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| author | Björn Gustavsson <[email protected]> | 2016-05-18 15:53:35 +0200 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Björn Gustavsson <[email protected]> | 2016-06-13 12:05:57 +0200 |
| commit | 68d53c01b0b8e9a007a6a30158c19e34b2d2a34e (patch) | |
| tree | 4613f513b9465beb7febec6c74c8ef0502f861fe /lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml | |
| parent | 99b379365981e14e2c8dde7b1a337c8ff856bd4a (diff) | |
| download | otp-68d53c01b0b8e9a007a6a30158c19e34b2d2a34e.tar.gz otp-68d53c01b0b8e9a007a6a30158c19e34b2d2a34e.tar.bz2 otp-68d53c01b0b8e9a007a6a30158c19e34b2d2a34e.zip | |
Update STDLIB documentation
Language cleaned up by the technical writers xsipewe and tmanevik
from Combitech. Proofreading and corrections by Björn Gustavsson
and Hans Bolinder.
Diffstat (limited to 'lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml')
| -rw-r--r-- | lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml | 7343 |
1 files changed, 3900 insertions, 3443 deletions
diff --git a/lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml b/lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml index fda79d51d5..7f4f0aa18c 100644 --- a/lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml +++ b/lib/stdlib/doc/src/re.xml @@ -35,39 +35,37 @@ <file>re.xml</file> </header> <module>re</module> - <modulesummary>Perl like regular expressions for Erlang</modulesummary> + <modulesummary>Perl-like regular expressions for Erlang.</modulesummary> <description> - <p>This module contains regular expression matching functions for - strings and binaries.</p> + strings and binaries.</p> <p>The <seealso marker="#regexp_syntax">regular expression</seealso> - syntax and semantics resemble that of Perl.</p> + syntax and semantics resemble that of Perl.</p> - <p>The library's matching algorithms are currently based on the - PCRE library, but not all of the PCRE library is interfaced and - some parts of the library go beyond what PCRE offers. The sections of - the PCRE documentation which are relevant to this module are included - here.</p> + <p>The matching algorithms of the library are based on the + PCRE library, but not all of the PCRE library is interfaced and + some parts of the library go beyond what PCRE offers. The sections of + the PCRE documentation that are relevant to this module are included + here.</p> <note> - <p>The Erlang literal syntax for strings uses the "\" - (backslash) character as an escape code. You need to escape - backslashes in literal strings, both in your code and in the shell, - with an additional backslash, i.e.: "\\".</p> + <p>The Erlang literal syntax for strings uses the "\" + (backslash) character as an escape code. You need to escape + backslashes in literal strings, both in your code and in the shell, + with an extra backslash, that is, "\\".</p> </note> - - </description> + <datatypes> <datatype> <name name="mp"/> <desc> - <p>Opaque datatype containing a compiled regular expression. - The mp() is guaranteed to be a tuple() having the atom - 're_pattern' as its first element, to allow for matching in - guards. The arity of the tuple() or the content of the other fields - may change in future releases.</p> + <p>Opaque data type containing a compiled regular expression. + <c>mp()</c> is guaranteed to be a tuple() having the atom + <c>re_pattern</c> as its first element, to allow for matching in + guards. The arity of the tuple or the content of the other fields + can change in future Erlang/OTP releases.</p> </desc> </datatype> <datatype> @@ -77,6 +75,7 @@ <name name="compile_option"/> </datatype> </datatypes> + <funcs> <func> <name name="compile" arity="1"/> @@ -85,90 +84,214 @@ <p>The same as <c>compile(<anno>Regexp</anno>,[])</c></p> </desc> </func> + <func> <name name="compile" arity="2"/> - <fsummary>Compile a regular expression into a match program</fsummary> + <fsummary>Compile a regular expression into a match program.</fsummary> <desc> - <p>This function compiles a regular expression with the syntax - described below into an internal format to be used later as a - parameter to the run/2,3 functions.</p> - <p>Compiling the regular expression before matching is useful if - the same expression is to be used in matching against multiple - subjects during the program's lifetime. Compiling once and - executing many times is far more efficient than compiling each - time one wants to match.</p> - <p>When the unicode option is given, the regular expression should be given as a valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>, otherwise as any valid <c>iodata()</c>.</p> - - <p><marker id="compile_options"/>The options have the following meanings:</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>unicode</c></tag> - <item>The regular expression is given as a Unicode <c>charlist()</c> and the resulting regular expression code is to be run against a valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c> subject. Also consider the <c>ucp</c> option when using Unicode characters.</item> - <tag><c>anchored</c></tag> - <item>The pattern is forced to be "anchored", that is, it is constrained to match only at the first matching point in the string that is being searched (the "subject string"). This effect can also be achieved by appropriate constructs in the pattern itself.</item> - <tag><c>caseless</c></tag> - <item>Letters in the pattern match both upper and lower case letters. It is equivalent to Perl's /i option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?i) option setting. Uppercase and lowercase letters are defined as in the ISO-8859-1 character set.</item> - <tag><c>dollar_endonly</c></tag> - <item>A dollar metacharacter in the pattern matches only at the end of the subject string. Without this option, a dollar also matches immediately before a newline at the end of the string (but not before any other newlines). The <c>dollar_endonly</c> option is ignored if <c>multiline</c> is given. There is no equivalent option in Perl, and no way to set it within a pattern.</item> - <tag><c>dotall</c></tag> - <item>A dot in the pattern matches all characters, including those that indicate newline. Without it, a dot does not match when the current position is at a newline. This option is equivalent to Perl's /s option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?s) option setting. A negative class such as [^a] always matches newline characters, independent of this option's setting.</item> - <tag><c>extended</c></tag> - <item>Whitespace data characters in the pattern are ignored except when escaped or inside a character class. Whitespace does not include the VT character (ASCII 11). In addition, characters between an unescaped # outside a character class and the next newline, inclusive, are also ignored. This is equivalent to Perl's /x option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?x) option setting. - -This option makes it possible to include comments inside complicated patterns. Note, however, that this applies only to data characters. Whitespace characters may never appear within special character sequences in a pattern, for example within the sequence <c>(?(</c> which introduces a conditional subpattern.</item> - <tag><c>firstline</c></tag> - <item>An unanchored pattern is required to match before or at the first newline in the subject string, though the matched text may continue over the newline.</item> - <tag><c>multiline</c></tag> - <item><p>By default, PCRE treats the subject string as consisting of a single line of characters (even if it actually contains newlines). The "start of line" metacharacter (^) matches only at the start of the string, while the "end of line" metacharacter ($) matches only at the end of the string, or before a terminating newline (unless <c>dollar_endonly</c> is given). This is the same as Perl.</p> - -<p>When <c>multiline</c> is given, the "start of line" and "end of line" constructs match immediately following or immediately before internal newlines in the subject string, respectively, as well as at the very start and end. This is equivalent to Perl's /m option, and it can be changed within a pattern by a (?m) option setting. If there are no newlines in a subject string, or no occurrences of ^ or $ in a pattern, setting <c>multiline</c> has no effect.</p> </item> - <tag><c>no_auto_capture</c></tag> - <item>Disables the use of numbered capturing parentheses in the pattern. Any opening parenthesis that is not followed by ? behaves as if it were followed by ?: but named parentheses can still be used for capturing (and they acquire numbers in the usual way). There is no equivalent of this option in Perl. -</item> - <tag><c>dupnames</c></tag> - <item>Names used to identify capturing subpatterns need not be unique. This can be helpful for certain types of pattern when it is known that only one instance of the named subpattern can ever be matched. There are more details of named subpatterns below</item> - <tag><c>ungreedy</c></tag> - <item>This option inverts the "greediness" of the quantifiers so that they are not greedy by default, but become greedy if followed by "?". It is not compatible with Perl. It can also be set by a (?U) option setting within the pattern.</item> - <tag><c>{newline, NLSpec}</c></tag> - <item> - <p>Override the default definition of a newline in the subject string, which is LF (ASCII 10) in Erlang.</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>cr</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by a single character CR (ASCII 13)</item> - <tag><c>lf</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by a single character LF (ASCII 10), the default</item> - <tag><c>crlf</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by the two-character CRLF (ASCII 13 followed by ASCII 10) sequence.</item> - <tag><c>anycrlf</c></tag> - <item>Any of the three preceding sequences should be recognized.</item> - <tag><c>any</c></tag> - <item>Any of the newline sequences above, plus the Unicode sequences VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and PS (paragraph separator, U+2029). </item> - </taglist> - </item> - <tag><c>bsr_anycrlf</c></tag> - <item>Specifies specifically that \R is to match only the cr, lf or crlf sequences, not the Unicode specific newline characters.</item> - <tag><c>bsr_unicode</c></tag> - <item>Specifies specifically that \R is to match all the Unicode newline characters (including crlf etc, the default).</item> - <tag><c>no_start_optimize</c></tag> - <item>This option disables optimization that may malfunction if "Special start-of-pattern items" are present in the regular expression. A typical example would be when matching "DEFABC" against "(*COMMIT)ABC", where the start optimization of PCRE would skip the subject up to the "A" and would never realize that the (*COMMIT) instruction should have made the matching fail. This option is only relevant if you use "start-of-pattern items", as discussed in the section "PCRE regular expression details" below.</item> - <tag><c>ucp</c></tag> - <item>Specifies that Unicode Character Properties should be used when - resolving \B, \b, \D, \d, \S, \s, \W and \w. Without this flag, only - ISO-Latin-1 properties are used. Using Unicode properties hurts - performance, but is semantically correct when working with Unicode - characters beyond the ISO-Latin-1 range.</item> - <tag><c>never_utf</c></tag> - <item>Specifies that the (*UTF) and/or (*UTF8) "start-of-pattern items" are forbidden. This flag can not be combined with <c>unicode</c>. Useful if ISO-Latin-1 patterns from an external source are to be compiled.</item> - </taglist> - </desc> + <p>Compiles a regular expression, with the syntax + described below, into an internal format to be used later as a + parameter to + <seealso marker="#run/2"><c>run/2</c></seealso> and + <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>.</p> + <p>Compiling the regular expression before matching is useful if + the same expression is to be used in matching against multiple + subjects during the lifetime of the program. Compiling once and + executing many times is far more efficient than compiling each + time one wants to match.</p> + <p>When option <c>unicode</c> is specified, the regular expression + is to be specified as a valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>, otherwise as + any valid <c>iodata()</c>.</p> + <marker id="compile_options"/> + <p>Options:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>unicode</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The regular expression is specified as a Unicode + <c>charlist()</c> and the resulting regular expression code is to + be run against a valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c> subject. Also + consider option <c>ucp</c> when using Unicode characters.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>anchored</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The pattern is forced to be "anchored", that is, it is + constrained to match only at the first matching point in the + string that is searched (the "subject string"). This effect can + also be achieved by appropriate constructs in the pattern + itself.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>caseless</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Letters in the pattern match both uppercase and lowercase + letters. It is equivalent to Perl option <c>/i</c> and can be + changed within a pattern by a <c>(?i)</c> option setting. + Uppercase and lowercase letters are defined as in the ISO 8859-1 + character set.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>dollar_endonly</c></tag> + <item> + <p>A dollar metacharacter in the pattern matches only at the end of + the subject string. Without this option, a dollar also matches + immediately before a newline at the end of the string (but not + before any other newlines). This option is ignored if option + <c>multiline</c> is specified. There is no equivalent option in + Perl, and it cannot be set within a pattern.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>dotall</c></tag> + <item> + <p>A dot in the pattern matches all characters, including those + indicating newline. Without it, a dot does not match when the + current position is at a newline. This option is equivalent to + Perl option <c>/s</c> and it can be changed within a pattern by a + <c>(?s)</c> option setting. A negative class, such as <c>[^a]</c>, + always matches newline characters, independent of the setting of + this option.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>extended</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Whitespace data characters in the pattern are ignored except + when escaped or inside a character class. Whitespace does not + include character 'vt' (ASCII 11). Characters between an + unescaped <c>#</c> outside a character class and the next newline, + inclusive, are also ignored. This is equivalent to Perl option + <c>/x</c> and can be changed within a pattern by a <c>(?x)</c> + option setting.</p> + <p>With this option, comments inside complicated patterns can be + included. However, notice that this applies only to data + characters. Whitespace characters can never appear within special + character sequences in a pattern, for example within sequence + <c>(?(</c> that introduces a conditional subpattern.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>firstline</c></tag> + <item> + <p>An unanchored pattern is required to match before or at the first + newline in the subject string, although the matched text can + continue over the newline.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>multiline</c></tag> + <item> + <p>By default, PCRE treats the subject string as consisting of a + single line of characters (even if it contains newlines). The + "start of line" metacharacter (<c>^</c>) matches only at the + start of the string, while the "end of line" metacharacter + (<c>$</c>) matches only at the end of the string, or before a + terminating newline (unless option <c>dollar_endonly</c> is + specified). This is the same as in Perl.</p> + <p>When this option is specified, the "start of line" and "end of + line" constructs match immediately following or immediately + before internal newlines in the subject string, respectively, as + well as at the very start and end. This is equivalent to Perl + option <c>/m</c> and can be changed within a pattern by a + <c>(?m)</c> option setting. If there are no newlines in a subject + string, or no occurrences of <c>^</c> or <c>$</c> in a pattern, + setting <c>multiline</c> has no effect.</p> </item> + <tag><c>no_auto_capture</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Disables the use of numbered capturing parentheses in the + pattern. Any opening parenthesis that is not followed by <c>?</c> + behaves as if it is followed by <c>?:</c>. Named parentheses can + still be used for capturing (and they acquire numbers in the + usual way). There is no equivalent option in Perl.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>dupnames</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Names used to identify capturing subpatterns need not be unique. + This can be helpful for certain types of pattern when it is known + that only one instance of the named subpattern can ever be + matched. More details of named subpatterns are provided below.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>ungreedy</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Inverts the "greediness" of the quantifiers so that they are not + greedy by default, but become greedy if followed by "?". It is + not compatible with Perl. It can also be set by a <c>(?U)</c> + option setting within the pattern.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{newline, NLSpec}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Overrides the default definition of a newline in the subject + string, which is LF (ASCII 10) in Erlang.</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>cr</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by a single character <c>cr</c> + (ASCII 13).</p> + </item> + <tag><c>lf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by a single character LF (ASCII 10), the + default.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>crlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by the two-character CRLF (ASCII 13 + followed by ASCII 10) sequence.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>anycrlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Any of the three preceding sequences is to be recognized.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>any</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Any of the newline sequences above, and the Unicode sequences + VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), NEL (next + line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and PS (paragraph + separator, U+2029).</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </item> + <tag><c>bsr_anycrlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies specifically that \R is to match only the CR, + LF, or CRLF sequences, not the Unicode-specific newline + characters.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>bsr_unicode</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies specifically that \R is to match all the Unicode + newline characters (including CRLF, and so on, the default).</p> + </item> + <tag><c>no_start_optimize</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Disables optimization that can malfunction if "Special + start-of-pattern items" are present in the regular expression. A + typical example would be when matching "DEFABC" against + "(*COMMIT)ABC", where the start optimization of PCRE would skip + the subject up to "A" and never realize that the (*COMMIT) + instruction is to have made the matching fail. This option is only + relevant if you use "start-of-pattern items", as discussed in + section <seealso marker="#regexp_syntax_details">PCRE Regular Expression + Details</seealso>.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>ucp</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies that Unicode character properties are to be used when + resolving \B, \b, \D, \d, \S, \s, \W and \w. Without this flag, + only ISO Latin-1 properties are used. Using Unicode properties + hurts performance, but is semantically correct when working with + Unicode characters beyond the ISO Latin-1 range.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>never_utf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies that the (*UTF) and/or (*UTF8) "start-of-pattern + items" are forbidden. This flag cannot be combined with option + <c>unicode</c>. Useful if ISO Latin-1 patterns from an external + source are to be compiled.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </desc> </func> <func> <name name="inspect" arity="2"/> - <fsummary>Inspects a compiled regular expression</fsummary> + <fsummary>Inspects a compiled regular expression.