&byte)){3} \eb |
\eb (?&byte) (\e.(?&byte)){3} \eb |
| 2165 |
.SH COMMENTS |
.SH COMMENTS |
| 2166 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2167 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2168 |
The sequence (?# marks the start of a comment that continues up to the next |
There are two ways of including comments in patterns that are processed by |
| 2169 |
closing parenthesis. Nested parentheses are not permitted. The characters |
PCRE. In both cases, the start of the comment must not be in a character class, |
| 2170 |
that make up a comment play no part in the pattern matching at all. |
nor in the middle of any other sequence of related characters such as (?: or a |
| 2171 |
|
subpattern name or number. The characters that make up a comment play no part |
| 2172 |
|
in the pattern matching. |
| 2173 |
.P |
.P |
| 2174 |
If the PCRE_EXTENDED option is set, an unescaped # character outside a |
The sequence (?# marks the start of a comment that continues up to the next |
| 2175 |
character class introduces a comment that continues to immediately after the |
closing parenthesis. Nested parentheses are not permitted. If the PCRE_EXTENDED |
| 2176 |
next newline in the pattern. |
option is set, an unescaped # character also introduces a comment, which in |
| 2177 |
|
this case continues to immediately after the next newline character or |
| 2178 |
|
character sequence in the pattern. Which characters are interpreted as newlines |
| 2179 |
|
is controlled by the options passed to \fBpcre_compile()\fP or by a special |
| 2180 |
|
sequence at the start of the pattern, as described in the section entitled |
| 2181 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="#newlines"> |
| 2182 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 2183 |
|
"Newline conventions" |
| 2184 |
|
.\" |
| 2185 |
|
above. Note that the end of this type of comment is a literal newline sequence |
| 2186 |
|
in the pattern; escape sequences that happen to represent a newline do not |
| 2187 |
|
count. For example, consider this pattern when PCRE_EXTENDED is set, and the |
| 2188 |
|
default newline convention is in force: |
| 2189 |
|
.sp |
| 2190 |
|
abc #comment \en still comment |
| 2191 |
|
.sp |
| 2192 |
|
On encountering the # character, \fBpcre_compile()\fP skips along, looking for |
| 2193 |
|
a newline in the pattern. The sequence \en is still literal at this stage, so |
| 2194 |
|
it does not terminate the comment. Only an actual character with the code value |
| 2195 |
|
0x0a (the default newline) does so. |
| 2196 |
. |
. |
| 2197 |
. |
. |
| 2198 |
.\" HTML <a name="recursion"></a> |
.\" HTML <a name="recursion"></a> |
| 2221 |
this kind of recursion was subsequently introduced into Perl at release 5.10. |
this kind of recursion was subsequently introduced into Perl at release 5.10. |
| 2222 |
.P |
.P |
| 2223 |
A special item that consists of (? followed by a number greater than zero and a |
A special item that consists of (? followed by a number greater than zero and a |
| 2224 |
closing parenthesis is a recursive call of the subpattern of the given number, |
closing parenthesis is a recursive subroutine call of the subpattern of the |
| 2225 |
provided that it occurs inside that subpattern. (If not, it is a |
given number, provided that it occurs inside that subpattern. (If not, it is a |
| 2226 |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
| 2227 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 2228 |
"subroutine" |
non-recursive subroutine |
| 2229 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2230 |
call, which is described in the next section.) The special item (?R) or (?0) is |
call, which is described in the next section.) The special item (?R) or (?0) is |
| 2231 |
a recursive call of the entire regular expression. |
a recursive call of the entire regular expression. |
| 2238 |
First it matches an opening parenthesis. Then it matches any number of |
First it matches an opening parenthesis. Then it matches any number of |
| 2239 |
substrings which can either be a sequence of non-parentheses, or a recursive |
substrings which can either be a sequence of non-parentheses, or a recursive |
| 2240 |
match of the pattern itself (that is, a correctly parenthesized substring). |
match of the pattern itself (that is, a correctly parenthesized substring). |
| 2241 |
Finally there is a closing parenthesis. Note the use of a possessive quantifier |
Finally there is a closing parenthesis. Note the use of a possessive quantifier |
| 2242 |
to avoid backtracking into sequences of non-parentheses. |
to avoid backtracking into sequences of non-parentheses. |
| 2243 |
.P |
.P |
| 2244 |
If this were part of a larger pattern, you would not want to recurse the entire |
If this were part of a larger pattern, you would not want to recurse the entire |
| 2250 |
them instead of the whole pattern. |
them instead of the whole pattern. |
| 2251 |
.P |
.P |
| 2252 |
In a larger pattern, keeping track of parenthesis numbers can be tricky. This |
In a larger pattern, keeping track of parenthesis numbers can be tricky. This |
| 2253 |