</fsummary> <desc> - <p>This function takes a compiled regular expression and an item, returning the relevant data from the regular expression. Currently the only supported item is <c>namelist</c>, which returns the tuple <c>{namelist, [ binary()]}</c>, containing the names of all (unique) named subpatterns in the regular expression.</p> - <p>Example:</p> - <code type="none"> + <p>Takes a compiled regular expression and an item, and returns the + relevant data from the regular expression. The only + supported item is <c>namelist</c>, which returns the tuple + <c>{namelist, [binary()]}</c>, containing the names of all (unique) + named subpatterns in the regular expression. For example:</p> + <code type="none"> 1> {ok,MP} = re:compile("(?<A>A)|(?<B>B)|(?<C>C)"). {ok,{re_pattern,3,0,0, <<69,82,67,80,119,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,255,255,255,255, @@ -181,8 +304,15 @@ This option makes it possible to include comments inside complicated patterns. N 255,255,...>>}} 4> re:inspect(MPD,namelist). {namelist,[<<"B">>,<<"C">>]}</code> - <p>Note specifically in the second example that the duplicate name only occurs once in the returned list, and that the list is in alphabetical order regardless of where the names are positioned in the regular expression. The order of the names is the same as the order of captured subexpressions if <c>{capture, all_names}</c> is given as an option to <c>re:run/3</c>. You can therefore create a name-to-value mapping from the result of <c>re:run/3</c> like this:</p> -<code> + <p>Notice in the second example that the duplicate name only occurs + once in the returned list, and that the list is in alphabetical order + regardless of where the names are positioned in the regular + expression. The order of the names is the same as the order of + captured subexpressions if <c>{capture, all_names}</c> is specified as + an option to <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>. + You can therefore create a name-to-value mapping from the result of + <c>run/3</c> like this:</p> + <code> 1> {ok,MP} = re:compile("(?<A>A)|(?<B>B)|(?<C>C)"). {ok,{re_pattern,3,0,0, <<69,82,67,80,119,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,255,255,255,255, @@ -193,249 +323,318 @@ This option makes it possible to include comments inside complicated patterns. N {match,[<<"A">>,<<>>,<<>>]} 4> NameMap = lists:zip(N,L). [{<<"A">>,<<"A">>},{<<"B">>,<<>>},{<<"C">>,<<>>}]</code> - <p>More items are expected to be added in the future.</p> + </desc> + </func> + + <func> + <name name="replace" arity="3"/> + <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and replace matching + elements with Replacement.</fsummary> + <desc> + <p>Same as <c>replace(<anno>Subject</anno>, <anno>RE</anno>, + <anno>Replacement</anno>, [])</c>.</p> </desc> </func> + + <func> + <name name="replace" arity="4"/> + <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and replace matching + elements with Replacement.</fsummary> + <desc> + <p>Replaces the matched part of the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> string + with the contents of <c><anno>Replacement</anno></c>.</p> + <p>The permissible options are the same as for + <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>, except that option<c> + capture</c> is not allowed. Instead a <c>{return, + <anno>ReturnType</anno>}</c> is present. The default return type is + <c>iodata</c>, constructed in a way to minimize copying. The + <c>iodata</c> result can be used directly in many I/O operations. If a + flat <c>list()</c> is desired, specify <c>{return, list}</c>. If a + binary is desired, specify <c>{return, binary}</c>.</p> + <p>As in function <c>run/3</c>, an <c>mp()</c> compiled with option + <c>unicode</c> requires <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> to be a Unicode + <c>charlist()</c>. If compilation is done implicitly and the + <c>unicode</c> compilation option is specified to this function, both + the regular expression and <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> are to + specified as valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>s.</p> + <p>The replacement string can contain the special character + <c>&</c>, which inserts the whole matching expression in the + result, and the special sequence <c>\</c>N (where N is an integer > + 0), <c>\g</c>N, or <c>\g{</c>N<c>}</c>, resulting in the subexpression + number N, is inserted in the result. If no subexpression with that + number is generated by the regular expression, nothing is + inserted.</p> + <p>To insert an & or a \ in the result, precede it + with a \. Notice that Erlang already gives a special meaning to + \ in literal strings, so a single \ must be written as + <c>"\\"</c> and therefore a double \ as <c>"\\\\"</c>.</p> + <p><em>Example:</em></p> + <code> +re:replace("abcd","c","[&]",[{return,list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +"ab[c]d"</code> + <p>while</p> + <code> +re:replace("abcd","c","[\\&]",[{return,list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +"ab[&]d"</code> + <p>As with <c>run/3</c>, compilation errors raise the <c>badarg</c> + exception. <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso> + can be used to get more information about the error.</p> + </desc> + </func> + <func> <name name="run" arity="2"/> - <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and capture subpatterns</fsummary> + <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and capture + subpatterns.</fsummary> <desc> - <p>The same as <c>run(<anno>Subject</anno>,<anno>RE</anno>,[])</c>.</p> + <p>Same as <c>run(<anno>Subject</anno>,<anno>RE</anno>,[])</c>.</p> </desc> </func> + <func> <name name="run" arity="3"/> - <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and capture subpatterns</fsummary> - <type_desc variable="CompileOpt">See <seealso marker="#compile_options">compile/2</seealso> above.</type_desc> + <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and capture + subpatterns.</fsummary> + <type_desc variable="CompileOpt">See <seealso marker="#compile_options"> + <c>compile/2</c></seealso>.</type_desc> <desc> - - <p>Executes a regexp matching, returning <c>match/{match, - <anno>Captured</anno>}</c> or <c>nomatch</c>. The regular expression can be - given either as <c>iodata()</c> in which case it is - automatically compiled (as by <c>re:compile/2</c>) and executed, - or as a pre-compiled <c>mp()</c> in which case it is executed - against the subject directly.</p> - - <p>When compilation is involved, the exception <c>badarg</c> is - thrown if a compilation error occurs. Call <c>re:compile/2</c> - to get information about the location of the error in the - regular expression.</p> - - <p>If the regular expression is previously compiled, the option - list can only contain the options <c>anchored</c>, - <c>global</c>, <c>notbol</c>, <c>noteol</c>, <c>report_errors</c>, - <c>notempty</c>, <c>notempty_atstart</c>, <c>{offset, integer() >= 0}</c>, - <c>{match_limit, integer() >= 0}</c>, - <c>{match_limit_recursion, integer() >= 0}</c>, - <c>{newline, - <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c> and - <c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}/{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, - <anno>Type</anno>}</c>. Otherwise all options valid for the - <c>re:compile/2</c> function are allowed as well. Options - allowed both for compilation and execution of a match, namely - <c>anchored</c> and <c>{newline, <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c>, - will affect both - the compilation and execution if present together with a non - pre-compiled regular expression.</p> - - <p>If the regular expression was previously compiled with the - option <c>unicode</c>, the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> should be provided as - a valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>, otherwise any <c>iodata()</c> - will do. If compilation is involved and the option - <c>unicode</c> is given, both the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> and the regular - expression should be given as valid Unicode - <c>charlists()</c>.</p> - - <p>The <c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}/{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>}</c> - defines what to return from the function upon successful - matching. The <c>capture</c> tuple may contain both a - value specification telling which of the captured - substrings are to be returned, and a type specification, telling - how captured substrings are to be returned (as index tuples, - lists or binaries). The <c>capture</c> option makes the function - quite flexible and powerful. The different options are described - in detail below.</p> - - <p>If the capture options describe that no substring capturing - at all is to be done (<c>{capture, none}</c>), the function will - return the single atom <c>match</c> upon successful matching, - otherwise the tuple - <c>{match, <anno>ValueList</anno>}</c> is returned. Disabling capturing can - be done either by specifying <c>none</c> or an empty list as - <c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c>.</p> - - <p>The <c>report_errors</c> option adds the possibility that an - error tuple is returned. The tuple will either indicate a - matching error (<c>match_limit</c> or - <c>match_limit_recursion</c>) or a compilation error, where the - error tuple has the format <c>{error, {compile, - <anno>CompileErr</anno>}}</c>. Note that if the option - <c>report_errors</c> is not given, the function never returns - error tuples, but will report compilation errors as a badarg - exception and failed matches due to exceeded match limits simply - as <c>nomatch</c>.</p> - - <p>The options relevant for execution are:</p> - - <taglist> - <tag><c>anchored</c></tag> - - <item>Limits <c>re:run/3</c> to matching at the first matching - position. If a pattern was compiled with <c>anchored</c>, or - turned out to be anchored by virtue of its contents, it cannot - be made unanchored at matching time, hence there is no - <c>unanchored</c> option.</item> - - <tag><c>global</c></tag> - <item> - - <p>Implements global (repetitive) search (the <c>g</c> flag in - Perl). Each match is returned as a separate - <c>list()</c> containing the specific match as well as any - matching subexpressions (or as specified by the <c>capture - option</c>). The <c><anno>Captured</anno></c> part of the return value will - hence be a <c>list()</c> of <c>list()</c>s when this - option is given.</p> - - <p>The interaction of the global option with a regular - expression which matches an empty string surprises some users. - When the global option is given, <c>re:run/3</c> handles empty - matches in the same way as Perl: a zero-length match at any - point will be retried with the options <c>[anchored, - notempty_atstart]</c> as well. If that search gives a result of length - > 0, the result is included. For example:</p> - -<code> re:run("cat","(|at)",[global]).</code> - - <p>The following matching will be performed:</p> - <taglist> - <tag>At offset <c>0</c></tag> - <item>The regexp <c>(|at)</c> will first match at the initial - position of the string <c>cat</c>, giving the result set - <c>[{0,0},{0,0}]</c> (the second <c>{0,0}</c> is due to the - subexpression marked by the parentheses). As the length of the - match is 0, we don't advance to the next position yet.</item> - <tag>At offset <c>0</c> with <c>[anchored, notempty_atstart]</c></tag> - <item> The search is retried - with the options <c>[anchored, notempty_atstart]</c> at the same - position, which does not give any interesting result of longer - length, so the search position is now advanced to the next - character (<c>a</c>).</item> - <tag>At offset <c>1</c></tag> - <item>This time, the search results in - <c>[{1,0},{1,0}]</c>, so this search will also be repeated - with the extra options.</item> - <tag>At offset <c>1</c> with <c>[anchored, notempty_atstart]</c></tag> - <item>Now the <c>ab</c> alternative - is found and the result will be [{1,2},{1,2}]. The result is - added to the list of results and the position in the - search string is advanced two steps.</item> - <tag>At offset <c>3</c></tag> - <item>The search now once again - matches the empty string, giving <c>[{3,0},{3,0}]</c>.</item> - <tag>At offset <c>1</c> with <c>[anchored, notempty_atstart]</c></tag> - <item>This will give no result of length > 0 and we are at - the last position, so the global search is complete.</item> - </taglist> - <p>The result of the call is:</p> - -<code> {match,[[{0,0},{0,0}],[{1,0},{1,0}],[{1,2},{1,2}],[{3,0},{3,0}]]}</code> -</item> - - <tag><c>notempty</c></tag> - <item> - <p>An empty string is not considered to be a valid match if this - option is given. If there are alternatives in the pattern, they - are tried. If all the alternatives match the empty string, the - entire match fails. For example, if the pattern</p> -<code> a?b?</code> - <p>is applied to a string not beginning with "a" or "b", it - would normally match the empty string at the start of the - subject. With the <c>notempty</c> option, this match is not - valid, so re:run/3 searches further into the string for - occurrences of "a" or "b".</p> - </item> - <tag><c>notempty_atstart</c></tag> - <item> - <p>This is like <c>notempty</c>, except that an empty string - match that is not at the start of the subject is permitted. If - the pattern is anchored, such a match can occur only if the - pattern contains \K.</p> - <p>Perl has no direct equivalent of <c>notempty</c> or <c>notempty_atstart</c>, but it does - make a special case of a pattern match of the empty string - within its split() function, and when using the /g modifier. It - is possible to emulate Perl's behavior after matching a null - string by first trying the match again at the same offset with - <c>notempty_atstart</c> and <c>anchored</c>, and then, if that fails, by - advancing the starting offset (see below) and trying an ordinary - match again.</p> - </item> - <tag><c>notbol</c></tag> - - <item>This option specifies that the first character of the subject - string is not the beginning of a line, so the circumflex - metacharacter should not match before it. Setting this without - <c>multiline</c> (at compile time) causes circumflex never to - match. This option only affects the behavior of the circumflex - metacharacter. It does not affect \A.</item> - - <tag><c>noteol</c></tag> - - <item>This option specifies that the end of the subject string - is not the end of a line, so the dollar metacharacter should not - match it nor (except in multiline mode) a newline immediately - before it. Setting this without <c>multiline</c> (at compile time) - causes dollar never to match. This option affects only the - behavior of the dollar metacharacter. It does not affect \Z or - \z.</item> - - <tag><c>report_errors</c></tag> - - <item><p>This option gives better control of the error handling in <c>re:run/3</c>. When it is given, compilation errors (if the regular expression isn't already compiled) as well as run-time errors are explicitly returned as an error tuple.</p> - <p>The possible run-time errors are:</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>match_limit</c></tag> - - <item>The PCRE library sets a limit on how many times the - internal match function can be called. The default value for - this is 10000000 in the library compiled for Erlang. If - <c>{error, match_limit}</c> is returned, it means that the - execution of the regular expression has reached this - limit. Normally this is to be regarded as a <c>nomatch</c>, - which is the default return value when this happens, but by - specifying <c>report_errors</c>, you will get informed when - the match fails due to to many internal calls.</item> - - <tag><c>match_limit_recursion</c></tag> - - <item>This error is very similar to <c>match_limit</c>, but - occurs when the internal match function of PCRE is - "recursively" called more times than the - "match_limit_recursion" limit, which is by default 10000000 as - well. Note that as long as the <c>match_limit</c> and - <c>match_limit_default</c> values are kept at the default - values, the <c>match_limit_recursion</c> error can not occur, - as the <c>match_limit</c> error will occur before that (each - recursive call is also a call, but not vice versa). Both - limits can however be changed, either by setting limits - directly in the regular expression string (see reference - section below) or by giving options to <c>re:run/3</c></item> - - </taglist> - <p>It is important to understand that what is referred to as - "recursion" when limiting matches is not actually recursion on - the C stack of the Erlang machine, neither is it recursion on - the Erlang process stack. The version of PCRE compiled into the - Erlang VM uses machine "heap" memory to store values that needs to be - kept over recursion in regular expression matches.</p> - </item> - <tag><c>{match_limit, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> - - <item><p>This option limits the execution time of a match in an - implementation-specific way. It is described in the following - way by the PCRE documentation:</p> - - <code> + <p>Executes a regular expression matching, and returns + <c>match/{match, <anno>Captured</anno>}</c> or <c>nomatch</c>. The + regular expression can be specified either as <c>iodata()</c> in + which case it is automatically compiled (as by <c>compile/2</c>) and + executed, or as a precompiled <c>mp()</c> in which case it is executed + against the subject directly.</p> + <p>When compilation is involved, exception <c>badarg</c> is thrown if a + compilation error occurs. Call <c>compile/2</c> to get information + about the location of the error in the regular expression.</p> + <p>If the regular expression is previously compiled, the option list can + only contain the following options:</p> + <list type="bulleted"> + <item><c>anchored</c></item> + <item><c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}/{capture, + <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>}</c></item> + <item><c>global</c></item> + <item><c>{match_limit, integer() >= 0}</c></item> + <item><c>{match_limit_recursion, integer() >= 0}</c></item> + <item><c>{newline, <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c></item> + <item><c>notbol</c></item> + <item><c>notempty</c></item> + <item><c>notempty_atstart</c></item> + <item><c>noteol</c></item> + <item><c>{offset, integer() >= 0}</c></item> + <item><c>report_errors</c></item> + </list> + <p>Otherwise all options valid for function <c>compile/2</c> are also + allowed. Options allowed both for compilation and execution of a + match, namely <c>anchored</c> and <c>{newline, + <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c>, affect both the compilation and execution if + present together with a non-precompiled regular expression.</p> + <p>If the regular expression was previously compiled with option + <c>unicode</c>, <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> is to be provided as a + valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>, otherwise any <c>iodata()</c> will + do. If compilation is involved and option <c>unicode</c> is specified, + both <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> and the regular expression are to be + specified as valid Unicode <c>charlists()</c>.</p> + <p><c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}/{capture, + <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>}</c> defines what to return + from the function upon successful matching. The <c>capture</c> tuple + can contain both a value specification, telling which of the captured + substrings are to be returned, and a type specification, telling how + captured substrings are to be returned (as index tuples, lists, or + binaries). The options are described in detail below.</p> + <p>If the capture options describe that no substring capturing is to be + done (<c>{capture, none}</c>), the function returns the single atom + <c>match</c> upon successful matching, otherwise the tuple + <c>{match, <anno>ValueList</anno>}</c>. Disabling capturing can be + done either by specifying <c>none</c> or an empty list as + <c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c>.</p> + <p>Option <c>report_errors</c> adds the possibility that an error tuple + is returned. The tuple either indicates a matching error + (<c>match_limit</c> or <c>match_limit_recursion</c>), or a compilation + error, where the error tuple has the format <c>{error, {compile, + <anno>CompileErr</anno>}}</c>. Notice that if option + <c>report_errors</c> is not specified, the function never returns + error tuples, but reports compilation errors as a <c>badarg</c> + exception and failed matches because of exceeded match limits simply + as <c>nomatch</c>.</p> + <p>The following options are relevant for execution:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>anchored</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Limits <c>run/3</c> to matching at the first matching + position. If a pattern was compiled with <c>anchored</c>, or + turned out to be anchored by virtue of its contents, it cannot + be made unanchored at matching time, hence there is no + <c>unanchored</c> option.</p></item> + <tag><c>global</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Implements global (repetitive) search (flag <c>g</c> in Perl). + Each match is returned as a separate <c>list()</c> containing the + specific match and any matching subexpressions (or as specified + by option <c>capture</c>. The <c><anno>Captured</anno></c> part + of the return value is hence a <c>list()</c> of <c>list()</c>s + when this option is specified.</p> + <p>The interaction of option <c>global</c> with a regular + expression that matches an empty string surprises some users. + When option <c>global</c> is specified, <c>run/3</c> handles + empty matches in the same way as Perl: a zero-length match at any + point is also retried with options <c>[anchored, + notempty_atstart]</c>. If that search gives a result of length + > 0, the result is included. Example:</p> + <code> +re:run("cat","(|at)",[global]).</code> + <p>The following matchings are performed:</p> + <taglist> + <tag>At offset <c>0</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The regular expression <c>(|at)</c> first match at the + initial position of string <c>cat</c>, giving the result set + <c>[{0,0},{0,0}]</c> (the second <c>{0,0}</c> is because of + the subexpression marked by the parentheses). As the length + of the match is 0, we do not advance to the next position + yet.</p> + </item> + <tag>At offset <c>0</c> with <c>[anchored, + notempty_atstart]</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The search is retried with options <c>[anchored, + notempty_atstart]</c> at the same position, which does not + give any interesting result of longer length, so the search + position is advanced to the next character (<c>a</c>).</p> + </item> + <tag>At offset <c>1</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The search results in <c>[{1,0},{1,0}]</c>, so this search is + also repeated with the extra options.</p> + </item> + <tag>At offset <c>1</c> with <c>[anchored, + notempty_atstart]</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Alternative <c>ab</c> is found and the result is + [{1,2},{1,2}]. The result is added to the list of results and + the position in the search string is advanced two steps.</p> + </item> + <tag>At offset <c>3</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The search once again matches the empty string, giving + <c>[{3,0},{3,0}]</c>.</p> + </item> + <tag>At offset <c>1</c> with <c>[anchored, + notempty_atstart]</c></tag> + <item> + <p>This gives no result of length > 0 and we are at the last + position, so the global search is complete.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + <p>The result of the call is:</p> + <code> +{match,[[{0,0},{0,0}],[{1,0},{1,0}],[{1,2},{1,2}],[{3,0},{3,0}]]}</code> + </item> + <tag><c>notempty</c></tag> + <item> + <p>An empty string is not considered to be a valid match if this + option is specified. If alternatives in the pattern exist, they + are tried. If all the alternatives match the empty string, the + entire match fails.</p> + <p><em>Example:</em></p> + <p>If the following pattern is applied to a string not beginning + with "a" or "b", it would normally match the empty string at the + start of the subject:</p> + <code> +a?b?</code> + <p>With option <c>notempty</c>, this match is invalid, so + <c>run/3</c> searches further into the string for occurrences of + "a" or "b".</p> + </item> + <tag><c>notempty_atstart</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Like <c>notempty</c>, except that an empty string match that is + not at the start of the subject is permitted. If the pattern is + anchored, such a match can occur only if the pattern contains + \K.</p> + <p>Perl has no direct equivalent of <c>notempty</c> or + <c>notempty_atstart</c>, but it does make a special case of a + pattern match of the empty string within its split() function, + and when using modifier <c>/g</c>. The Perl behavior can be + emulated after matching a null string by first trying the + match again at the same offset with <c>notempty_atstart</c> and + <c>anchored</c>, and then, if that fails, by advancing the + starting offset (see below) and trying an ordinary match + again.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>notbol</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies that the first character of the subject string is not + the beginning of a line, so the circumflex metacharacter is not + to match before it. Setting this without <c>multiline</c> (at + compile time) causes circumflex never to match. This option only + affects the behavior of the circumflex metacharacter. It does not + affect \A.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>noteol</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies that the end of the subject string is not the end of a + line, so the dollar metacharacter is not to match it nor (except + in multiline mode) a newline immediately before it. Setting this + without <c>multiline</c> (at compile time) causes dollar never to + match. This option affects only the behavior of the dollar + metacharacter. It does not affect \Z or \z.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>report_errors</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Gives better control of the error handling in <c>run/3</c>. When + specified, compilation errors (if the regular expression is not + already compiled) and runtime errors are explicitly returned as + an error tuple.</p> + <p>The following are the possible runtime errors:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>match_limit</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The PCRE library sets a limit on how many times the internal + match function can be called. Defaults to 10,000,000 in the + library compiled for Erlang. If <c>{error, match_limit}</c> + is returned, the execution of the regular expression has + reached this limit. This is normally to be regarded as a + <c>nomatch</c>, which is the default return value when this + occurs, but by specifying <c>report_errors</c>, you are + informed when the match fails because of too many internal + calls.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>match_limit_recursion</c></tag> + <item> + <p>This error is very similar to <c>match_limit</c>, but occurs + when the internal match function of PCRE is "recursively" + called more times than the <c>match_limit_recursion</c> limit, + which defaults to 10,000,000 as well. Notice that as long as + the <c>match_limit</c> + and <c>match_limit_default</c> values are + kept at the default values, the <c>match_limit_recursion</c> + error cannot occur, as the <c>match_limit</c> error occurs + before that (each recursive call is also a call, but not + conversely). Both limits can however be changed, either by + setting limits directly in the regular expression string (see + section <seealso marker="#regexp_syntax_details">PCRE Regular + Eexpression Details</seealso>) or by specifying options to + <c>run/3</c>.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + <p>It is important to understand that what is referred to as + "recursion" when limiting matches is not recursion on the C stack + of the Erlang machine or on the Erlang process stack. The PCRE + version compiled into the Erlang VM uses machine "heap" memory to + store values that must be kept over recursion in regular + expression matches.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{match_limit, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Limits the execution time of a match in an + implementation-specific way. It is described as follows by the + PCRE documentation:</p> + <code> The match_limit field provides a means of preventing PCRE from using up a vast amount of resources when running patterns that are not going to match, but which have a very large number of possibilities in their @@ -448,26 +647,22 @@ imposed on the number of times this function is called during a match, which has the effect of limiting the amount of backtracking that can take place. For patterns that are not anchored, the count restarts from zero for each position in the subject string.</code> - - <p>This means that runaway regular expression matches can fail - faster if the limit is lowered using this option. The default - value compiled into the Erlang virtual machine is 10000000</p> - - <note><p>This option does in no way affect the execution of the - Erlang virtual machine in terms of "long running - BIF's". <c>re:run</c> always give control back to the scheduler - of Erlang processes at intervals that ensures the real time - properties of the Erlang system.</p></note> - </item> - - <tag><c>{match_limit_recursion, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> - - <item><p>This option limits the execution time and memory - consumption of a match in an implementation-specific way, very - similar to <c>match_limit</c>. It is described in the following - way by the PCRE documentation:</p> - - <code> + <p>This means that runaway regular expression matches can fail + faster if the limit is lowered using this option. The default + value 10,000,000 is compiled into the Erlang VM.</p> + <note> + <p>This option does in no way affect the execution of the Erlang + VM in terms of "long running BIFs". <c>run/3</c> always gives + control back to the scheduler of Erlang processes at intervals + that ensures the real-time properties of the Erlang system.</p> + </note> + </item> + <tag><c>{match_limit_recursion, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Limits the execution time and memory consumption of a match in an + implementation-specific way, very similar to <c>match_limit</c>. + It is described as follows by the PCRE documentation:</p> + <code> The match_limit_recursion field is similar to match_limit, but instead of limiting the total number of times that match() is called, it limits the depth of recursion. The recursion depth is a smaller number @@ -477,3273 +672,3535 @@ match_limit. Limiting the recursion depth limits the amount of machine stack that can be used, or, when PCRE has been compiled to use memory on the heap -instead of the stack, the amount of heap memory that can be -used.</code> - - <p>The Erlang virtual machine uses a PCRE library where heap - memory is used when regular expression match recursion happens, - why this limits the usage of machine heap, not C stack.</p> - - <p>Specifying a lower value may result in matches with deep recursion failing, when they should actually have matched:</p> - <code type="none"> +instead of the stack, the amount of heap memory that can be used.</code> + <p>The Erlang VM uses a PCRE library where heap memory is used when + regular expression match recursion occurs. This therefore limits + the use of machine heap, not C stack.</p> + <p>Specifying a lower value can result in matches with deep + recursion failing, when they should have matched:</p> + <code type="none"> 1> re:run("aaaaaaaaaaaaaz","(a+)*z"). {match,[{0,14},{0,13}]} 2> re:run("aaaaaaaaaaaaaz","(a+)*z",[{match_limit_recursion,5}]). nomatch 3> re:run("aaaaaaaaaaaaaz","(a+)*z",[{match_limit_recursion,5},report_errors]). {error,match_limit_recursion}</code> - - <p>This option, as well as the <c>match_limit</c> option should - only be used in very rare cases. Understanding of the PCRE - library internals is recommended before tampering with these - limits.</p> - </item> - - <tag><c>{offset, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> - - <item>Start matching at the offset (position) given in the - subject string. The offset is zero-based, so that the default is - <c>{offset,0}</c> (all of the subject string).</item> - - <tag><c>{newline, <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c></tag> - <item> - <p>Override the default definition of a newline in the subject string, which is LF (ASCII 10) in Erlang.</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>cr</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by a single character CR (ASCII 13)</item> - <tag><c>lf</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by a single character LF (ASCII 10), the default</item> - <tag><c>crlf</c></tag> - <item>Newline is indicated by the two-character CRLF (ASCII 13 followed by ASCII 10) sequence.</item> - <tag><c>anycrlf</c></tag> - <item>Any of the three preceding sequences should be recognized.</item> - <tag><c>any</c></tag> - <item>Any of the newline sequences above, plus the Unicode sequences VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and PS (paragraph separator, U+2029). </item> - </taglist> - </item> - <tag><c>bsr_anycrlf</c></tag> - <item>Specifies specifically that \R is to match only the cr, lf or crlf sequences, not the Unicode specific newline characters. (overrides compilation option)</item> - <tag><c>bsr_unicode</c></tag> - <item>Specifies specifically that \R is to match all the Unicode newline characters (including crlf etc, the default).(overrides compilation option)</item> - - <tag><c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}</c>/<c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>}</c></tag> - <item> - - <p>Specifies which captured substrings are returned and in what - format. By default, - <c>re:run/3</c> captures all of the matching part of the - substring as well as all capturing subpatterns (all of the - pattern is automatically captured). The default return type is - (zero-based) indexes of the captured parts of the string, given as - <c>{Offset,Length}</c> pairs (the <c>index</c> <c><anno>Type</anno></c> of - capturing).</p> - - <p>As an example of the default behavior, the following call:</p> - - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC","abcd",[]).</code> - - <p>returns, as first and only captured string the matching part of the subject ("abcd" in the middle) as a index pair <c>{3,4}</c>, where character positions are zero based, just as in offsets. The return value of the call above would then be:</p> - <code> {match,[{3,4}]}</code> - <p>Another (and quite common) case is where the regular expression matches all of the subject, as in:</p> - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*abcd.*",[]).</code> - <p>where the return value correspondingly will point out all of the string, beginning at index 0 and being 10 characters long:</p> - <code> {match,[{0,10}]}</code> - - <p>If the regular expression contains capturing subpatterns, - like in the following case:</p> - - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(abcd).*",[]).</code> - - <p>all of the matched subject is captured, as - well as the captured substrings:</p> - - <code> {match,[{0,10},{3,4}]}</code> - - <p>the complete matching pattern always giving the first return value in the - list and the rest of the subpatterns being added in the - order they occurred in the regular expression.</p> - - <p>The capture tuple is built up as follows:</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c></tag> - <item><p>Specifies which captured (sub)patterns are to be returned. The <c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c> can either be an atom describing a predefined set of return values, or a list containing either the indexes or the names of specific subpatterns to return.</p> - <p>The predefined sets of subpatterns are:</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>all</c></tag> - <item>All captured subpatterns including the complete matching string. This is the default.</item> - <tag><c>all_names</c></tag> - <item>All <em>named</em> subpatterns in the regular expression, as if a <c>list()</c> - of all the names <em>in alphabetical order</em> was given. The list of all names can also be retrieved with the <seealso marker="#inspect/2">inspect/2</seealso> function.</item> - <tag><c>first</c></tag> - <item>Only the first captured subpattern, which is always the complete matching part of the subject. All explicitly captured subpatterns are discarded.</item> - <tag><c>all_but_first</c></tag> - <item>All but the first matching subpattern, i.e. all explicitly captured subpatterns, but not the complete matching part of the subject string. This is useful if the regular expression as a whole matches a large part of the subject, but the part you're interested in is in an explicitly captured subpattern. If the return type is <c>list</c> or <c>binary</c>, not returning subpatterns you're not interested in is a good way to optimize.</item> - <tag><c>none</c></tag> - <item>Do not return matching subpatterns at all, yielding the single atom <c>match</c> as the return value of the function when matching successfully instead of the <c>{match, list()}</c> return. Specifying an empty list gives the same behavior.</item> - </taglist> - <p>The value list is a list of indexes for the subpatterns to return, where index 0 is for all of the pattern, and 1 is for the first explicit capturing subpattern in the regular expression, and so forth. When using named captured subpatterns (see below) in the regular expression, one can use <c>atom()</c>s or <c>string()</c>s to specify the subpatterns to be returned. For example, consider the regular expression:</p> - <code> ".*(abcd).*"</code> - <p>matched against the string "ABCabcdABC", capturing only the "abcd" part (the first explicit subpattern):</p> - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(abcd).*",[{capture,[1]}]).</code> - <p>The call will yield the following result:</p> - <code> {match,[{3,4}]}</code> - <p>as the first explicitly captured subpattern is "(abcd)", matching "abcd" in the subject, at (zero-based) position 3, of length 4.</p> - <p>Now consider the same regular expression, but with the subpattern explicitly named 'FOO':</p> - <code> ".*(?<FOO>abcd).*"</code> - <p>With this expression, we could still give the index of the subpattern with the following call:</p> - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(?<FOO>abcd).*",[{capture,[1]}]).</code> - <p>giving the same result as before. But, since the subpattern is named, we can also specify its name in the value list:</p> - <code> re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(?<FOO>abcd).*",[{capture,['FOO']}]).</code> - <p>which would yield the same result as the earlier examples, namely:</p> - <code> {match,[{3,4}]}</code> - - <p>The values list might specify indexes or names not present in - the regular expression, in which case the return values vary - depending on the type. If the type is <c>index</c>, the tuple - <c>{-1,0}</c> is returned for values having no corresponding - subpattern in the regexp, but for the other types - (<c>binary</c> and <c>list</c>), the values are the empty binary - or list respectively.</p> - - </item> - <tag><c><anno>Type</anno></c></tag> - <item><p>Optionally specifies how captured substrings are to be returned. If omitted, the default of <c>index</c> is used. The <c><anno>Type</anno></c> can be one of the following:</p> - <taglist> - <tag><c>index</c></tag> - <item>Return captured substrings as pairs of byte indexes into the subject string and length of the matching string in the subject (as if the subject string was flattened with <c>iolist_to_binary/1</c> or <c>unicode:characters_to_binary/2</c> prior to matching). Note that the <c>unicode</c> option results in <em>byte-oriented</em> indexes in a (possibly virtual) <em>UTF-8 encoded</em> binary. A byte index tuple <c>{0,2}</c> might therefore represent one or two characters when <c>unicode</c> is in effect. This might seem counter-intuitive, but has been deemed the most effective and useful way to way to do it. To return lists instead might result in simpler code if that is desired. This return type is the default.</item> - <tag><c>list</c></tag> - <item>Return matching substrings as lists of characters (Erlang <c>string()</c>s). It the <c>unicode</c> option is used in combination with the \C sequence in the regular expression, a captured subpattern can contain bytes that are not valid UTF-8 (\C matches bytes regardless of character encoding). In that case the <c>list</c> capturing may result in the same types of tuples that <c>unicode:characters_to_list/2</c> can return, namely three-tuples with the tag <c>incomplete</c> or <c>error</c>, the successfully converted characters and the invalid UTF-8 tail of the conversion as a binary. The best strategy is to avoid using the \C sequence when capturing lists.</item> - <tag><c>binary</c></tag> - <item>Return matching substrings as binaries. If the <c>unicode</c> option is used, these binaries are in UTF-8. If the \C sequence is used together with <c>unicode</c> the binaries may be invalid UTF-8.</item> + <p>This option and option <c>match_limit</c> are only to be used in + rare cases. Understanding of the PCRE library internals is + recommended before tampering with these limits.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{offset, integer() >= 0}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Start matching at the offset (position) specified in the + subject string. The offset is zero-based, so that the default is + <c>{offset,0}</c> (all of the subject string).</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{newline, <anno>NLSpec</anno>}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Overrides the default definition of a newline in the subject + string, which is LF (ASCII 10) in Erlang.