is made easier by the use of relative references (a Perl 5.10 feature). |
is made easier by the use of relative references. Instead of (?1) in the |
| 2254 |
Instead of (?1) in the pattern above you can write (?-2) to refer to the second |
pattern above you can write (?-2) to refer to the second most recently opened |
| 2255 |
most recently opened parentheses preceding the recursion. In other words, a |
parentheses preceding the recursion. In other words, a negative number counts |
| 2256 |
negative number counts capturing parentheses leftwards from the point at which |
capturing parentheses leftwards from the point at which it is encountered. |
|
it is encountered. |
|
| 2257 |
.P |
.P |
| 2258 |
It is also possible to refer to subsequently opened parentheses, by writing |
It is also possible to refer to subsequently opened parentheses, by writing |
| 2259 |
references such as (?+2). However, these cannot be recursive because the |
references such as (?+2). However, these cannot be recursive because the |
| 2260 |
reference is not inside the parentheses that are referenced. They are always |
reference is not inside the parentheses that are referenced. They are always |
| 2261 |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
.\" HTML <a href="#subpatternsassubroutines"> |
| 2262 |
.\" </a> |
.\" </a> |
| 2263 |
"subroutine" |
non-recursive subroutine |
| 2264 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2265 |
calls, as described in the next section. |
calls, as described in the next section. |
| 2266 |
.P |
.P |
| 2285 |
ways the + and * repeats can carve up the subject, and all have to be tested |
ways the + and * repeats can carve up the subject, and all have to be tested |
| 2286 |
before failure can be reported. |
before failure can be reported. |
| 2287 |
.P |
.P |
| 2288 |
At the end of a match, the values set for any capturing subpatterns are those |
At the end of a match, the values of capturing parentheses are those from |
| 2289 |
from the outermost level of the recursion at which the subpattern value is set. |
the outermost level. If you want to obtain intermediate values, a callout |
| 2290 |
If you want to obtain intermediate values, a callout function can be used (see |
function can be used (see below and the |
|
below and the |
|
| 2291 |
.\" HREF |
.\" HREF |
| 2292 |
\fBpcrecallout\fP |
\fBpcrecallout\fP |
| 2293 |
.\" |
.\" |
| 2295 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2296 |
(ab(cd)ef) |
(ab(cd)ef) |
| 2297 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2298 |
the value for the capturing parentheses is "ef", which is the last value taken |
the value for the inner capturing parentheses (numbered 2) is "ef", which is |
| 2299 |
on at the top level. If additional parentheses are added, giving |
the last value taken on at the top level. If a capturing subpattern is not |
| 2300 |
.sp |
matched at the top level, its final value is unset, even if it is (temporarily) |
| 2301 |
\e( ( ( [^()]++ | (?R) )* ) \e) |
set at a deeper level. |
| 2302 |
^ ^ |
.P |
| 2303 |
^ ^ |
If there are more than 15 capturing parentheses in a pattern, PCRE has to |
| 2304 |
.sp |
obtain extra memory to store data during a recursion, which it does by using |
| 2305 |
the string they capture is "ab(cd)ef", the contents of the top level |
\fBpcre_malloc\fP, freeing it via \fBpcre_free\fP afterwards. If no memory can |
| 2306 |
parentheses. If there are more than 15 capturing parentheses in a pattern, PCRE |
be obtained, the match fails with the PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY error. |
|
has to obtain extra memory to store data during a recursion, which it does by |
|
|
using \fBpcre_malloc\fP, freeing it via \fBpcre_free\fP afterwards. If no |
|
|
memory can be obtained, the match fails with the PCRE_ERROR_NOMEMORY error. |
|
| 2307 |
.P |
.P |
| 2308 |
Do not confuse the (?R) item with the condition (R), which tests for recursion. |
Do not confuse the (?R) item with the condition (R), which tests for recursion. |
| 2309 |
Consider this pattern, which matches text in angle brackets, allowing for |
Consider this pattern, which matches text in angle brackets, allowing for |
| 2324 |
In PCRE (like Python, but unlike Perl), a recursive subpattern call is always |
In PCRE (like Python, but unlike Perl), a recursive subpattern call is always |
| 2325 |
treated as an atomic group. That is, once it has matched some of the subject |
treated as an atomic group. That is, once it has matched some of the subject |
| 2326 |
string, it is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and |
string, it is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and |
| 2327 |
there is a subsequent matching failure. This can be illustrated by the |
there is a subsequent matching failure. This can be illustrated by the |
| 2328 |
following pattern, which purports to match a palindromic string that contains |
following pattern, which purports to match a palindromic string that contains |
| 2329 |
an odd number of characters (for example, "a", "aba", "abcba", "abcdcba"): |
an odd number of characters (for example, "a", "aba", "abcba", "abcdcba"): |