</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>cr</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by a single character CR (ASCII 13).</p> + </item> + <tag><c>lf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by a single character LF (ASCII 10), + the default.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>crlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Newline is indicated by the two-character CRLF (ASCII 13 + followed by ASCII 10) sequence.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>anycrlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Any of the three preceding sequences is be recognized.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>any</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Any of the newline sequences above, and the Unicode + sequences VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (formfeed, U+000C), NEL + (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and PS + (paragraph separator, U+2029).</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </item> + <tag><c>bsr_anycrlf</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies specifically that \R is to match only the CR + LF, or CRLF sequences, not the Unicode-specific newline + characters. (Overrides the compilation option.)</p> + </item> + <tag><c>bsr_unicode</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies specifically that \R is to match all the Unicode + newline characters (including CRLF, and so on, the default). + (Overrides the compilation option.)</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{capture, <anno>ValueSpec</anno>}</c>/<c>{capture, + <anno>ValueSpec</anno>, <anno>Type</anno>}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies which captured substrings are returned and in what + format. By default, <c>run/3</c> captures all of the matching + part of the substring and all capturing subpatterns (all of the + pattern is automatically captured). The default return type is + (zero-based) indexes of the captured parts of the string, + specified as <c>{Offset,Length}</c> pairs (the <c>index</c> + <c><anno>Type</anno></c> of capturing).</p> + <p>As an example of the default behavior, the following call + returns, as first and only captured string, the matching part of + the subject ("abcd" in the middle) as an index pair <c>{3,4}</c>, + where character positions are zero-based, just as in offsets:</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC","abcd",[]).</code> + <p>The return value of this call is:</p> + <code> +{match,[{3,4}]}</code> + <p>Another (and quite common) case is where the regular expression + matches all of the subject:</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*abcd.*",[]).</code> + <p>Here the return value correspondingly points out all of the + string, beginning at index 0, and it is 10 characters long:</p> + <code> +{match,[{0,10}]}</code> + <p>If the regular expression contains capturing subpatterns, like + in:</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(abcd).*",[]).</code> + <p>all of the matched subject is captured, as well as the captured + substrings:</p> + <code> +{match,[{0,10},{3,4}]}</code> + <p>The complete matching pattern always gives the first return + value in the list and the remaining subpatterns are added in the + order they occurred in the regular expression.</p> + <p>The capture tuple is built up as follows:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies which captured (sub)patterns are to be returned. + <c><anno>ValueSpec</anno></c> can either be an atom describing + a predefined set of return values, or a list containing the + indexes or the names of specific subpatterns to return.</p> + <p>The following are the predefined sets of subpatterns:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>all</c></tag> + <item> + <p>All captured subpatterns including the complete matching + string. This is the default.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>all_names</c></tag> + <item> + <p>All <em>named</em> subpatterns in the regular expression, + as if a <c>list()</c> of all the names <em>in + alphabetical order</em> was specified. The list of all + names can also be retrieved with + <seealso marker="#inspect/2"> + <c>inspect/2</c></seealso>.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>first</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Only the first captured subpattern, which is always the + complete matching part of the subject. All explicitly + captured subpatterns are discarded.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>all_but_first</c></tag> + <item> + <p>All but the first matching subpattern, that is, all + explicitly captured subpatterns, but not the complete + matching part of the subject string. This is useful if + the regular expression as a whole matches a large part of + the subject, but the part you are interested in is in an + explicitly captured subpattern. If the return type is + <c>list</c> or <c>binary</c>, not returning subpatterns + you are not interested in is a good way to optimize.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>none</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Returns no matching subpatterns, gives the single + atom <c>match</c> as the return value of the function + when matching successfully instead of the <c>{match, + list()}</c> return. Specifying an empty list gives the + same behavior.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + <p>The value list is a list of indexes for the subpatterns to + return, where index 0 is for all of the pattern, and 1 is for + the first explicit capturing subpattern in the regular + expression, and so on. When using named captured subpatterns + (see below) in the regular expression, one can use + <c>atom()</c>s or <c>string()</c>s to specify the subpatterns + to be returned. For example, consider the regular + expression:</p> + <code> +".*(abcd).*"</code> + <p>matched against string "ABCabcdABC", capturing only the + "abcd" part (the first explicit subpattern):</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(abcd).*",[{capture,[1]}]).</code> + <p>The call gives the following result, as the first explicitly + captured subpattern is "(abcd)", matching "abcd" in the + subject, at (zero-based) position 3, of length 4:</p> + <code> +{match,[{3,4}]}</code> + <p>Consider the same regular expression, but with the subpattern + explicitly named 'FOO':</p> + <code> +".*(?<FOO>abcd).*"</code> + <p>With this expression, we could still give the index of the + subpattern with the following call:</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(?<FOO>abcd).*",[{capture,[1]}]).</code> + <p>giving the same result as before. But, as the subpattern is + named, we can also specify its name in the value list:</p> + <code> +re:run("ABCabcdABC",".*(?<FOO>abcd).*",[{capture,['FOO']}]).</code> + <p>This would give the same result as the earlier examples, + namely:</p> + <code> +{match,[{3,4}]}</code> + <p>The values list can specify indexes or names not present in + the regular expression, in which case the return values vary + depending on the type. If the type is <c>index</c>, the tuple + <c>{-1,0}</c> is returned for values with no corresponding + subpattern in the regular expression, but for the other types + (<c>binary</c> and <c>list</c>), the values are the empty + binary or list, respectively.</p> + </item> + <tag><c><anno>Type</anno></c></tag> + <item> + <p>Optionally specifies how captured substrings are to be + returned. If omitted, the default of <c>index</c> is used.</p> + <p><c><anno>Type</anno></c> can be one of the following:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>index</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Returns captured substrings as pairs of byte indexes + into the subject string and length of the matching string + in the subject (as if the subject string was flattened + with <seealso marker="erts:erlang#iolist_to_binary/1"> + <c>erlang:iolist_to_binary/1</c></seealso> or + <seealso marker="unicode#characters_to_binary/2"> + <c>unicode:characters_to_binary/2</c></seealso> before + matching). Notice that option <c>unicode</c> results in + <em>byte-oriented</em> indexes in a (possibly virtual) + <em>UTF-8 encoded</em> binary. A byte index tuple + <c>{0,2}</c> can therefore represent one or two + characters when <c>unicode</c> is in effect. This can seem + counter-intuitive, but has been deemed the most effective + and useful way to do it. To return lists instead can + result in simpler code if that is desired. This return + type is the default.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>list</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Returns matching substrings as lists of characters + (Erlang <c>string()</c>s). It option <c>unicode</c> is + used in combination with the \C sequence in the + regular expression, a captured subpattern can contain + bytes that are not valid UTF-8 (\C matches bytes + regardless of character encoding). In that case the + <c>list</c> capturing can result in the same types of + tuples that + <seealso marker="unicode#characters_to_list/2"> + <c>unicode:characters_to_list/2</c></seealso> can return, + namely three-tuples with tag <c>incomplete</c> or + <c>error</c>, the successfully converted characters and + the invalid UTF-8 tail of the conversion as a binary. The + best strategy is to avoid using the \C sequence + when capturing lists.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>binary</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Returns matching substrings as binaries. If option + <c>unicode</c> is used, these binaries are in UTF-8. If + the \C sequence is used together with + <c>unicode</c>, the binaries can be invalid UTF-8.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </item> + </taglist> + <p>In general, subpatterns that were not assigned a value in the + match are returned as the tuple <c>{-1,0}</c> when <c>type</c> is + <c>index</c>. Unassigned subpatterns are returned as the empty + binary or list, respectively, for other return types. Consider + the following regular expression:</p> + <code> +".*((?<FOO>abdd)|a(..d)).*"</code> + <p>There are three explicitly capturing subpatterns, where the + opening parenthesis position determines the order in the result, + hence <c>((?<FOO>abdd)|a(..d))</c> is subpattern index 1, + <c>(?<FOO>abdd)</c> is subpattern index 2, and <c>(..d)</c> + is subpattern index 3. When matched against the following + string:</p> + <code> +"ABCabcdABC"</code> + <p>the subpattern at index 2 does not match, as "abdd" is not + present in the string, but the complete pattern matches (because + of the alternative <c>a(..d)</c>). The subpattern at index 2 is + therefore unassigned and the default return value is:</p> + <code> +{match,[{0,10},{3,4},{-1,0},{4,3}]}</code> + <p>Setting the capture <c><anno>Type</anno></c> to <c>binary</c> + gives:</p> + <code> +{match,[<<"ABCabcdABC">>,<<"abcd">>,<<>>,<<"bcd">>]}</code> + <p>Here the empty binary (<c><<>></c>) represents the + unassigned subpattern. In the <c>binary</c> case, some information + about the matching is therefore lost, as + <c><<>></c> can + also be an empty string captured.</p> + <p>If differentiation between empty matches and non-existing + subpatterns is necessary, use the <c>type</c> <c>index</c> and do + the conversion to the final type in Erlang code.</p> + <p>When option <c>global</c> is speciified, the <c>capture</c> + specification affects each match separately, so that:</p> + <code> +re:run("cacb","c(a|b)",[global,{capture,[1],list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +{match,[["a"],["b"]]}</code> + </item> </taglist> - </item> - </taglist> - <p>In general, subpatterns that were not assigned a value in the match are returned as the tuple <c>{-1,0}</c> when <c>type</c> is <c>index</c>. Unassigned subpatterns are returned as the empty binary or list, respectively, for other return types. Consider the regular expression:</p> -<code> ".*((?<FOO>abdd)|a(..d)).*"</code> - <p>There are three explicitly capturing subpatterns, where the opening parenthesis position determines the order in the result, hence <c>((?<FOO>abdd)|a(..d))</c> is subpattern index 1, <c>(?<FOO>abdd)</c> is subpattern index 2 and <c>(..d)</c> is subpattern index 3. When matched against the following string:</p> -<code> "ABCabcdABC"</code> - <p>the subpattern at index 2 won't match, as "abdd" is not present in the string, but the complete pattern matches (due to the alternative <c>a(..d)</c>. The subpattern at index 2 is therefore unassigned and the default return value will be:</p> -<code> {match,[{0,10},{3,4},{-1,0},{4,3}]}</code> - <p>Setting the capture <c><anno>Type</anno></c> to <c>binary</c> would give the following:</p> -<code> {match,[<<"ABCabcdABC">>,<<"abcd">>,<<>>,<<"bcd">>]}</code> - <p>where the empty binary (<c><<>></c>) represents the unassigned subpattern. In the <c>binary</c> case, some information about the matching is therefore lost, the <c><<>></c> might just as well be an empty string captured.</p> - <p>If differentiation between empty matches and non existing subpatterns is necessary, use the <c>type</c> <c>index</c> - and do the conversion to the final type in Erlang code.</p> - - <p>When the option <c>global</c> is given, the <c>capture</c> - specification affects each match separately, so that:</p> - - <code> re:run("cacb","c(a|b)",[global,{capture,[1],list}]).</code> - - <p>gives the result:</p> - - <code> {match,[["a"],["b"]]}</code> - - </item> - </taglist> - <p>The options solely affecting the compilation step are described in the <c>re:compile/2</c> function.</p> - </desc> - </func> - <func> - <name name="replace" arity="3"/> - <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and replace matching elements with Replacement</fsummary> - <desc> - <p>The same as <c>replace(<anno>Subject</anno>,<anno>RE</anno>,<anno>Replacement</anno>,[])</c>.</p> - </desc> - </func> - <func> - <name name="replace" arity="4"/> - <fsummary>Match a subject against regular expression and replace matching elements with Replacement</fsummary> - <desc> - <p>Replaces the matched part of the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> string with the contents of <c><anno>Replacement</anno></c>.</p> - <p>The permissible options are the same as for <c>re:run/3</c>, except that the <c>capture</c> option is not allowed. - Instead a <c>{return, <anno>ReturnType</anno>}</c> is present. The default return type is <c>iodata</c>, constructed in a - way to minimize copying. The <c>iodata</c> result can be used directly in many I/O-operations. If a flat <c>list()</c> is - desired, specify <c>{return, list}</c> and if a binary is preferred, specify <c>{return, binary}</c>.</p> - - <p>As in the <c>re:run/3</c> function, an <c>mp()</c> compiled - with the <c>unicode</c> option requires the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> to be - a Unicode <c>charlist()</c>. If compilation is done implicitly - and the <c>unicode</c> compilation option is given to this - function, both the regular expression and the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> - should be given as valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>s.</p> - - <p>The replacement string can contain the special character - <c>&</c>, which inserts the whole matching expression in the - result, and the special sequence <c>\</c>N (where N is an integer > 0), - <c>\g</c>N or <c>\g{</c>N<c>}</c> resulting in the subexpression number N will be - inserted in the result. If no subexpression with that number is - generated by the regular expression, nothing is inserted.</p> - <p>To insert an <c>&</c> or <c>\</c> in the result, precede it - with a <c>\</c>. Note that Erlang already gives a special - meaning to <c>\</c> in literal strings, so a single <c>\</c> - has to be written as <c>"\\"</c> and therefore a double <c>\</c> - as <c>"\\\\"</c>. Example:</p> - <code> re:replace("abcd","c","[&]",[{return,list}]).</code> - <p>gives</p> - <code> "ab[c]d"</code> - <p>while</p> - <code> re:replace("abcd","c","[\\&]",[{return,list}]).</code> - <p>gives</p> - <code> "ab[&]d"</code> - <p>As with <c>re:run/3</c>, compilation errors raise the <c>badarg</c> - exception, <c>re:compile/2</c> can be used to get more information - about the error.</p> + <p>For a descriptions of options only affecting the compilation step, + see <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso>.</p> </desc> </func> + <func> <name name="split" arity="2"/> - <fsummary>Split a string by tokens specified as a regular expression</fsummary> + <fsummary>Split a string by tokens specified as a regular expression. + </fsummary> <desc> - <p>The same as <c>split(<anno>Subject</anno>,<anno>RE</anno>,[])</c>.</p> + <p>Same as <c>split(<anno>Subject</anno>, <anno>RE</anno>, [])</c>.</p> </desc> </func> <func> <name name="split" arity="3"/> <fsummary>Split a string by tokens specified as a regular expression</fsummary> - <type_desc variable="CompileOpt">See <seealso marker="#compile_options">compile/2</seealso> above.</type_desc> + <type_desc variable="CompileOpt">See <seealso marker="#compile_options"> + <c>compile/2</c></seealso>.</type_desc> <desc> - <p>This function splits the input into parts by finding tokens - according to the regular expression supplied.</p> - - <p>The splitting is done basically by running a global regexp match and - dividing the initial string wherever a match occurs. The matching part - of the string is removed from the output.</p> - - <p>As in the <c>re:run/3</c> function, an <c>mp()</c> compiled - with the <c>unicode</c> option requires the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> to be - a Unicode <c>charlist()</c>. If compilation is done implicitly - and the <c>unicode</c> compilation option is given to this - function, both the regular expression and the <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> - should be given as valid Unicode <c>charlist()</c>s.</p> - - <p>The result is given as a list of "strings", the - preferred datatype given in the <c>return</c> option (default iodata).</p> - <p>If subexpressions are given in the regular expression, the - matching subexpressions are returned in the resulting list as - well. An example:</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","[ln]",[{return,list}]).</code> - - <p>will yield the result:</p> - -<code> ["Er","a","g"]</code> - - <p>while</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","([ln])",[{return,list}]).</code> - - <p>will yield</p> - -<code> ["Er","l","a","n","g"]</code> - - <p>The text matching the subexpression (marked by the parentheses - in the regexp) is - inserted in the result list where it was found. In effect this means - that concatenating the result of a split where the whole regexp is a - single subexpression (as in the example above) will always result in - the original string.</p> - - <p>As there is no matching subexpression for the last part in - the example (the "g"), there is nothing inserted after - that. To make the group of strings and the parts matching the - subexpressions more obvious, one might use the <c>group</c> - option, which groups together the part of the subject string with the - parts matching the subexpressions when the string was split:</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","([ln])",[{return,list},group]).</code> - - <p>gives:</p> - -<code> [["Er","l"],["a","n"],["g"]]</code> - - <p>Here the regular expression matched first the "l", - causing "Er" to be the first part in the result. When - the regular expression matched, the (only) subexpression was - bound to the "l", so the "l" is inserted - in the group together with "Er". The next match is of - the "n", making "a" the next part to be - returned. Since the subexpression is bound to the substring - "n" in this case, the "n" is inserted into - this group. The last group consists of the rest of the string, - as no more matches are found.</p> - - - <p>By default, all parts of the string, including the empty - strings, are returned from the function. For example:</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list}]).</code> - - <p>will return:</p> - -<code> ["Er","an",[]]</code> - - <p>since the matching of the "g" in the end of the string - leaves an empty rest which is also returned. This behaviour - differs from the default behaviour of the split function in - Perl, where empty strings at the end are by default removed. To - get the - "trimming" default behavior of Perl, specify - <c>trim</c> as an option:</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},trim]).</code> - - <p>The result will be:</p> - -<code> ["Er","an"]</code> - - <p>The "trim" option in effect says; "give me as - many parts as possible except the empty ones", which might - be useful in some circumstances. You can also specify how many - parts you want, by specifying <c>{parts,</c>N<c>}</c>:</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},{parts,2}]).</code> - - <p>This will give:</p> - -<code> ["Er","ang"]</code> - - <p>Note that the last part is "ang", not - "an", as we only specified splitting into two parts, - and the splitting stops when enough parts are given, which is - why the result differs from that of <c>trim</c>.</p> - - <p>More than three parts are not possible with this indata, so</p> - -<code> re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},{parts,4}]).</code> - - <p>will give the same result as the default, which is to be - viewed as "an infinite number of parts".</p> - - <p>Specifying <c>0</c> as the number of parts gives the same - effect as the option <c>trim</c>. If subexpressions are - captured, empty subexpression matches at the end are also - stripped from the result if <c>trim</c> or <c>{parts,0}</c> is - specified.</p> + <p>Splits the input into parts by finding tokens according to the + regular expression supplied. The splitting is basically done by + running a global regular expression match and dividing the initial + string wherever a match occurs. The matching part of the string is + removed from the output.</p> + <p>As in <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>, an <c>mp()</c> + compiled with option <c>unicode</c> requires + <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> to be a Unicode <c>charlist()</c>. If + compilation is done implicitly and the <c>unicode</c> compilation + option is specified to this function, both the regular expression and + <c><anno>Subject</anno></c> are to be specified as valid Unicode + <c>charlist()</c>s.</p> + <p>The result is given as a list of "strings", the preferred + data type specified in option <c>return</c> (default + <c>iodata</c>).</p> + <p>If subexpressions are specified in the regular expression, the + matching subexpressions are returned in the resulting list as + well. For example:</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","[ln]",[{return,list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +["Er","a","g"]</code> + <p>while</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","([ln])",[{return,list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +["Er","l","a","n","g"]</code> + <p>The text matching the subexpression (marked by the parentheses in the + regular expression) is inserted in the result list where it was found. + This means that concatenating the result of a split where the whole + regular expression is a single subexpression (as in the last example) + always results in the original string.</p> + <p>As there is no matching subexpression for the last part in the + example (the "g"), nothing is inserted after that. To make + the group of strings and the parts matching the subexpressions more + obvious, one can use option <c>group</c>, which groups together the + part of the subject string with the parts matching the subexpressions + when the string was split:</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","([ln])",[{return,list},group]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +[["Er","l"],["a","n"],["g"]]</code> + <p>Here the regular expression first matched the "l", + causing "Er" to be the first part in the result. When + the regular expression matched, the (only) subexpression was + bound to the "l", so the "l" is inserted + in the group together with "Er". The next match is of + the "n", making "a" the next part to be + returned. As the subexpression is bound to substring + "n" in this case, the "n" is inserted into + this group. The last group consists of the remaining string, + as no more matches are found.</p> + <p>By default, all parts of the string, including the empty strings, + are returned from the function, for example:</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +["Er","an",[]]</code> + <p>as the matching of the "g" in the end of the string + leaves an empty rest, which is also returned. This behavior + differs from the default behavior of the split function in + Perl, where empty strings at the end are by default removed. To + get the "trimming" default behavior of Perl, specify + <c>trim</c> as an option:</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},trim]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +["Er","an"]</code> + <p>The "trim" option says; "give me as many parts as + possible except the empty ones", which sometimes can be + useful. You can also specify how many parts you want, by specifying + <c>{parts,</c>N<c>}</c>:</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},{parts,2}]).</code> + <p>gives</p> + <code> +["Er","ang"]</code> + <p>Notice that the last part is "ang", not + "an", as splitting was specified into two parts, + and the splitting stops when enough parts are given, which is + why the result differs from that of <c>trim</c>.</p> + <p>More than three parts are not possible with this indata, so</p> + <code> +re:split("Erlang","[lg]",[{return,list},{parts,4}]).</code> + <p>gives the same result as the default, which is to be + viewed as "an infinite number of parts".</p> + <p>Specifying <c>0</c> as the number of parts gives the same + effect as option <c>trim</c>. If subexpressions are + captured, empty subexpressions matched at the end are also + stripped from the result if <c>trim</c> or <c>{parts,0}</c> is + specified.</p> + <p>The <c>trim</c> behavior corresponds exactly to the Perl default. + <c>{parts,N}</c>, where N is a positive integer, corresponds + exactly to the Perl behavior with a positive numerical third + parameter. The default behavior of <c>split/3</c> corresponds + to the Perl behavior when a negative integer is specified as + the third parameter for the Perl routine.</p> + <p>Summary of options not previously described for function + <c>run/3</c>:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>{return,<anno>ReturnType</anno>}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies how the parts of the original string are presented in + the result list. Valid types:</p> + <taglist> + <tag><c>iodata</c></tag> + <item> + <p>The variant of <c>iodata()</c> that gives the least copying + of data with the current implementation (often a binary, but + do not depend on it).</p></item> + <tag><c>binary</c></tag> + <item> + <p>All parts returned as binaries.</p></item> + <tag><c>list</c></tag> + <item> + <p>All parts returned as lists of characters + ("strings").</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </item> + <tag><c>group</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Groups together the part of the string with + the parts of the string matching the subexpressions of the + regular expression.</p> + <p>The return value from the function is in this case a + <c>list()</c> of <c>list()</c>s. Each sublist begins with the + string picked out of the subject string, followed by the parts + matching each of the subexpressions in order of occurrence in the + regular expression.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>{parts,N}</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies the number of parts the subject string is to be + split into.</p> + <p>The number of parts is to be a positive integer for a specific + maximum number of parts, and <c>infinity</c> for the + maximum number of parts possible (the default). Specifying + <c>{parts,0}</c> gives as many parts as possible disregarding + empty parts at the end, the same as specifying <c>trim</c>.</p> + </item> + <tag><c>trim</c></tag> + <item> + <p>Specifies that empty parts at the end of the result list are + to be disregarded. The same as specifying <c>{parts,0}</c>. This + corresponds to the default behavior of the <c>split</c> + built-in function in Perl.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + </desc> + </func> + </funcs> - <p>If you are familiar with Perl, the <c>trim</c> - behaviour corresponds exactly to the Perl default, the - <c>{parts,N}</c> where N is a positive integer corresponds - exactly to the Perl behaviour with a positive numerical third - parameter and the default behaviour of <c>re:split/3</c> corresponds - to that when the Perl routine is given a negative integer as the - third parameter.</p> + <section> + <marker id="regexp_syntax"></marker> + <title>Perl-Like Regular Expression Syntax</title> + <p>The following sections contain reference material for the regular + expressions used by this module. The information is based on the PCRE + documentation, with changes where this module behaves differently to + the PCRE library.</p> + </section> - <p>Summary of options not previously described for the <c>re:run/3</c> function:</p> - <taglist> - <tag>{return,<anno>ReturnType</anno>}</tag> - <item><p>Specifies how the parts of the original string are presented in the result list. The possible types are:</p> - <taglist> - <tag>iodata</tag> - <item>The variant of <c>iodata()</c> that gives the least copying of data with the current implementation (often a binary, but don't depend on it).</item> - <tag>binary</tag> - <item>All parts returned as binaries.</item> - <tag>list</tag> - <item>All parts returned as lists of characters ("strings").</item> - </taglist> + <section> + <marker id="regexp_syntax_details"></marker> + <title>PCRE Regular Expression Details</title> + <p>The syntax and semantics of the regular expressions supported by PCRE are + described in detail in the following sections. Perl's regular expressions + are described in its own documentation, and regular expressions in general + are covered in many books, some with copious examples. + Jeffrey Friedl's "Mastering Regular Expressions", published by O'Reilly, + covers regular expressions in great detail. This description of the PCRE + regular expressions is intended as reference material.</p> + + <p>The reference material is divided into the following sections:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item><seealso marker="#sect1">Special Start-of-Pattern Items</seealso> </item> - <tag>group</tag> - <item> - - <p>Groups together the part of the string with - the parts of the string matching the subexpressions of the - regexp.</p> - <p>The return value from the function will in this case be a - <c>list()</c> of <c>list()</c>s. Each sublist begins with the - string picked out of the subject string, followed by the parts - matching each of the subexpressions in order of occurrence in the - regular expression.</p> - + <item><seealso marker="#sect2">Characters and Metacharacters</seealso> </item> - <tag>{parts,N}</tag> - <item> - - <p>Specifies the number of parts the subject string is to be - split into.</p> - - <p>The number of parts should be a positive integer for a specific maximum on the - number of parts and <c>infinity</c> for the maximum number of - parts possible (the default). Specifying <c>{parts,0}</c> gives as many parts as - possible disregarding empty parts at the end, the same as - specifying <c>trim</c></p> + <item><seealso marker="#sect3">Backslash</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect4">Circumflex and Dollar</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect5">Full Stop (Period, Dot) and \N</seealso> </item> - <tag>trim</tag> - <item> - - <p>Specifies that empty parts at the end of the result list are - to be disregarded. The same as specifying <c>{parts,0}</c>. This - corresponds to the default behaviour of the <c>split</c> - built in function in Perl.</p> + <item><seealso marker="#sect6">Matching a Single Data Unit</seealso> + </item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect7">Square Brackets and Character + Classes</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect8">Posix Character Classes</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect9">Vertical Bar</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect10">Internal Option Setting</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect11">Subpatterns</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect12">Duplicate Subpattern Numbers</seealso> + </item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect13">Named Subpatterns</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect14">Repetition</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect15">Atomic Grouping and Possessive + Quantifiers</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect16">Back References</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect17">Assertions</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect18">Conditional Subpatterns</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect19">Comments</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect20">Recursive Patterns</seealso></item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect21">Subpatterns as Subroutines</seealso> </item> - </taglist> + <item><seealso marker="#sect22">Oniguruma Subroutine Syntax</seealso> + </item> + <item><seealso marker="#sect23">Backtracking Control</seealso></item> + </list> + </section> - </desc> - </func> - </funcs> - <section> - <title>PERL LIKE REGULAR EXPRESSIONS SYNTAX</title> - <p><marker id="regexp_syntax"></marker> - The following sections contain reference material for the - regular expressions used by this module. The regular expression - reference is based on the PCRE documentation, with changes in - cases where the re module behaves differently to the PCRE library.</p> + <marker id="sect1"></marker> + <title>Special Start-of-Pattern Items</title> + <p>Some options that can be passed to <seealso marker="#compile/2"> + <c>compile/2</c></seealso> can also be set by special items at the start + of a pattern. These are not Perl-compatible, but are provided to make + these options accessible to pattern writers who are not able to change + the program that processes the pattern. Any number of these items can + appear, but they must all be together right at the start of the + pattern string, and the letters must be in upper case.</p> + + <p><em>UTF Support</em></p> + + <p>Unicode support is basically UTF-8 based. To use Unicode characters, you + either call <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso> or + <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso> with option + <c>unicode</c>, or the pattern must start with one of these special + sequences:</p> + + <code> +(*UTF8) +(*UTF)</code> + + <p>Both options give the same effect, the input string is interpreted as + UTF-8. Notice that with these instructions, the automatic conversion of + lists to UTF-8 is not performed by the <c>re</c> functions. Therefore, + using these sequences is not recommended. + Add option <c>unicode</c> when running + <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso> instead.</p> + + <p>Some applications that allow their users to supply patterns can wish to + restrict them to non-UTF data for security reasons. If option + <c>never_utf</c> is set at compile time, (*UTF), and so on, are not + allowed, and their appearance causes an error.</p> + + <p><em>Unicode Property Support</em></p> + + <p>The following is another special sequence that can appear at the start of + a pattern:</p> + + <code> +(*UCP)</code> + + <p>This has the same effect as setting option <c>ucp</c>: it causes + sequences such as \d and \w to use Unicode properties to + determine character types, instead of recognizing only characters with + codes < 256 through a lookup table.</p> + + <p><em>Disabling Startup Optimizations</em></p> + + <p>If a pattern starts with <c>(*NO_START_OPT)</c>, + it has the same effect as + setting option <c>no_start_optimize</c> at compile time.</p> + + <p><em>Newline Conventions</em></p> + <marker id="newline_conventions"></marker> + + <p>PCRE supports five conventions for indicating line breaks in strings: a + single CR (carriage return) character, a single LF (line feed) character, + the two-character sequence CRLF, any of the three preceding, and any + Unicode newline sequence.</p> + + <p>A newline convention can also be specified by starting a pattern string + with one of the following five sequences:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>(*CR)</tag><item>Carriage return</item> + <tag>(*LF)</tag><item>Line feed</item> + <tag>(*CRLF)</tag><item>>Carriage return followed by + line feed</item> + <tag>(*ANYCRLF)</tag><item>Any of the three above</item> + <tag>(*ANY)</tag><item>All Unicode newline sequences</item> + </taglist> + + <p>These override the default and the options specified to + <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso>. For example, the + following pattern changes the convention to CR:</p> + + <code> +(*CR)a.b</code> + + <p>This pattern matches <c>a\nb</c>, as LF is no longer a newline. + If more than one of them is present, the last one is used.</p> + + <p>The newline convention affects where the circumflex and dollar assertions + are true. It also affects the interpretation of the dot metacharacter when + <c>dotall</c> is not set, and the behavior of \N. However, it does not + affect what the \R escape sequence matches. By default, this is any + Unicode newline sequence, for Perl compatibility. However, this can be + changed; see the description of \R in section + <seealso marker="#newline_sequences">Newline Sequences</seealso>. A change + of the \R setting can be combined with a change of the newline + convention.</p> + + <p><em>Setting Match and Recursion Limits</em></p> + + <p>The caller of <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso> can set a + limit on the number of times the internal match() function is called and + on the maximum depth of recursive calls. These facilities are provided to + catch runaway matches that are provoked by patterns with huge matching + trees (a typical example is a pattern with nested unlimited repeats) and + to avoid running out of system stack by too much recursion. When one of + these limits is reached, <c>pcre_exec()</c> gives an error return. The + limits can also be set by items at the start of the pattern of the + following forms:</p> + + <code> +(*LIMIT_MATCH=d) +(*LIMIT_RECURSION=d)</code> + + <p>Here d is any number of decimal digits. However, the value of the setting + must be less than the value set by the caller of <c>run/3</c> for it to + have any effect. That is, the pattern writer can lower the limit set by + the programmer, but not raise it. If there is more than one setting of one + of these limits, the lower value is used.</p> + + <p>The default value for both the limits is 10,000,000 in the Erlang + VM. Notice that the recursion limit does not affect the stack depth of the + VM, as PCRE for Erlang is compiled in such a way that the match function + never does recursion on the C stack.</p> </section> -<section><title>PCRE regular expression details</title> - -<p>The syntax and semantics of the regular expressions that are supported by PCRE -are described in detail below. Perl's regular expressions are described in its own documentation, and -regular expressions in general are covered in a number of books, some of which -have copious examples. Jeffrey Friedl's "Mastering Regular Expressions", -published by O'Reilly, covers regular expressions in great detail. This -description of PCRE's regular expressions is intended as reference material.</p> -<p>The reference material is divided into the following sections:</p> -<list> -<item><seealso marker="#sect1">Special start-of-pattern items</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect2">Characters and metacharacters</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect3">Backslash</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect4">Circumflex and dollar</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect5">Full stop (period, dot) and \N</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect6">Matching a single data unit</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect7">Square brackets and character classes</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect8">POSIX character classes</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect9">Vertical bar</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect10">Internal option setting</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect11">Subpatterns</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect12">Duplicate subpattern numbers</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect13">Named subpatterns</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect14">Repetition</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect15">Atomic grouping and possessive quantifiers</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect16">Back references</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect17">Assertions</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect18">Conditional subpatterns</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect19">Comments</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect20">Recursive patterns</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect21">Subpatterns as subroutines</seealso></item> -<item><seealso marker="#sect22">Oniguruma subroutine syntax</seealso></item> -<!