| 2330 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2331 |
^(.|(.)(?1)\e2)$ |
^(.|(.)(?1)\e2)$ |
| 2332 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2333 |
The idea is that it either matches a single character, or two identical |
The idea is that it either matches a single character, or two identical |
| 2334 |
characters surrounding a sub-palindrome. In Perl, this pattern works; in PCRE |
characters surrounding a sub-palindrome. In Perl, this pattern works; in PCRE |
| 2335 |
it does not if the pattern is longer than three characters. Consider the |
it does not if the pattern is longer than three characters. Consider the |
| 2336 |
subject string "abcba": |
subject string "abcba": |
| 2337 |
.P |
.P |
| 2338 |
At the top level, the first character is matched, but as it is not at the end |
At the top level, the first character is matched, but as it is not at the end |
| 2339 |
of the string, the first alternative fails; the second alternative is taken |
of the string, the first alternative fails; the second alternative is taken |
| 2340 |
and the recursion kicks in. The recursive call to subpattern 1 successfully |
and the recursion kicks in. The recursive call to subpattern 1 successfully |
| 2341 |
matches the next character ("b"). (Note that the beginning and end of line |
matches the next character ("b"). (Note that the beginning and end of line |
| 2342 |
tests are not part of the recursion). |
tests are not part of the recursion). |
| 2343 |
.P |
.P |
| 2344 |
Back at the top level, the next character ("c") is compared with what |
Back at the top level, the next character ("c") is compared with what |
| 2345 |
subpattern 2 matched, which was "a". This fails. Because the recursion is |
subpattern 2 matched, which was "a". This fails. Because the recursion is |
| 2346 |
treated as an atomic group, there are now no backtracking points, and so the |
treated as an atomic group, there are now no backtracking points, and so the |
| 2347 |
entire match fails. (Perl is able, at this point, to re-enter the recursion and |
entire match fails. (Perl is able, at this point, to re-enter the recursion and |
| 2348 |
try the second alternative.) However, if the pattern is written with the |
try the second alternative.) However, if the pattern is written with the |
| 2350 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2351 |
^((.)(?1)\e2|.)$ |
^((.)(?1)\e2|.)$ |
| 2352 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2353 |
This time, the recursing alternative is tried first, and continues to recurse |
This time, the recursing alternative is tried first, and continues to recurse |
| 2354 |
until it runs out of characters, at which point the recursion fails. But this |
until it runs out of characters, at which point the recursion fails. But this |
| 2355 |
time we do have another alternative to try at the higher level. That is the big |
time we do have another alternative to try at the higher level. That is the big |
| 2356 |
difference: in the previous case the remaining alternative is at a deeper |
difference: in the previous case the remaining alternative is at a deeper |
| 2357 |
recursion level, which PCRE cannot use. |
recursion level, which PCRE cannot use. |
| 2358 |
.P |
.P |
| 2359 |
To change the pattern so that matches all palindromic strings, not just those |
To change the pattern so that it matches all palindromic strings, not just |
| 2360 |
with an odd number of characters, it is tempting to change the pattern to this: |
those with an odd number of characters, it is tempting to change the pattern to |
| 2361 |
|
this: |
| 2362 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2363 |
^((.)(?1)\e2|.?)$ |
^((.)(?1)\e2|.?)$ |
| 2364 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2365 |
Again, this works in Perl, but not in PCRE, and for the same reason. When a |
Again, this works in Perl, but not in PCRE, and for the same reason. When a |
| 2366 |
deeper recursion has matched a single character, it cannot be entered again in |
deeper recursion has matched a single character, it cannot be entered again in |
| 2367 |
order to match an empty string. The solution is to separate the two cases, and |
order to match an empty string. The solution is to separate the two cases, and |
| 2368 |
write out the odd and even cases as alternatives at the higher level: |
write out the odd and even cases as alternatives at the higher level: |
| 2369 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2370 |
^(?:((.)(?1)\e2|)|((.)(?3)\e4|.)) |
^(?:((.)(?1)\e2|)|((.)(?3)\e4|.)) |
| 2371 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2372 |
If you want to match typical palindromic phrases, the pattern has to ignore all |
If you want to match typical palindromic phrases, the pattern has to ignore all |
| 2373 |
non-word characters, which can be done like this: |
non-word characters, which can be done like this: |
| 2374 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2375 |
^\eW*+(?:((.)\eW*+(?1)\eW*+\e2|)|((.)\eW*+(?3)\eW*+\4|\eW*+.\eW*+))\eW*+$ |
^\eW*+(?:((.)\eW*+(?1)\eW*+\e2|)|((.)\eW*+(?3)\eW*+\e4|\eW*+.\eW*+))\eW*+$ |
| 2376 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2377 |