-- XXX C Interface -<item><seealso marker="#sect22">Callouts</seealso></item> ---> -<item><seealso marker="#sect23">Backtracking control</seealso></item> -</list> - -</section> - - -<section><marker id="sect1"></marker><title>Special start-of-pattern items</title> - -<p>A number of options that can be passed to <c>re:compile/2</c> can also be set -by special items at the start of a pattern. These are not Perl-compatible, but -are provided to make these options accessible to pattern writers who are not -able to change the program that processes the pattern. Any number of these -items may appear, but they must all be together right at the start of the -pattern string, and the letters must be in upper case.</p> - -<p><em>UTF support</em></p> -<p> -Unicode support is basically UTF-8 based. To use Unicode characters, you either -call <c>re:compile/2</c>/<c>re:run/3</c> with the <c>unicode</c> option, or the - pattern must start with one of these special sequences:</p> -<quote> -<p> (*UTF8)</p> -<p> (*UTF)</p> -</quote> - -<p>Both options give the same effect, the input string is interpreted -as UTF-8. Note that with these instructions, the automatic conversion -of lists to UTF-8 is not performed by the <c>re</c> functions, why -using these options is not recommended. Add the <c>unicode</c> option -when running <c>re:compile/2</c> instead.</p> - -<p> -Some applications that allow their users to supply patterns may wish to -restrict them to non-UTF data for security reasons. If the <c>never_utf</c> -option is set at compile time, (*UTF) etc. are not allowed, and their -appearance causes an error. -</p> - -<p><em>Unicode property support</em></p> -<p>Another special sequence that may appear at the start of a pattern is</p> -<quote> -<p> (*UCP)</p> -</quote> -<p>This has the same effect as setting the <c>ucp</c> option: it causes sequences -such as \d and \w to use Unicode properties to determine character types, -instead of recognizing only characters with codes less than 256 via a lookup -table. -</p> - -<p><em>Disabling start-up optimizations</em></p> -<p> -If a pattern starts with (*NO_START_OPT), it has the same effect as setting the -<c>no_Start_optimize</c> option at compile time.</p> - -<p><em>Newline conventions</em></p> - -<p>PCRE supports -five -different conventions for indicating line breaks in -strings: a single CR (carriage return) character, a single LF (linefeed) -character, the two-character sequence CRLF -, any of the three preceding, or any -Unicode newline sequence.</p> - -<p>It is also possible to specify a newline convention by starting a pattern -string with one of the following five sequences:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>(*CR)</tag> <item>carriage return</item> - <tag>(*LF)</tag> <item>linefeed</item> - <tag>(*CRLF)</tag> <item>carriage return, followed by linefeed</item> - <tag>(*ANYCRLF)</tag> <item>any of the three above</item> - <tag>(*ANY)</tag> <item>all Unicode newline sequences</item> -</taglist> - -<p>These override the default and the options given to <c>re:compile/2</c>. For -example, the pattern:</p> - -<quote> -<p> (*CR)a.b</p> -</quote> - -<p>changes the convention to CR. That pattern matches "a\nb" because LF is no -longer a newline. If more than one of them is present, the last one -is used.</p> - -<p>The newline convention affects where the circumflex and dollar assertions are -true. It also affects the interpretation of the dot metacharacter when -<c>dotall</c> is not set, and the behaviour of \N. However, it does not affect -what the \R escape sequence matches. By default, this is any Unicode newline -sequence, for Perl compatibility. However, this can be changed; see the -description of \R in the section entitled - -<em>"Newline sequences"</em> - -below. A change of \R setting can be combined with a change of newline -convention.</p> - -<p><em>Setting match and recursion limits</em></p> - -<p>The caller of <c>re:run/3</c> can set a limit on the number of times the internal match() function is called and on the maximum depth of recursive calls. These facilities are provided to catch runaway matches that are provoked by patterns with huge matching trees (a typical example is a pattern with nested unlimited repeats) and to avoid running out of system stack by too much recursion. When one of these limits is reached, pcre_exec() gives an error return. The limits can also be set by items at the start of the pattern of the form</p> -<quote> -<p> (*LIMIT_MATCH=d)</p> -<p> (*LIMIT_RECURSION=d)</p> -</quote> -<p>where d is any number of decimal digits. However, the value of the setting must be less than the value set by the caller of <c>re:run/3</c> for it to have any effect. In other words, the pattern writer can lower the limit set by the programmer, but not raise it. If there is more than one setting of one of these limits, the lower value is used.</p> - -<p>The current default value for both the limits are 10000000 in the Erlang -VM. Note that the recursion limit does not actually affect the stack -depth of the VM, as PCRE for Erlang is compiled in such a way that the -match function never does recursion on the "C-stack".</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect2"></marker><title>Characters and metacharacters</title> -<!-- .rs --> - -<p>A regular expression is a pattern that is matched against a subject -string from left to right. Most characters stand for themselves in a -pattern, and match the corresponding characters in the subject. As a -trivial example, the pattern</p> - -<quote> -<p> The quick brown fox</p> -</quote> - -<p>matches a portion of a subject string that is identical to -itself. When caseless matching is specified (the <c>caseless</c> -option), letters are matched independently of case.</p> - -<p>The power of regular expressions comes from the ability to include -alternatives and repetitions in the pattern. These are encoded in the -pattern by the use of <em>metacharacters</em>, which do not stand for -themselves but instead are interpreted in some special way.</p> - -<p>There are two different sets of metacharacters: those that are recognized -anywhere in the pattern except within square brackets, and those that are -recognized within square brackets. Outside square brackets, the metacharacters -are as follows:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\</tag> <item>general escape character with several uses</item> - <tag>^</tag> <item>assert start of string (or line, in multiline mode)</item> - <tag>$</tag> <item>assert end of string (or line, in multiline mode)</item> - <tag>.</tag> <item>match any character except newline (by default)</item> - <tag>[</tag> <item>start character class definition</item> - <tag>|</tag> <item>start of alternative branch</item> - <tag>(</tag> <item>start subpattern</item> - <tag>)</tag> <item>end subpattern</item> - <tag>?</tag> <item>extends the meaning of (, - also 0 or 1 quantifier, - also quantifier minimizer</item> - <tag>*</tag> <item>0 or more quantifier</item> - <tag>+</tag> <item>1 or more quantifier, - also "possessive quantifier"</item> - <tag>{</tag> <item>start min/max quantifier</item> -</taglist> - -<p>Part of a pattern that is in square brackets is called a "character class". In -a character class the only metacharacters are:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\</tag> <item>general escape character</item> - <tag>^</tag> <item>negate the class, but only if the first character</item> - <tag>-</tag> <item>indicates character range</item> - <tag>[</tag> <item>POSIX character class (only if followed by POSIX - syntax)</item> - <tag>]</tag> <item>terminates the character class</item> + <section> + <marker id="sect2"></marker> + <title>Characters and Metacharacters</title> + <!-- .rs --> + <p>A regular expression is a pattern that is matched against a subject + string from left to right. Most characters stand for themselves in a + pattern and match the corresponding characters in the subject. As a + trivial example, the following pattern matches a portion of a subject + string that is identical to itself:</p> + + <code> +The quick brown fox</code> + + <p>When caseless matching is specified (option <c>caseless</c>), letters + are matched independently of case.</p> + + <p>The power of regular expressions comes from the ability to include + alternatives and repetitions in the pattern. These are encoded in the + pattern by the use of <em>metacharacters</em>, which do not stand for + themselves but instead are interpreted in some special way.</p> + + <p>Two sets of metacharacters exist: those that are recognized anywhere in + the pattern except within square brackets, and those that are recognized + within square brackets. Outside square brackets, the metacharacters are + as follows:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\</tag><item>General escape character with many uses</item> + <tag>^</tag><item>Assert start of string (or line, in multiline mode) + </item> + <tag>$</tag><item>Assert end of string (or line, in multiline mode)</item> + <tag>.</tag><item>Match any character except newline (by default)</item> + <tag>[</tag><item>Start character class definition</item> + <tag>|</tag><item>Start of alternative branch</item> + <tag>(</tag><item>Start subpattern</item> + <tag>)</tag><item>End subpattern</item> + <tag>?</tag><item>Extends the meaning of (, also 0 or 1 quantifier, also + quantifier minimizer</item> + <tag>*</tag><item>0 or more quantifiers</item> + <tag>+</tag><item>1 or more quantifier, also "possessive quantifier" + </item> + <tag>{</tag><item>Start min/max quantifier</item> </taglist> -<p>The following sections describe the use of each of the metacharacters.</p> - - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect3"></marker><title>Backslash</title> + <p>Part of a pattern within square brackets is called a "character class". + The following are the only metacharacters in a character class:</p> + <taglist> + <tag>\</tag><item>General escape character</item> + <tag>^</tag><item>Negate the class, but only if the first character</item> + <tag>-</tag><item>Indicates character range</item> + <tag>[</tag><item>Posix character class (only if followed by Posix syntax) + </item> + <tag>]</tag><item>Terminates the character class</item> + </taglist> -<p>The backslash character has several uses. Firstly, if it is followed by a -character that is not a number or a letter, it takes away any special meaning that character -may have. This use of backslash as an escape character applies both inside and -outside character classes.</p> - -<p>For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \* in the pattern. -This escaping action applies whether or not the following character would -otherwise be interpreted as a metacharacter, so it is always safe to precede a -non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify that it stands for itself. In -particular, if you want to match a backslash, you write \\.</p> - -<p>In <c>unicode</c> mode, only ASCII numbers and letters have any special meaning after a -backslash. All other characters (in particular, those whose codepoints are -greater than 127) are treated as literals.</p> + <p>The following sections describe the use of each metacharacter.</p> + </section> -<p>If a pattern is compiled with the <c>extended</c> option, white space in the -pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a # outside -a character class and the next newline are ignored. An escaping backslash can -be used to include a white space or # character as part of the pattern.</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect3"></marker> + <title>Backslash</title> + <p>The backslash character has many uses. First, if it is followed by a + character that is not a number or a letter, it takes away any special + meaning that a character can have. This use of backslash as an escape + character applies both inside and outside character classes.</p> + + <p>For example, if you want to match a * character, you write \* in the + pattern. This escaping action applies if the following character would + otherwise be interpreted as a metacharacter, so it is always safe to + precede a non-alphanumeric with backslash to specify that it stands for + itself. In particular, if you want to match a backslash, write \\.</p> + + <p>In <c>unicode</c> mode, only ASCII numbers and letters have any special + meaning after a backslash. All other characters (in particular, those + whose code points are > 127) are treated as literals.</p> + + <p>If a pattern is compiled with option <c>extended</c>, whitespace in the + pattern (other than in a character class) and characters between a # + outside a character class and the next newline are ignored. An escaping + backslash can be used to include a whitespace or # character as part of + the pattern.</p> + + <p>To remove the special meaning from a sequence of characters, put them + between \Q and \E. This is different from Perl in that $ and @ are + handled as literals in \Q...\E sequences in PCRE, while $ and @ cause + variable interpolation in Perl. Notice the following examples:</p> -<p>If you want to remove the special meaning from a sequence of characters, you -can do so by putting them between \Q and \E. This is different from Perl in -that $ and @ are handled as literals in \Q...\E sequences in PCRE, whereas in -Perl, $ and @ cause variable interpolation. Note the following examples:</p> <code type="none"> - Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches - - \Qabc$xyz\E abc$xyz abc followed by the contents of $xyz - \Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz - \Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz</code> - - -<p>The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside -character classes. An isolated \E that is not preceded by \Q is -ignored. If \Q is not followed by \E later in the pattern, the literal -interpretation continues to the end of the pattern (that is, \E is -assumed at the end). If the isolated \Q is inside a character class, -this causes an error, because the character class is not -terminated.</p> - -<p><em>Non-printing characters</em></p> - -<p>A second use of backslash provides a way of encoding non-printing characters -in patterns in a visible manner. There is no restriction on the appearance of -non-printing characters, apart from the binary zero that terminates a pattern, -but when a pattern is being prepared by text editing, it is often easier to use -one of the following escape sequences than the binary character it represents:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\a</tag> <item>alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07)</item> - <tag>\cx</tag> <item>"control-x", where x is any ASCII character</item> - <tag>\e </tag> <item>escape (hex 1B)</item> - <tag>\f</tag> <item>form feed (hex 0C)</item> - <tag>\n</tag> <item>linefeed (hex 0A)</item> - <tag>\r</tag> <item>carriage return (hex 0D)</item> - <tag>\t </tag> <item>tab (hex 09)</item> - <tag>\ddd</tag> <item>character with octal code ddd, or back reference</item> - <tag>\xhh </tag> <item>character with hex code hh</item> - <tag>\x{hhh..}</tag> <item>character with hex code hhh..</item> -</taglist> - -<p>The precise effect of \cx on ASCII characters is as follows: if x is a lower -case letter, it is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the character (hex -40) is inverted. Thus \cA to \cZ become hex 01 to hex 1A (A is 41, Z is 5A), -but \c{ becomes hex 3B ({ is 7B), and \c; becomes hex 7B (; is 3B). If the -data item (byte or 16-bit value) following \c has a value greater than 127, a -compile-time error occurs. This locks out non-ASCII characters in all modes.</p> - -<p>The \c facility was designed for use with ASCII characters, but with the -extension to Unicode it is even less useful than it once was.</p> - -<p>By default, after \x, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read (letters -can be in upper or lower case). Any number of hexadecimal digits may appear -between \x{ and }, but the character code is constrained as follows:</p> -<taglist> - <tag>8-bit non-Unicode mode</tag> <item>less than 0x100</item> - <tag>8-bit UTF-8 mode</tag> <item>less than 0x10ffff and a valid codepoint</item> -</taglist> -<p>Invalid Unicode codepoints are the range 0xd800 to 0xdfff (the so-called -"surrogate" codepoints), and 0xffef.</p> - -<p>If characters other than hexadecimal digits appear between \x{ and }, or if -there is no terminating }, this form of escape is not recognized. Instead, the -initial \x will be interpreted as a basic hexadecimal escape, with no -following digits, giving a character whose value is zero.</p> - -<p>Characters whose value is less than 256 can be defined by either of the two -syntaxes for \x. There is no difference in the way they are handled. For -example, \xdc is exactly the same as \x{dc}.</p> - -<p>After \0 up to two further octal digits are read. If there are fewer than two -digits, just those that are present are used. Thus the sequence \0\x\07 -specifies two binary zeros followed by a BEL character (code value 7). Make -sure you supply two digits after the initial zero if the pattern character that -follows is itself an octal digit.</p> - -<p>The handling of a backslash followed by a digit other than 0 is complicated. -Outside a character class, PCRE reads it and any following digits as a decimal -number. If the number is less than 10, or if there have been at least that many -previous capturing left parentheses in the expression, the entire sequence is -taken as a <em>back reference</em>. A description of how this works is given -later, following the discussion of parenthesized subpatterns.</p> - - -<p>Inside a character class, or if the decimal number is greater than 9 and there -have not been that many capturing subpatterns, PCRE re-reads up to three octal -digits following the backslash, and uses them to generate a data character. Any -subsequent digits stand for themselves. The value of the character is -constrained in the same way as characters specified in hexadecimal. -For example:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\040</tag> <item>is another way of writing a ASCII space</item> - - <tag>\40</tag> <item>is the same, provided there are fewer than 40 - previous capturing subpatterns</item> - <tag>\7</tag> <item>is always a back reference</item> - - <tag>\11</tag> <item> might be a back reference, or another way of - writing a tab</item> - <tag>\011</tag> <item>is always a tab</item> - <tag>\0113</tag> <item>is a tab followed by the character "3"</item> - - <tag>\113</tag> <item>might be a back reference, otherwise the - character with octal code 113</item> - - <tag>\377</tag> <item>might be a back reference, otherwise - the value 255 (decimal)</item> - - <tag>\81</tag> <item>is either a back reference, or a binary zero - followed by the two characters "8" and "1"</item> -</taglist> - -<p>Note that octal values of 100 or greater must not be introduced by -a leading zero, because no more than three octal digits are ever -read.</p> - -<p>All the sequences that define a single character value can be used both inside -and outside character classes. In addition, inside a character class, \b is -interpreted as the backspace character (hex 08).</p> -<p>\N is not allowed in a character class. \B, \R, and \X are not special -inside a character class. Like other unrecognized escape sequences, they are -treated as the literal characters "B", "R", and "X". Outside a character class, these -sequences have different meanings.</p> - -<p><em>Unsupported escape sequences</em></p> - -<p>In Perl, the sequences \l, \L, \u, and \U are recognized by its string -handler and used to modify the case of following characters. PCRE -does not support these escape sequences.</p> - -<p><em>Absolute and relative back references</em></p> - -<p>The sequence \g followed by an unsigned or a negative number, -optionally enclosed in braces, is an absolute or relative back -reference. A named back reference can be coded as \g{name}. Back -references are discussed later, following the discussion of -parenthesized subpatterns.</p> - -<p><em>Absolute and relative subroutine calls</em></p> -<p>For compatibility with Oniguruma, the non-Perl syntax \g followed by a name or -a number enclosed either in angle brackets or single quotes, is an alternative -syntax for referencing a subpattern as a "subroutine". Details are discussed -later. -Note that \g{...} (Perl syntax) and \g<...> (Oniguruma syntax) are <em>not</em> -synonymous. The former is a back reference; the latter is a -subroutine call.</p> - -<p><em>Generic character types</em></p> - -<p>Another use of backslash is for specifying generic character types:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\d</tag> <item>any decimal digit</item> - <tag>\D</tag> <item>any character that is not a decimal digit</item> - <tag>\h</tag> <item>any horizontal white space character</item> - <tag>\H</tag> <item>any character that is not a horizontal white space character</item> - <tag>\s</tag> <item>any white space character</item> - <tag>\S</tag> <item>any character that is not a white space character</item> - <tag>\v</tag> <item>any vertical white space character</item> - <tag>\V</tag> <item>any character that is not a vertical white space character</item> - <tag>\w</tag> <item>any "word" character</item> - <tag>\W</tag> <item>any "non-word" character</item> -</taglist> - -<p>There is also the single sequence \N, which matches a non-newline character. -This is the same as the "." metacharacter -when <c>dotall</c> is not set. Perl also uses \N to match characters by name; -PCRE does not support this.