If run with the PCRE_CASELESS option, this pattern matches phrases such as "A |
If run with the PCRE_CASELESS option, this pattern matches phrases such as "A |
| 2378 |
man, a plan, a canal: Panama!" and it works well in both PCRE and Perl. Note |
man, a plan, a canal: Panama!" and it works well in both PCRE and Perl. Note |
| 2379 |
the use of the possessive quantifier *+ to avoid backtracking into sequences of |
the use of the possessive quantifier *+ to avoid backtracking into sequences of |
| 2380 |
non-word characters. Without this, PCRE takes a great deal longer (ten times or |
non-word characters. Without this, PCRE takes a great deal longer (ten times or |
| 2381 |
more) to match typical phrases, and Perl takes so long that you think it has |
more) to match typical phrases, and Perl takes so long that you think it has |
| 2382 |
gone into a loop. |
gone into a loop. |
| 2393 |
.SH "SUBPATTERNS AS SUBROUTINES" |
.SH "SUBPATTERNS AS SUBROUTINES" |
| 2394 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2395 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2396 |
If the syntax for a recursive subpattern reference (either by number or by |
If the syntax for a recursive subpattern call (either by number or by |
| 2397 |
name) is used outside the parentheses to which it refers, it operates like a |
name) is used outside the parentheses to which it refers, it operates like a |
| 2398 |
subroutine in a programming language. The "called" subpattern may be defined |
subroutine in a programming language. The called subpattern may be defined |
| 2399 |
before or after the reference. A numbered reference can be absolute or |
before or after the reference. A numbered reference can be absolute or |
| 2400 |
relative, as in these examples: |
relative, as in these examples: |
| 2401 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2415 |
is used, it does match "sense and responsibility" as well as the other two |
is used, it does match "sense and responsibility" as well as the other two |
| 2416 |
strings. Another example is given in the discussion of DEFINE above. |
strings. Another example is given in the discussion of DEFINE above. |
| 2417 |
.P |
.P |
| 2418 |
Like recursive subpatterns, a "subroutine" call is always treated as an atomic |
All subroutine calls, whether recursive or not, are always treated as atomic |
| 2419 |
group. That is, once it has matched some of the subject string, it is never |
groups. That is, once a subroutine has matched some of the subject string, it |
| 2420 |
re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and there is a subsequent |
is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and there is a |
| 2421 |
matching failure. |
subsequent matching failure. Any capturing parentheses that are set during the |
| 2422 |
.P |
subroutine call revert to their previous values afterwards. |
| 2423 |
When a subpattern is used as a subroutine, processing options such as |
.P |
| 2424 |
case-independence are fixed when the subpattern is defined. They cannot be |
Processing options such as case-independence are fixed when a subpattern is |
| 2425 |
changed for different calls. For example, consider this pattern: |
defined, so if it is used as a subroutine, such options cannot be changed for |
| 2426 |
|
different calls. For example, consider this pattern: |
| 2427 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2428 |
(abc)(?i:(?-1)) |
(abc)(?i:(?-1)) |
| 2429 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2488 |
documentation. |
documentation. |
| 2489 |
. |
. |
| 2490 |
. |
. |
| 2491 |
|
.\" HTML <a name="backtrackcontrol"></a> |
| 2492 |
.SH "BACKTRACKING CONTROL" |
.SH "BACKTRACKING CONTROL" |
| 2493 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2494 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2504 |
failing negative assertion, they cause an error if encountered by |
failing negative assertion, they cause an error if encountered by |
| 2505 |
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. |
\fBpcre_dfa_exec()\fP. |
| 2506 |
.P |
.P |
| 2507 |
If any of these verbs are used in an assertion subpattern, their effect is |
If any of these verbs are used in an assertion or in a subpattern that is |
| 2508 |
confined to that subpattern; it does not extend to the surrounding pattern. |
called as a subroutine (whether or not recursively), their effect is confined |
| 2509 |
Note that assertion subpatterns are processed as anchored at the point where |
to that subpattern; it does not extend to the surrounding pattern, with one |
| 2510 |
they are tested. |
exception: a *MARK that is encountered in a positive assertion \fIis\fP passed |
| 2511 |
|
back (compare capturing parentheses in assertions). Note that such subpatterns |
| 2512 |
|
are processed as anchored at the point where they are tested. Note also that |
| 2513 |
|
Perl's treatment of subroutines is different in some cases. |
| 2514 |
.P |
.P |
| 2515 |
The new verbs make use of what was previously invalid syntax: an opening |
The new verbs make use of what was previously invalid syntax: an opening |
| 2516 |