</p> - -<p>Each pair of lower and upper case escape sequences partitions the complete set -of characters into two disjoint sets. Any given character matches one, and only -one, of each pair. The sequences can appear both inside and outside character -classes. They each match one character of the appropriate type. If the current -matching point is at the end of the subject string, all of them fail, because -there is no character to match.</p> - -<p>For compatibility with Perl, \s does not match the VT character (code 11). -This makes it different from the POSIX "space" class. The \s characters -are HT (9), LF (10), FF (12), CR (13), and space (32). If "use locale;" is -included in a Perl script, \s may match the VT character. In PCRE, it never -does.</p> - -<p>A "word" character is an underscore or any character that is a letter or digit. -By default, the definition of letters and digits is controlled by PCRE's -low-valued character tables, in Erlang's case (and without the <c>unicode</c> option), -the ISO-Latin-1 character set.</p> - -<p>By default, in <c>unicode</c> mode, characters with values greater than 255, -i.e. all characters outside the ISO-Latin-1 character set, never match -\d, \s, or \w, and always match \D, \S, and \W. These sequences retain -their original meanings from before UTF support was available, mainly for -efficiency reasons. However, if the <c>ucp</c> option is set, the behaviour is changed so that Unicode -properties are used to determine character types, as follows:</p> -<taglist> - <tag>\d</tag> <item>any character that \p{Nd} matches (decimal digit)</item> - <tag>\s</tag> <item>any character that \p{Z} matches, plus HT, LF, FF, CR)</item> - <tag> \w</tag> <item>any character that \p{L} or \p{N} matches, plus underscore)</item> -</taglist> -<p>The upper case escapes match the inverse sets of characters. Note that \d -matches only decimal digits, whereas \w matches any Unicode digit, as well as -any Unicode letter, and underscore. Note also that <c>ucp</c> affects \b, and -\B because they are defined in terms of \w and \W. Matching these sequences -is noticeably slower when <c>ucp</c> is set.</p> - -<p>The sequences \h, \H, \v, and \V are features that were added to Perl at -release 5.10. In contrast to the other sequences, which match only ASCII -characters by default, these always match certain high-valued codepoints, -whether or not <c>ucp</c> is set. The horizontal space characters are:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>U+0009</tag> <item>Horizontal tab (HT)</item> - <tag>U+0020</tag> <item>Space</item> - <tag>U+00A0</tag> <item>Non-break space</item> - <tag>U+1680</tag> <item>Ogham space mark</item> - <tag>U+180E</tag> <item>Mongolian vowel separator</item> - <tag>U+2000</tag> <item>En quad</item> - <tag>U+2001</tag> <item>Em quad</item> - <tag>U+2002</tag> <item>En space</item> - <tag>U+2003</tag> <item>Em space</item> - <tag>U+2004</tag> <item>Three-per-em space</item> - <tag>U+2005</tag> <item>Four-per-em space</item> - <tag>U+2006</tag> <item>Six-per-em space</item> - <tag>U+2007</tag> <item>Figure space</item> - <tag>U+2008</tag> <item>Punctuation space</item> - <tag>U+2009</tag> <item>Thin space</item> - <tag>U+200A</tag> <item>Hair space</item> - <tag>U+202F</tag> <item>Narrow no-break space</item> - <tag>U+205F</tag> <item>Medium mathematical space</item> - <tag>U+3000</tag> <item>Ideographic space</item> -</taglist> - -<p>The vertical space characters are:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>U+000A</tag> <item>Linefeed (LF)</item> - <tag>U+000B</tag> <item>Vertical tab (VT)</item> - <tag>U+000C</tag> <item>Form feed (FF)</item> - <tag>U+000D</tag> <item>Carriage return (CR)</item> - <tag>U+0085</tag> <item>Next line (NEL)</item> - <tag>U+2028</tag> <item>Line separator</item> - <tag>U+2029</tag> <item>Paragraph separator</item> -</taglist> - -<p>In 8-bit, non-UTF-8 mode, only the characters with codepoints less than 256 are -relevant.</p> - -<p><em>Newline sequences</em></p> - -<p>Outside a character class, by default, the escape sequence \R matches any -Unicode newline sequence. In non-UTF-8 mode \R is -equivalent to the following:</p> - -<quote><p> (?>\r\n|\n|\x0b|\f|\r|\x85)</p></quote> - -<p>This is an example of an "atomic group", details of which are given below.</p> - -<p>This particular group matches either the two-character sequence CR followed by -LF, or one of the single characters LF (linefeed, U+000A), VT (vertical tab, -U+000B), FF (form feed, U+000C), CR (carriage return, U+000D), or NEL (next -line, U+0085). The two-character sequence is treated as a single unit that -cannot be split.</p> - -<p>In Unicode mode, two additional characters whose codepoints are greater than 255 -are added: LS (line separator, U+2028) and PS (paragraph separator, U+2029). -Unicode character property support is not needed for these characters to be -recognized.</p> - - -<p>It is possible to restrict \R to match only CR, LF, or CRLF (instead of the -complete set of Unicode line endings) by setting the option <c>bsr_anycrlf</c> -either at compile time or when the pattern is matched. (BSR is an abbreviation -for "backslash R".) This can be made the default when PCRE is built; if this is -the case, the other behaviour can be requested via the <c>bsr_unicode</c> option. -It is also possible to specify these settings by starting a pattern string with -one of the following sequences:</p> - -<p> (*BSR_ANYCRLF) CR, LF, or CRLF only - (*BSR_UNICODE) any Unicode newline sequence</p> - -<p>These override the default and the options given to the compiling function, but -they can themselves be overridden by options given to a matching function. Note -that these special settings, which are not Perl-compatible, are recognized only -at the very start of a pattern, and that they must be in upper case. If more -than one of them is present, the last one is used. They can be combined with a -change of newline convention; for example, a pattern can start with:</p> - -<p> (*ANY)(*BSR_ANYCRLF)</p> - -<p>They can also be combined with the (*UTF8), (*UTF) or -(*UCP) special sequences. Inside a character class, \R is treated as an -unrecognized escape sequence, and so matches the letter "R" by default.</p> - -<p><em>Unicode character properties</em></p> - -<p>Three additional -escape sequences that match characters with specific properties are available. -When in 8-bit non-UTF-8 mode, these sequences are of course limited to testing -characters whose codepoints are less than 256, but they do work in this mode. -The extra escape sequences are:</p> -<taglist> -<tag>\p{<em>xx</em>}</tag> <item>a character with the <em>xx</em> property</item> -<tag>\P{<em>xx</em>}</tag> <item>a character without the <em>xx</em> property</item> -<tag>\X</tag> <item>a Unicode extended grapheme cluster</item> -</taglist> - -<p>The property names represented by <i>xx</i> above are limited to the Unicode -script names, the general category properties, "Any", which matches any -character (including newline), and some special PCRE properties (described -in the next section). -Other Perl properties such as "InMusicalSymbols" are not currently supported by -PCRE. Note that \P{Any} does not match any characters, so always causes a -match failure.</p> - -<p>Sets of Unicode characters are defined as belonging to certain scripts. A -character from one of these sets can be matched using a script name. For -example:</p> - -<p> \p{Greek} - \P{Han}</p> - -<p>Those that are not part of an identified script are lumped together as -"Common". The current list of scripts is:</p> - -<list> -<item>Arabic</item> -<item>Armenian</item> -<item>Avestan</item> -<item>Balinese</item> -<item>Bamum</item> -<item>Batak</item> -<item>Bengali</item> -<item>Bopomofo</item> -<item>Braille</item> -<item>Buginese</item> -<item>Buhid</item> -<item>Canadian_Aboriginal</item> -<item>Carian</item> -<item>Chakma</item> -<item>Cham</item> -<item>Cherokee</item> -<item>Common</item> -<item>Coptic</item> -<item>Cuneiform</item> -<item>Cypriot</item> -<item>Cyrillic</item> -<item>Deseret</item> -<item>Devanagari</item> -<item>Egyptian_Hieroglyphs</item> -<item>Ethiopic</item> -<item>Georgian</item> -<item>Glagolitic</item> -<item>Gothic</item> -<item>Greek</item> -<item>Gujarati</item> -<item>Gurmukhi</item> -<item>Han</item> -<item>Hangul</item> -<item>Hanunoo</item> -<item>Hebrew</item> -<item>Hiragana</item> -<item>Imperial_Aramaic</item> -<item>Inherited</item> -<item>Inscriptional_Pahlavi</item> -<item>Inscriptional_Parthian</item> -<item>Javanese</item> -<item>Kaithi</item> -<item>Kannada</item> -<item>Katakana</item> -<item>Kayah_Li</item> -<item>Kharoshthi</item> -<item>Khmer</item> -<item>Lao</item> -<item>Latin</item> -<item>Lepcha</item> -<item>Limbu</item> -<item>Linear_B</item> -<item>Lisu</item> -<item>Lycian</item> -<item>Lydian</item> -<item>Malayalam</item> -<item>Mandaic</item> -<item>Meetei_Mayek</item> -<item>Meroitic_Cursive</item> -<item>Meroitic_Hieroglyphs</item> -<item>Miao</item> -<item>Mongolian</item> -<item>Myanmar</item> -<item>New_Tai_Lue</item> -<item>Nko</item> -<item>Ogham</item> -<item>Old_Italic</item> -<item>Old_Persian</item> -<item>Oriya</item> -<item>Old_South_Arabian</item> -<item>Old_Turkic</item> -<item>Ol_Chiki</item> -<item>Osmanya</item> -<item>Phags_Pa</item> -<item>Phoenician</item> -<item>Rejang</item> -<item>Runic</item> -<item>Samaritan</item> -<item>Saurashtra</item> -<item>Sharada</item> -<item>Shavian</item> -<item>Sinhala</item> -<item>Sora_Sompeng</item> -<item>Sundanese</item> -<item>Syloti_Nagri</item> -<item>Syriac</item> -<item>Tagalog</item> -<item>Tagbanwa</item> -<item>Tai_Le</item> -<item>Tai_Tham</item> -<item>Tai_Viet</item> -<item>Takri</item> -<item>Tamil</item> -<item>Telugu</item> -<item>Thaana</item> -<item>Thai</item> -<item>Tibetan</item> -<item>Tifinagh</item> -<item>Ugaritic</item> -<item>Vai</item> -<item>Yi</item> -</list> - -<p>Each character has exactly one Unicode general category property, specified by -a two-letter abbreviation. For compatibility with Perl, negation can be -specified by including a circumflex between the opening brace and the property -name. For example, \p{^Lu} is the same as \P{Lu}.</p> - -<p>If only one letter is specified with \p or \P, it includes all the general -category properties that start with that letter. In this case, in the absence -of negation, the curly brackets in the escape sequence are optional; these two -examples have the same effect:</p> - -<list><item>\p{L}</item> - <item>\pL</item></list> - -<p>The following general category property codes are supported:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>C</tag> <item>Other</item> - <tag>Cc</tag> <item>Control</item> - <tag>Cf</tag> <item>Format</item> - <tag>Cn</tag> <item>Unassigned</item> - <tag>Co</tag> <item>Private use</item> - <tag>Cs</tag> <item>Surrogate</item> -</taglist> - -<taglist> - <tag>L</tag> <item>Letter</item> - <tag>Ll</tag> <item>Lower case letter</item> - <tag>Lm</tag> <item>Modifier letter</item> - <tag>Lo</tag> <item>Other letter</item> - <tag>Lt</tag> <item>Title case letter</item> - <tag>Lu</tag> <item>Upper case letter</item> -</taglist> - - -<taglist> - <tag>M</tag> <item>Mark</item> - <tag>Mc</tag> <item>Spacing mark</item> - <tag>Me</tag> <item>Enclosing mark</item> - <tag>Mn</tag> <item>Non-spacing mark</item> -</taglist> +Pattern PCRE matches Perl matches + +\Qabc$xyz\E abc$xyz abc followed by the contents of $xyz +\Qabc\$xyz\E abc\$xyz abc\$xyz +\Qabc\E\$\Qxyz\E abc$xyz abc$xyz</code> + + + <p>The \Q...\E sequence is recognized both inside and outside character + classes. An isolated \E that is not preceded by \Q is ignored. If \Q is + not followed by \E later in the pattern, the literal interpretation + continues to the end of the pattern (that is, \E is assumed at the end). + If the isolated \Q is inside a character class, this causes an error, as + the character class is not terminated.</p> + + <p><em>Non-Printing Characters</em></p> + <marker id="non_printing_characters"></marker> + + <p>A second use of backslash provides a way of encoding non-printing + characters in patterns in a visible manner. There is no restriction on the + appearance of non-printing characters, apart from the binary zero that + terminates a pattern. When a pattern is prepared by text editing, it is + often easier to use one of the following escape sequences than the binary + character it represents:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\a</tag><item>Alarm, that is, the BEL character (hex 07)</item> + <tag>\cx</tag><item>"Control-x", where x is any ASCII character</item> + <tag>\e</tag><item>Escape (hex 1B)</item> + <tag>\f</tag><item>Form feed (hex 0C)</item> + <tag>\n</tag><item>Line feed (hex 0A)</item> + <tag>\r</tag><item>Carriage return (hex 0D)</item> + <tag>\t</tag><item>Tab (hex 09)</item> + <tag>\ddd</tag><item>Character with octal code ddd, or back reference + </item> + <tag>\xhh</tag><item>Character with hex code hh</item> + <tag>\x{hhh..}</tag><item>Character with hex code hhh..</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The precise effect of \cx on ASCII characters is as follows: if x is a + lowercase letter, it is converted to upper case. Then bit 6 of the + character (hex 40) is inverted. Thus \cA to \cZ become hex 01 to hex 1A + (A is 41, Z is 5A), but \c{ becomes hex 3B ({ is 7B), and \c; becomes + hex 7B (; is 3B). If the data item (byte or 16-bit value) following \c + has a value > 127, a compile-time error occurs. This locks out + non-ASCII characters in all modes.</p> + + <p>The \c facility was designed for use with ASCII characters, but with the + extension to Unicode it is even less useful than it once was.</p> + + <p>By default, after \x, from zero to two hexadecimal digits are read + (letters can be in upper or lower case). Any number of hexadecimal digits + can appear between \x{ and }, but the character code is constrained as + follows:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>8-bit non-Unicode mode</tag> + <item>< 0x100</item> + <tag>8-bit UTF-8 mode</tag> + <item>< 0x10ffff and a valid code point</item> + </taglist> + + <p>Invalid Unicode code points are the range 0xd800 to 0xdfff (the so-called + "surrogate" code points), and 0xffef.</p> + + <p>If characters other than hexadecimal digits appear between \x{ and }, + or if there is no terminating }, this form of escape is not recognized. + Instead, the initial \x is interpreted as a basic hexadecimal escape, + with no following digits, giving a character whose value is zero.</p> + + <p>Characters whose value is < 256 can be defined by either of the two + syntaxes for \x. There is no difference in the way they are handled. For + example, \xdc is the same as \x{dc}.</p> + + <p>After \0 up to two further octal digits are read. If there are fewer than + two digits, only those that are present are used. Thus the sequence + \0\x\07 specifies two binary zeros followed by a BEL character (code value + 7). Ensure to supply two digits after the initial zero if the pattern + character that follows is itself an octal digit.</p> + + <p>The handling of a backslash followed by a digit other than 0 is + complicated. Outside a character class, PCRE reads it and any following + digits as a decimal number. If the number is < 10, or if there have + been at least that many previous capturing left parentheses in the + expression, the entire sequence is taken as a <em>back reference</em>. A + description of how this works is provided later, following the discussion + of parenthesized subpatterns.</p> + + <p>Inside a character class, or if the decimal number is > 9 and there + have not been that many capturing subpatterns, PCRE re-reads up to three + octal digits following the backslash, and uses them to generate a data + character. Any subsequent digits stand for themselves. The value of the + character is constrained in the same way as characters specified in + hexadecimal. For example:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\040</tag> + <item>Another way of writing an ASCII space</item> + <tag>\40</tag> + <item>The same, provided there are < 40 previous capturing + subpatterns</item> + <tag>\7</tag> + <item>Always a back reference</item> + <tag>\11</tag> + <item>Can be a back reference, or another way of writing a tab</item> + <tag>\011</tag> + <item>Always a tab</item> + <tag>\0113</tag> + <item>A tab followed by character "3"</item> + <tag>\113</tag> + <item>Can be a back reference, otherwise the character with octal code + 113 </item> + <tag>\377</tag> + <item>Can be a back reference, otherwise value 255 (decimal)</item> + <tag>\81</tag> + <item>Either a back reference, or a binary zero followed by the two + characters "8" and "1"</item> + </taglist> + + <p>Notice that octal values >= 100 must not be introduced by a leading + zero, as no more than three octal digits are ever read.</p> + + <p>All the sequences that define a single character value can be used both + inside and outside character classes. Also, inside a character class, \b + is interpreted as the backspace character (hex 08).</p> + + <p>\N is not allowed in a character class. \B, \R, and \X are not special + inside a character class. Like other unrecognized escape sequences, they + are treated as the literal characters "B", "R", and "X". Outside a + character class, these sequences have different meanings.</p> + + <p><em>Unsupported Escape Sequences</em></p> + + <p>In Perl, the sequences \l, \L, \u, and \U are recognized by its string + handler and used to modify the case of following characters. PCRE does not + support these escape sequences.</p> + + <p><em>Absolute and Relative Back References</em></p> + + <p>The sequence \g followed by an unsigned or a negative number, optionally + enclosed in braces, is an absolute or relative back reference. A named + back reference can be coded as \g{name}. Back references are discussed + later, following the discussion of parenthesized subpatterns.</p> + + <p><em>Absolute and Relative Subroutine Calls</em></p> + + <p>For compatibility with Oniguruma, the non-Perl syntax \g followed by a + name or a number enclosed either in angle brackets or single quotes, is + alternative syntax for referencing a subpattern as a "subroutine". + Details are discussed later. Notice that \g{...} (Perl syntax) and + \g<...> (Oniguruma syntax) are <em>not</em> synonymous. The former + is a back reference and the latter is a subroutine call.</p> + + <p><em>Generic Character Types</em></p> + <marker id="generic_character_types"></marker> + + <p>Another use of backslash is for specifying generic character types:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\d</tag><item>Any decimal digit</item> + <tag>\D</tag><item>Any character that is not a decimal digit</item> + <tag>\h</tag><item>Any horizontal whitespace character</item> + <tag>\H</tag><item>Any character that is not a horizontal whitespace + character</item> + <tag>\s</tag><item>Any whitespace character</item> + <tag>\S</tag><item>Any character that is not a whitespace character + </item> + <tag>\v</tag><item>Any vertical whitespace character</item> + <tag>\V</tag><item>Any character that is not a vertical whitespace + character</item> + <tag>\w</tag><item>Any "word" character</item> + <tag>\W</tag><item>Any "non-word" character</item> + </taglist> + + <p>There is also the single sequence \N, which matches a non-newline + character. This is the same as the "." metacharacter when <c>dotall</c> + is not set. Perl also uses \N to match characters by name, but PCRE does + not support this.</p> + + <p>Each pair of lowercase and uppercase escape sequences partitions the + complete set of characters into two disjoint sets. Any given character + matches one, and only one, of each pair. The sequences can appear both + inside and outside character classes. They each match one character of the + appropriate type. If the current matching point is at the end of the + subject string, all fail, as there is no character to match.</p> + + <p>For compatibility with Perl, \s does not match the VT character + (code 11). This makes it different from the Posix "space" class. The \s + characters are HT (9), LF (10), FF (12), CR (13), and space (32). If "use + locale;" is included in a Perl script, \s can match the VT character. In + PCRE, it never does.</p> + + <p>A "word" character is an underscore or any character that is a letter or + a digit. By default, the definition of letters and digits is controlled by + the PCRE low-valued character tables, in Erlang's case (and without option + <c>unicode</c>), the ISO Latin-1 character set.