parenthesis followed by an asterisk. In Perl, they are generally of the form |
parenthesis followed by an asterisk. They are generally of the form |
| 2517 |
(*VERB:ARG) but PCRE does not support the use of arguments, so its general |
(*VERB) or (*VERB:NAME). Some may take either form, with differing behaviour, |
| 2518 |
form is just (*VERB). Any number of these verbs may occur in a pattern. There |
depending on whether or not an argument is present. A name is any sequence of |
| 2519 |
are two kinds: |
characters that does not include a closing parenthesis. If the name is empty, |
| 2520 |
|
that is, if the closing parenthesis immediately follows the colon, the effect |
| 2521 |
|
is as if the colon were not there. Any number of these verbs may occur in a |
| 2522 |
|
pattern. |
| 2523 |
|
.P |
| 2524 |
|
PCRE contains some optimizations that are used to speed up matching by running |
| 2525 |
|
some checks at the start of each match attempt. For example, it may know the |
| 2526 |
|
minimum length of matching subject, or that a particular character must be |
| 2527 |
|
present. When one of these optimizations suppresses the running of a match, any |
| 2528 |
|
included backtracking verbs will not, of course, be processed. You can suppress |
| 2529 |
|
the start-of-match optimizations by setting the PCRE_NO_START_OPTIMIZE option |
| 2530 |
|
when calling \fBpcre_compile()\fP or \fBpcre_exec()\fP, or by starting the |
| 2531 |
|
pattern with (*NO_START_OPT). |
| 2532 |
|
. |
| 2533 |
. |
. |
| 2534 |
.SS "Verbs that act immediately" |
.SS "Verbs that act immediately" |
| 2535 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2536 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2537 |
The following verbs act as soon as they are encountered: |
The following verbs act as soon as they are encountered. They may not be |
| 2538 |
|
followed by a name. |
| 2539 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2540 |
(*ACCEPT) |
(*ACCEPT) |
| 2541 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2542 |
This verb causes the match to end successfully, skipping the remainder of the |
This verb causes the match to end successfully, skipping the remainder of the |
| 2543 |
pattern. When inside a recursion, only the innermost pattern is ended |
pattern. However, when it is inside a subpattern that is called as a |
| 2544 |
immediately. If (*ACCEPT) is inside capturing parentheses, the data so far is |
subroutine, only that subpattern is ended successfully. Matching then continues |
| 2545 |
captured. (This feature was added to PCRE at release 8.00.) For example: |
at the outer level. If (*ACCEPT) is inside capturing parentheses, the data so |
| 2546 |
|
far is captured. For example: |
| 2547 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2548 |
A((?:A|B(*ACCEPT)|C)D) |
A((?:A|B(*ACCEPT)|C)D) |
| 2549 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2550 |
This matches "AB", "AAD", or "ACD"; when it matches "AB", "B" is captured by |
This matches "AB", "AAD", or "ACD"; when it matches "AB", "B" is captured by |
| 2551 |
the outer parentheses. |
the outer parentheses. |
| 2552 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2553 |
(*FAIL) or (*F) |
(*FAIL) or (*F) |
| 2554 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2555 |
This verb causes the match to fail, forcing backtracking to occur. It is |
This verb causes a matching failure, forcing backtracking to occur. It is |
| 2556 |
equivalent to (?!) but easier to read. The Perl documentation notes that it is |
equivalent to (?!) but easier to read. The Perl documentation notes that it is |
| 2557 |
probably useful only when combined with (?{}) or (??{}). Those are, of course, |
probably useful only when combined with (?{}) or (??{}). Those are, of course, |
| 2558 |
Perl features that are not present in PCRE. The nearest equivalent is the |
Perl features that are not present in PCRE. The nearest equivalent is the |
| 2563 |
A match with the string "aaaa" always fails, but the callout is taken before |
A match with the string "aaaa" always fails, but the callout is taken before |
| 2564 |
each backtrack happens (in this example, 10 times). |
each backtrack happens (in this example, 10 times). |
| 2565 |
. |
. |
| 2566 |
|
. |
| 2567 |
|
.SS "Recording which path was taken" |
| 2568 |
|
.rs |
| 2569 |
|
.sp |
| 2570 |
|
There is one verb whose main purpose is to track how a match was arrived at, |
| 2571 |
|
though it also has a secondary use in conjunction with advancing the match |
| 2572 |
|
starting point (see (*SKIP) below). |
| 2573 |
|
.sp |
| 2574 |
|
(*MARK:NAME) or (*:NAME) |
| 2575 |
|
.sp |
| 2576 |
|
A name is always required with this verb. There may be as many instances of |
| 2577 |
|
(*MARK) as you like in a pattern, and their names do not have to be unique. |
| 2578 |
|
.P |
| 2579 |
|
When a match succeeds, the name of the last-encountered (*MARK) is passed back |
| 2580 |
|
to the caller via the \fIpcre_extra\fP data structure, as described in the |
| 2581 |
|
.\" HTML <a href="pcreapi.html#extradata"> |
| 2582 |
|
.\" </a> |
| 2583 |
|
section on \fIpcre_extra\fP |
| 2584 |
|
.\" |
| 2585 |
|
in the |
| 2586 |
|
.\" HREF |
| 2587 |
|
\fBpcreapi\fP |
| 2588 |
|
.\" |
| 2589 |
|
documentation. No data is returned for a partial match. Here is an example of |
| 2590 |
|
\fBpcretest\fP output, where the /K modifier requests the retrieval and |
| 2591 |
|
outputting of (*MARK) data: |
| 2592 |
|
.sp |
| 2593 |
|
/X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K |
| 2594 |
|
XY |
| 2595 |
|
0: XY |
| 2596 |
|
MK: A |
| 2597 |
|
XZ |
| 2598 |
|
0: XZ |
| 2599 |
|
MK: B |
| 2600 |
|
.sp |
| 2601 |
|
The (*MARK) name is tagged with "MK:" in this output, and in this example it |
| 2602 |
|
indicates which of the two alternatives matched. This is a more efficient way |
| 2603 |
|
of obtaining this information than putting each alternative in its own |
| 2604 |
|
capturing parentheses. |
| 2605 |
|
.P |
| 2606 |
|
If (*MARK) is encountered in a positive assertion, its name is recorded and |
| 2607 |
|
passed back if it is the last-encountered. This does not happen for negative |
| 2608 |
|
assertions. |
| 2609 |
|
.P |
| 2610 |
|
A name may also be returned after a failed match if the final path through the |
| 2611 |
|
pattern involves (*MARK). However, unless (*MARK) used in conjunction with |
| 2612 |
|
(*COMMIT), this is unlikely to happen for an unanchored pattern because, as the |
| 2613 |
|
starting point for matching is advanced, the final check is often with an empty |
| 2614 |
|
string, causing a failure before (*MARK) is reached. For example: |
| 2615 |
|
.sp |
| 2616 |
|
/X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K |
| 2617 |
|
XP |
| 2618 |
|
No match |
| 2619 |
|
.sp |
| 2620 |
|
There are three potential starting points for this match (starting with X, |
| 2621 |
|
starting with P, and with an empty string). If the pattern is anchored, the |
| 2622 |
|
result is different: |
| 2623 |
|
.sp |
| 2624 |
|
/^X(*MARK:A)Y|^X(*MARK:B)Z/K |
| 2625 |
|
XP |
| 2626 |
|
No match, mark = B |
| 2627 |
|
.sp |
| 2628 |
|
PCRE's start-of-match optimizations can also interfere with this. For example, |
| 2629 |
|
if, as a result of a call to \fBpcre_study()\fP, it knows the minimum |
| 2630 |
|
subject length for a match, a shorter subject will not be scanned at all. |
| 2631 |
|
.P |
| 2632 |
|
Note that similar anomalies (though different in detail) exist in Perl, no |
| 2633 |
|
doubt for the same reasons. The use of (*MARK) data after a failed match of an |
| 2634 |
|
unanchored pattern is not recommended, unless (*COMMIT) is involved. |
| 2635 |
|
. |
| 2636 |
|
. |
| 2637 |
.SS "Verbs that act after backtracking" |
.SS "Verbs that act after backtracking" |
| 2638 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2639 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2640 |
The following verbs do nothing when they are encountered. Matching continues |
The following verbs do nothing when they are encountered. Matching continues |
| 2641 |
with what follows, but if there is no subsequent match, a failure is forced. |
with what follows, but if there is no subsequent match, causing a backtrack to |
| 2642 |
The verbs differ in exactly what kind of failure occurs. |
the verb, a failure is forced. That is, backtracking cannot pass to the left of |
| 2643 |
|
the verb. However, when one of these verbs appears inside an atomic group, its |
| 2644 |
|
effect is confined to that group, because once the group has been matched, |
| 2645 |
|
there is never any backtracking into it. In this situation, backtracking can |
| 2646 |
|
"jump back" to the left of the entire atomic group. (Remember also, as stated |
| 2647 |
|
above, that this localization also applies in subroutine calls and assertions.) |
| 2648 |
|
.P |
| 2649 |
|
These verbs differ in exactly what kind of failure occurs when backtracking |
| 2650 |
|
reaches them. |
| 2651 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2652 |
(*COMMIT) |
(*COMMIT) |
| 2653 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2654 |
This verb causes the whole match to fail outright if the rest of the pattern |
This verb, which may not be followed by a name, causes the whole match to fail |
| 2655 |
does not match. Even if the pattern is unanchored, no further attempts to find |
outright if the rest of the pattern does not match. Even if the pattern is |
| 2656 |
a match by advancing the starting point take place. Once (*COMMIT) has been |
unanchored, no further attempts to find a match by advancing the starting point |
| 2657 |
passed, \fBpcre_exec()\fP is committed to finding a match at the current |
take place. Once (*COMMIT) has been passed, \fBpcre_exec()\fP is committed to |
| 2658 |
starting point, or not at all. For example: |
finding a match at the current starting point, or not at all. For example: |
| 2659 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2660 |
a+(*COMMIT)b |
a+(*COMMIT)b |
| 2661 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2662 |
This matches "xxaab" but not "aacaab". It can be thought of as a kind of |
This matches "xxaab" but not "aacaab". It can be thought of as a kind of |
| 2663 |
dynamic anchor, or "I've started, so I must finish." |
dynamic anchor, or "I've started, so I must finish." The name of the most |
| 2664 |
.sp |
recently passed (*MARK) in the path is passed back when (*COMMIT) forces a |
| 2665 |
(*PRUNE) |
match failure. |
| 2666 |
.sp |
.P |
| 2667 |
This verb causes the match to fail at the current position if the rest of the |
Note that (*COMMIT) at the start of a pattern is not the same as an anchor, |
| 2668 |
pattern does not match. If the pattern is unanchored, the normal "bumpalong" |
unless PCRE's start-of-match optimizations are turned off, as shown in this |
| 2669 |
advance to the next starting character then happens. Backtracking can occur as |
\fBpcretest\fP example: |
| 2670 |
usual to the left of (*PRUNE), or when matching to the right of (*PRUNE), but |
.sp |
| 2671 |
if there is no match to the right, backtracking cannot cross (*PRUNE). |
/(*COMMIT)abc/ |
| 2672 |
In simple cases, the use of (*PRUNE) is just an alternative to an atomic |
xyzabc |
| 2673 |
group or possessive quantifier, but there are some uses of (*PRUNE) that cannot |
0: abc |
| 2674 |
be expressed in any other way. |
xyzabc\eY |
| 2675 |
|
No match |
| 2676 |
|
.sp |
| 2677 |
|
PCRE knows that any match must start with "a", so the optimization skips along |
| 2678 |
|
the subject to "a" before running the first match attempt, which succeeds. When |
| 2679 |
|
the optimization is disabled by the \eY escape in the second subject, the match |
| 2680 |
|
starts at "x" and so the (*COMMIT) causes it to fail without trying any other |
| 2681 |
|
starting points. |
| 2682 |
|
.sp |
| 2683 |
|
(*PRUNE) or (*PRUNE:NAME) |
| 2684 |
|
.sp |
| 2685 |
|
This verb causes the match to fail at the current starting position in the |
| 2686 |
|
subject if the rest of the pattern does not match. If the pattern is |
| 2687 |
|
unanchored, the normal "bumpalong" advance to the next starting character then |
| 2688 |
|
happens. Backtracking can occur as usual to the left of (*PRUNE), before it is |
| 2689 |
|
reached, or when matching to the right of (*PRUNE), but if there is no match to |
| 2690 |
|
the right, backtracking cannot cross (*PRUNE). In simple cases, the use of |
| 2691 |
|
(*PRUNE) is just an alternative to an atomic group or possessive quantifier, |
| 2692 |
|
but there are some uses of (*PRUNE) that cannot be expressed in any other way. |
| 2693 |
|
The behaviour of (*PRUNE:NAME) is the same as (*MARK:NAME)(*PRUNE) when the |
| 2694 |
|
match fails completely; the name is passed back if this is the final attempt. |
| 2695 |
|
(*PRUNE:NAME) does not pass back a name if the match succeeds. In an anchored |
| 2696 |
|
pattern (*PRUNE) has the same effect as (*COMMIT). |
| 2697 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2698 |
(*SKIP) |
(*SKIP) |
| 2699 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2700 |
This verb is like (*PRUNE), except that if the pattern is unanchored, the |
This verb, when given without a name, is like (*PRUNE), except that if the |
| 2701 |
"bumpalong" advance is not to the next character, but to the position in the |
pattern is unanchored, the "bumpalong" advance is not to the next character, |
| 2702 |
subject where (*SKIP) was encountered. (*SKIP) signifies that whatever text |
but to the position in the subject where (*SKIP) was encountered. (*SKIP) |
| 2703 |
was matched leading up to it cannot be part of a successful match. Consider: |
signifies that whatever text was matched leading up to it cannot be part of a |
| 2704 |
|
successful match. Consider: |
| 2705 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2706 |
a+(*SKIP)b |
a+(*SKIP)b |
| 2707 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2712 |
first match attempt, the second attempt would start at the second character |
first match attempt, the second attempt would start at the second character |
| 2713 |
instead of skipping on to "c". |
instead of skipping on to "c". |
| 2714 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2715 |
(*THEN) |
(*SKIP:NAME) |
| 2716 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2717 |
This verb causes a skip to the next alternation if the rest of the pattern does |
When (*SKIP) has an associated name, its behaviour is modified. If the |
| 2718 |
not match. That is, it cancels pending backtracking, but only within the |
following pattern fails to match, the previous path through the pattern is |
| 2719 |
current alternation. Its name comes from the observation that it can be used |
searched for the most recent (*MARK) that has the same name. If one is found, |
| 2720 |
for a pattern-based if-then-else block: |
the "bumpalong" advance is to the subject position that corresponds to that |
| 2721 |
|
(*MARK) instead of to where (*SKIP) was encountered. If no (*MARK) with a |
| 2722 |
|
matching name is found, normal "bumpalong" of one character happens (that is, |
| 2723 |
|
the (*SKIP) is ignored). |
| 2724 |
|
.sp |
| 2725 |
|
(*THEN) or (*THEN:NAME) |
| 2726 |
|
.sp |
| 2727 |
|
This verb causes a skip to the next innermost alternative if the rest of the |
| 2728 |
|
pattern does not match. That is, it cancels pending backtracking, but only |
| 2729 |
|
within the current alternative. Its name comes from the observation that it can |
| 2730 |
|
be used for a pattern-based if-then-else block: |
| 2731 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2732 |
( COND1 (*THEN) FOO | COND2 (*THEN) BAR | COND3 (*THEN) BAZ ) ... |
( COND1 (*THEN) FOO | COND2 (*THEN) BAR | COND3 (*THEN) BAZ ) ... |
| 2733 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2734 |
If the COND1 pattern matches, FOO is tried (and possibly further items after |
If the COND1 pattern matches, FOO is tried (and possibly further items after |
| 2735 |
the end of the group if FOO succeeds); on failure the matcher skips to the |
the end of the group if FOO succeeds); on failure, the matcher skips to the |
| 2736 |
second alternative and tries COND2, without backtracking into COND1. If (*THEN) |
second alternative and tries COND2, without backtracking into COND1. The |
| 2737 |
is used outside of any alternation, it acts exactly like (*PRUNE). |
behaviour of (*THEN:NAME) is exactly the same as (*MARK:NAME)(*THEN) if the |
| 2738 |
|
overall match fails. If (*THEN) is not inside an alternation, it acts like |
| 2739 |
|
(*PRUNE). |
| 2740 |
|
.P |
| 2741 |
|
Note that a subpattern that does not contain a | character is just a part of |
| 2742 |
|
the enclosing alternative; it is not a nested alternation with only one |
| 2743 |
|
alternative. The effect of (*THEN) extends beyond such a subpattern to the |
| 2744 |
|
enclosing alternative. Consider this pattern, where A, B, etc. are complex |
| 2745 |
|
pattern fragments that do not contain any | characters at this level: |
| 2746 |
|
.sp |
| 2747 |
|
A (B(*THEN)C) | D |
| 2748 |
|
.sp |
| 2749 |
|
If A and B are matched, but there is a failure in C, matching does not |
| 2750 |
|
backtrack into A; instead it moves to the next alternative, that is, D. |
| 2751 |
|
However, if the subpattern containing (*THEN) is given an alternative, it |
| 2752 |
|
behaves differently: |
| 2753 |
|
.sp |
| 2754 |
|
A (B(*THEN)C | (*FAIL)) | D |
| 2755 |
|
.sp |
| 2756 |
|
The effect of (*THEN) is now confined to the inner subpattern. After a failure |
| 2757 |
|
in C, matching moves to (*FAIL), which causes the whole subpattern to fail |
| 2758 |
|
because there are no more alternatives to try. In this case, matching does now |
| 2759 |
|
backtrack into A. |
| 2760 |
|
.P |
| 2761 |
|
Note also that a conditional subpattern is not considered as having two |
| 2762 |
|
alternatives, because only one is ever used. In other words, the | character in |
| 2763 |
|
a conditional subpattern has a different meaning. Ignoring white space, |
| 2764 |
|
consider: |
| 2765 |
|
.sp |
| 2766 |
|
^.*? (?(?=a) a | b(*THEN)c ) |
| 2767 |
|
.sp |
| 2768 |
|
If the subject is "ba", this pattern does not match. Because .*? is ungreedy, |
| 2769 |
|
it initially matches zero characters. The condition (?=a) then fails, the |
| 2770 |
|
character "b" is matched, but "c" is not. At this point, matching does not |
| 2771 |
|
backtrack to .*? as might perhaps be expected from the presence of the | |
| 2772 |
|
character. The conditional subpattern is part of the single alternative that |
| 2773 |
|
comprises the whole pattern, and so the match fails. (If there was a backtrack |
| 2774 |
|
into .*?, allowing it to match "b", the match would succeed.) |
| 2775 |
|
.P |
| 2776 |
|
The verbs just described provide four different "strengths" of control when |
| 2777 |
|
subsequent matching fails. (*THEN) is the weakest, carrying on the match at the |
| 2778 |
|
next alternative. (*PRUNE) comes next, failing the match at the current |
| 2779 |
|
starting position, but allowing an advance to the next character (for an |
| 2780 |
|
unanchored pattern). (*SKIP) is similar, except that the advance may be more |
| 2781 |
|
than one character. (*COMMIT) is the strongest, causing the entire match to |
| 2782 |
|
fail. |
| 2783 |
|
.P |
| 2784 |
|
If more than one such verb is present in a pattern, the "strongest" one wins. |
| 2785 |
|
For example, consider this pattern, where A, B, etc. are complex pattern |
| 2786 |
|
fragments: |
| 2787 |
|
.sp |
| 2788 |
|
(A(*COMMIT)B(*THEN)C|D) |
| 2789 |
|
.sp |
| 2790 |
|
Once A has matched, PCRE is committed to this match, at the current starting |
| 2791 |
|
position. If subsequently B matches, but C does not, the normal (*THEN) action |
| 2792 |
|
of trying the next alternative (that is, D) does not happen because (*COMMIT) |
| 2793 |
|
overrides. |
| 2794 |
. |
. |
| 2795 |
. |
. |
| 2796 |
.SH "SEE ALSO" |
.SH "SEE ALSO" |
| 2797 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2798 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2799 |
\fBpcreapi\fP(3), \fBpcrecallout\fP(3), \fBpcrematching\fP(3), |
\fBpcreapi\fP(3), \fBpcrecallout\fP(3), \fBpcrematching\fP(3), |
| 2800 |
\fBpcresyntax\fP(3), \fBpcre\fP(3). |
\fBpcresyntax\fP(3), \fBpcre\fP(3). |
| 2801 |
. |
. |
| 2802 |
. |
. |
| 2814 |
.rs |
.rs |
| 2815 |
.sp |
.sp |
| 2816 |
.nf |
.nf |
| 2817 |
Last updated: 04 October 2009 |
Last updated: 04 October 2011 |
| 2818 |
Copyright (c) 1997-2009 University of Cambridge. |
Copyright (c) 1997-2011 University of Cambridge. |
| 2819 |
.fi |
.fi |