</p> + + <p>By default, in <c>unicode</c> mode, characters with values > 255, that + is, all characters outside the ISO Latin-1 character set, never match \d, + \s, or \w, and always match \D, \S, and \W. These sequences retain their + original meanings from before UTF support was available, mainly for + efficiency reasons. However, if option <c>ucp</c> is set, the behavior is + changed so that Unicode properties are used to determine character types, + as follows:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\d</tag><item>Any character that \p{Nd} matches (decimal digit) + </item> + <tag>\s</tag><item>Any character that \p{Z} matches, plus HT, LF, FF, CR + </item> + <tag>\w</tag><item>Any character that \p{L} or \p{N} matches, plus + underscore</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The uppercase escapes match the inverse sets of characters. Notice that + \d matches only decimal digits, while \w matches any Unicode digit, any + Unicode letter, and underscore. Notice also that <c>ucp</c> affects \b and + \B, as they are defined in terms of \w and \W. Matching these sequences is + noticeably slower when <c>ucp</c> is set.</p> + + <p>The sequences \h, \H, \v, and \V are features that were added to Perl in + release 5.10. In contrast to the other sequences, which match only ASCII + characters by default, these always match certain high-valued code points, + regardless if <c>ucp</c> is set.</p> + + <p>The following are the horizontal space characters:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>U+0009</tag><item>Horizontal tab (HT)</item> + <tag>U+0020</tag><item>Space</item> + <tag>U+00A0</tag><item>Non-break space</item> + <tag>U+1680</tag><item>Ogham space mark</item> + <tag>U+180E</tag><item>Mongolian vowel separator</item> + <tag>U+2000</tag><item>En quad</item> + <tag>U+2001</tag><item>Em quad</item> + <tag>U+2002</tag><item>En space</item> + <tag>U+2003</tag><item>Em space</item> + <tag>U+2004</tag><item>Three-per-em space</item> + <tag>U+2005</tag><item>Four-per-em space</item> + <tag>U+2006</tag><item>Six-per-em space</item> + <tag>U+2007</tag><item>Figure space</item> + <tag>U+2008</tag><item>Punctuation space</item> + <tag>U+2009</tag><item>Thin space</item> + <tag>U+200A</tag><item>Hair space</item> + <tag>U+202F</tag><item>Narrow no-break space</item> + <tag>U+205F</tag><item>Medium mathematical space</item> + <tag>U+3000</tag><item>Ideographic space</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The following are the vertical space characters:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>U+000A</tag><item>Line feed (LF)</item> + <tag>U+000B</tag><item>Vertical tab (VT)</item> + <tag>U+000C</tag><item>Form feed (FF)</item> + <tag>U+000D</tag><item>Carriage return (CR)</item> + <tag>U+0085</tag><item>Next line (NEL)</item> + <tag>U+2028</tag><item>Line separator</item> + <tag>U+2029</tag><item>Paragraph separator</item> + </taglist> + + <p>In 8-bit, non-UTF-8 mode, only the characters with code points < 256 + are relevant.</p> + + <p><em>Newline Sequences</em></p> + <marker id="newline_sequences"></marker> + + <p>Outside a character class, by default, the escape sequence \R matches any + Unicode newline sequence. In non-UTF-8 mode, \R is equivalent to the + following:</p> + + <code> +(?>\r\n|\n|\x0b|\f|\r|\x85)</code> + + <p>This is an example of an "atomic group", details are provided below.</p> + + <p>This particular group matches either the two-character sequence CR + followed by LF, or one of the single characters LF (line feed, U+000A), + VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (form feed, U+000C), CR (carriage return, + U+000D), or NEL (next line, U+0085). The two-character sequence is + treated as a single unit that cannot be split.</p> + + <p>In Unicode mode, two more characters whose code points are > 255 are + added: LS (line separator, U+2028) and PS (paragraph separator, U+2029). + Unicode character property support is not needed for these characters to + be recognized.</p> + + <p>\R can be restricted to match only CR, LF, or CRLF (instead of the + complete set of Unicode line endings) by setting option <c>bsr_anycrlf</c> + either at compile time or when the pattern is matched. (BSR is an acronym + for "backslash R".) This can be made the default when PCRE is built; if + so, the other behavior can be requested through option + <c>bsr_unicode</c>. These settings can also be specified by starting a + pattern string with one of the following sequences:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>(*BSR_ANYCRLF)</tag> + <item>CR, LF, or CRLF only</item> + <tag>(*BSR_UNICODE)</tag> + <item>Any Unicode newline sequence</item> + </taglist> + + <p>These override the default and the options specified to the compiling + function, but they can themselves be overridden by options specified to a + matching function. Notice that these special settings, which are not + Perl-compatible, are recognized only at the very start of a pattern, and + that they must be in upper case. If more than one of them is present, the + last one is used. They can be combined with a change of newline + convention; for example, a pattern can start with:</p> + + <code> +(*ANY)(*BSR_ANYCRLF)</code> + + <p>They can also be combined with the (*UTF8), (*UTF), or (*UCP) special + sequences. Inside a character class, \R is treated as an unrecognized + escape sequence, and so matches the letter "R" by default.</p> + + <p><em>Unicode Character Properties</em></p> + + <p>Three more escape sequences that match characters with specific + properties are available. When in 8-bit non-UTF-8 mode, these sequences + are limited to testing characters whose code points are < + 256, but they do work in this mode. The following are the extra escape + sequences:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\p{<em>xx</em>}</tag> + <item>A character with property <em>xx</em></item> + <tag>\P{<em>xx</em>}</tag> + <item>A character without property <em>xx</em></item> + <tag>\X</tag> + <item>A Unicode extended grapheme cluster</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The property names represented by <em>xx</em> above are limited to the + Unicode script names, the general category properties, "Any", which + matches any character (including newline), and some special PCRE + properties (described in the next section). Other Perl properties, such as + "InMusicalSymbols", are currently not supported by PCRE. Notice that + \P{Any} does not match any characters and always causes a match + failure.</p> + + <p>Sets of Unicode characters are defined as belonging to certain scripts. + A character from one of these sets can be matched using a script name, for + example:</p> + + <code> +\p{Greek} \P{Han}</code> + + <p>Those that are not part of an identified script are lumped together as + "Common". The following is the current list of scripts:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item>Arabic</item> + <item>Armenian</item> + <item>Avestan</item> + <item>Balinese</item> + <item>Bamum</item> + <item>Batak</item> + <item>Bengali</item> + <item>Bopomofo</item> + <item>Braille</item> + <item>Buginese</item> + <item>Buhid</item> + <item>Canadian_Aboriginal</item> + <item>Carian</item> + <item>Chakma</item> + <item>Cham</item> + <item>Cherokee</item> + <item>Common</item> + <item>Coptic</item> + <item>Cuneiform</item> + <item>Cypriot</item> + <item>Cyrillic</item> + <item>Deseret</item> + <item>Devanagari</item> + <item>Egyptian_Hieroglyphs</item> + <item>Ethiopic</item> + <item>Georgian</item> + <item>Glagolitic</item> + <item>Gothic</item> + <item>Greek</item> + <item>Gujarati</item> + <item>Gurmukhi</item> + <item>Han</item> + <item>Hangul</item> + <item>Hanunoo</item> + <item>Hebrew</item> + <item>Hiragana</item> + <item>Imperial_Aramaic</item> + <item>Inherited</item> + <item>Inscriptional_Pahlavi</item> + <item>Inscriptional_Parthian</item> + <item>Javanese</item> + <item>Kaithi</item> + <item>Kannada</item> + <item>Katakana</item> + <item>Kayah_Li</item> + <item>Kharoshthi</item> + <item>Khmer</item> + <item>Lao</item> + <item>Latin</item> + <item>Lepcha</item> + <item>Limbu</item> + <item>Linear_B</item> + <item>Lisu</item> + <item>Lycian</item> + <item>Lydian</item> + <item>Malayalam</item> + <item>Mandaic</item> + <item>Meetei_Mayek</item> + <item>Meroitic_Cursive</item> + <item>Meroitic_Hieroglyphs</item> + <item>Miao</item> + <item>Mongolian</item> + <item>Myanmar</item> + <item>New_Tai_Lue</item> + <item>Nko</item> + <item>Ogham</item> + <item>Old_Italic</item> + <item>Old_Persian</item> + <item>Oriya</item> + <item>Old_South_Arabian</item> + <item>Old_Turkic</item> + <item>Ol_Chiki</item> + <item>Osmanya</item> + <item>Phags_Pa</item> + <item>Phoenician</item> + <item>Rejang</item> + <item>Runic</item> + <item>Samaritan</item> + <item>Saurashtra</item> + <item>Sharada</item> + <item>Shavian</item> + <item>Sinhala</item> + <item>Sora_Sompeng</item> + <item>Sundanese</item> + <item>Syloti_Nagri</item> + <item>Syriac</item> + <item>Tagalog</item> + <item>Tagbanwa</item> + <item>Tai_Le</item> + <item>Tai_Tham</item> + <item>Tai_Viet</item> + <item>Takri</item> + <item>Tamil</item> + <item>Telugu</item> + <item>Thaana</item> + <item>Thai</item> + <item>Tibetan</item> + <item>Tifinagh</item> + <item>Ugaritic</item> + <item>Vai</item> + <item>Yi</item> + </list> + + <p>Each character has exactly one Unicode general category property, + specified by a two-letter acronym. For compatibility with Perl, negation + can be specified by including a circumflex between the opening brace and + the property name. For example, \p{^Lu} is the same as \P{Lu}.</p> + + <p>If only one letter is specified with \p or \P, it includes all the + general category properties that start with that letter. In this case, in + the absence of negation, the curly brackets in the escape sequence are + optional. The following two examples have the same effect:</p> + + <code> +\p{L} +\pL</code> + + <p>The following general category property codes are supported:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>C</tag><item>Other</item> + <tag>Cc</tag><item>Control</item> + <tag>Cf</tag><item>Format</item> + <tag>Cn</tag><item>Unassigned</item> + <tag>Co</tag><item>Private use</item> + <tag>Cs</tag><item>Surrogate</item> + <tag>L</tag><item>Letter</item> + <tag>Ll</tag><item>Lowercase letter</item> + <tag>Lm</tag><item>Modifier letter</item> + <tag>Lo</tag><item>Other letter</item> + <tag>Lt</tag><item>Title case letter</item> + <tag>Lu</tag><item>Uppercase letter</item> + <tag>M</tag><item>Mark</item> + <tag>Mc</tag><item>Spacing mark</item> + <tag>Me</tag><item>Enclosing mark</item> + <tag>Mn</tag><item>Non-spacing mark</item> + <tag>N</tag><item>Number</item> + <tag>Nd</tag><item>Decimal number</item> + <tag>Nl</tag><item>Letter number</item> + <tag>No</tag><item>Other number</item> + <tag>P</tag><item>Punctuation</item> + <tag>Pc</tag><item>Connector punctuation</item> + <tag>Pd</tag><item>Dash punctuation</item> + <tag>Pe</tag><item>Close punctuation</item> + <tag>Pf</tag><item>Final punctuation</item> + <tag>Pi</tag><item>Initial punctuation</item> + <tag>Po</tag><item>Other punctuation</item> + <tag>Ps</tag><item>Open punctuation</item> + <tag>S</tag><item>Symbol</item> + <tag>Sc</tag><item>Currency symbol</item> + <tag>Sk</tag><item>Modifier symbol</item> + <tag>Sm</tag><item>Mathematical symbol</item> + <tag>So</tag><item>Other symbol</item> + <tag>Z</tag><item>Separator</item> + <tag>Zl</tag><item>Line separator</item> + <tag>Zp</tag><item>Paragraph separator</item> + <tag>Zs</tag><item>Space separator</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The special property L& is also supported. It matches a character + that has the Lu, Ll, or Lt property, that is, a letter that is not + classified as a modifier or "other".</p> + + <p>The Cs (Surrogate) property applies only to characters in the range + U+D800 to U+DFFF. Such characters are invalid in Unicode strings and so + cannot be tested by PCRE. Perl does not support the Cs property.</p> + + <p>The long synonyms for property names supported by Perl (such as + \p{Letter}) are not supported by PCRE. It is not permitted to prefix any + of these properties with "Is".</p> + + <p>No character in the Unicode table has the Cn (unassigned) property. + This property is instead assumed for any code point that is not in the + Unicode table.</p> + + <p>Specifying caseless matching does not affect these escape sequences. For + example, \p{Lu} always matches only uppercase letters. This is different + from the behavior of current versions of Perl.</p> + + <p>Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, as PCRE must do a + multistage table lookup to find a character property. That is why the + traditional escape sequences such as \d and \w do not use Unicode + properties in PCRE by default. However, you can make them do so by setting + option <c>ucp</c> or by starting the pattern with (*UCP).</p> + + <p><em>Extended Grapheme Clusters</em></p> + + <p>The \X escape matches any number of Unicode characters that form an + "extended grapheme cluster", and treats the sequence as an atomic group + (see below). Up to and including release 8.31, PCRE matched an earlier, + simpler definition that was equivalent to <c>(?>\PM\pM*)</c>. That is, + it matched a character without the "mark" property, followed by zero or + more characters with the "mark" property. Characters with the "mark" + property are typically non-spacing accents that affect the preceding + character.</p> + + <p>This simple definition was extended in Unicode to include more + complicated kinds of composite character by giving each character a + grapheme breaking property, and creating rules that use these properties + to define the boundaries of extended grapheme clusters. In PCRE releases + later than 8.31, \X matches one of these clusters.</p> + + <p>\X always matches at least one character. Then it decides whether to add + more characters according to the following rules for ending a cluster:</p> + + <list type="ordered"> + <item> + <p>End at the end of the subject string.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>Do not end between CR and LF; otherwise end after any control + character.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>Do not break Hangul (a Korean script) syllable sequences. Hangul + characters are of five types: L, V, T, LV, and LVT. An L character can + be followed by an L, V, LV, or LVT character. An LV or V character can + be followed by a V or T character. An LVT or T character can be + followed only by a T character.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>Do not end before extending characters or spacing marks. Characters + with the "mark" property always have the "extend" grapheme breaking + property.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>Do not end after prepend characters.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>Otherwise, end the cluster.</p> + </item> + </list> -<taglist> - <tag>N</tag> <item>Number</item> - <tag>Nd</tag> <item>Decimal number</item> - <tag>Nl</tag> <item>Letter number</item> - <tag>No</tag> <item>Other number</item> -</taglist> + <p><em>PCRE Additional Properties</em></p> -<taglist> - <tag>P</tag> <item>Punctuation</item> - <tag>Pc</tag> <item>Connector punctuation</item> - <tag>Pd</tag> <item>Dash punctuation</item> - <tag>Pe</tag> <item>Close punctuation</item> - <tag>Pf</tag> <item>Final punctuation</item> - <tag>Pi</tag> <item>Initial punctuation</item> - <tag>Po</tag> <item>Other punctuation</item> - <tag>Ps</tag> <item>Open punctuation</item> -</taglist> + <p>In addition to the standard Unicode properties described earlier, PCRE + supports four more that make it possible to convert traditional escape + sequences, such as \w and \s, and Posix character classes to use Unicode + properties. PCRE uses these non-standard, non-Perl properties internally + when <c>PCRE_UCP</c> is set. However, they can also be used explicitly. + The properties are as follows:</p> -<taglist> - <tag>S</tag> <item>Symbol</item> - <tag>Sc</tag> <item>Currency symbol</item> - <tag>Sk</tag> <item>Modifier symbol</item> - <tag>Sm</tag> <item>Mathematical symbol</item> - <tag>So</tag> <item>Other symbol</item> -</taglist> + <taglist> + <tag>Xan</tag> + <item> + <p>Any alphanumeric character. Matches characters that have either the + L (letter) or the N (number) property.</p> + </item> + <tag>Xps</tag> + <item> + <p>Any Posix space character. Matches the characters tab, line feed, + vertical tab, form feed, carriage return, and any other character + that has the Z (separator) property.</p> + </item> + <tag>Xsp</tag> + <item> + <p>Any Perl space character. Matches the same as Xps, except that + vertical tab is excluded.</p> + </item> + <tag>Xwd</tag> + <item> + <p>Any Perl "word" character. Matches the same characters as Xan, plus + underscore.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + + <p>There is another non-standard property, Xuc, which matches any character + that can be represented by a Universal Character Name in C++ and other + programming languages. These are the characters $, @, ` (grave accent), + and all characters with Unicode code points >= U+00A0, except for the + surrogates U+D800 to U+DFFF. Notice that most base (ASCII) characters are + excluded. (Universal Character Names are of the form \uHHHH or \UHHHHHHHH, + where H is a hexadecimal digit. Notice that the Xuc property does not + match these sequences but the characters that they represent.)</p> + + <p><em>Resetting the Match Start</em></p> + + <p>The escape sequence \K causes any previously matched characters not to + be included in the final matched sequence. For example, the following + pattern matches "foobar", but reports that it has matched "bar":</p> + + <code> +foo\Kbar</code> + + <p>This feature is similar to a lookbehind assertion + <!-- HTML <a href="#lookbehind"> --> + <!-- </a> --> + (described below). However, in this case, the part of the subject before + the real match does not have to be of fixed length, as lookbehind + assertions do. The use of \K does not interfere with the setting of + captured substrings. For example, when the following pattern matches + "foobar", the first substring is still set to "foo":</p> -<taglist> - <tag>Z</tag> <item>Separator</item> - <tag>Zl</tag> <item>Line separator</item> - <tag>Zp</tag> <item>Paragraph separator</item> - <tag>Zs</tag> <item>Space separator</item> -</taglist> +<code> +(foo)\Kbar</code> + + <p>Perl documents that the use of \K within assertions is "not well + defined". In PCRE, \K is acted upon when it occurs inside positive + assertions, but is ignored in negative assertions.</p> + + <p><em>Simple Assertions</em></p> + + <p>The final use of backslash is for certain simple assertions. An + assertion specifies a condition that must be met at a particular point in + a match, without consuming any characters from the subject string. The + use of subpatterns for more complicated assertions is described below. The + following are the backslashed assertions:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>\b</tag><item>Matches at a word boundary.</item> + <tag>\B</tag><item>Matches when not at a word boundary.</item> + <tag>\A</tag><item>Matches at the start of the subject.</item> + <tag>\Z</tag><item>Matches at the end of the subject, and before a newline + at the end of the subject.</item> + <tag>\z</tag><item>Matches only at the end of the subject.</item> + <tag>\G</tag><item>Matches at the first matching position in the subject. + </item> + </taglist> + + <p>Inside a character class, \b has a different meaning; it matches the + backspace character. If any other of these assertions appears in a + character class, by default it matches the corresponding literal character + (for example, \B matches the letter B).</p> + + <p>A word boundary is a position in the subject string where the current + character and the previous character do not both match \w or \W (that is, + one matches \w and the other matches \W), or the start or end of the + string if the first or last character matches \w, respectively. In UTF + mode, the meanings of \w and \W can be changed by setting option + <c>ucp</c>. When this is done, it also affects \b and \B. PCRE and Perl do + not have a separate "start of word" or "end of word" metasequence. + However, whatever follows \b normally determines which it is. For example, + the fragment \ba matches "a" at the start of a word.</p> + + <p>The \A, \Z, and \z assertions differ from the traditional circumflex and + dollar (described in the next section) in that they only ever match at the + very start and end of the subject string, whatever options are set. Thus, + they are independent of multiline mode. These three assertions are not + affected by options <c>notbol</c> or <c>noteol</c>, which affect only the + behavior of the circumflex and dollar metacharacters. However, if argument + <c>startoffset</c> of <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso> is + non-zero, indicating that matching is to start at a point other than the + beginning of the subject, \A can never match. The difference between \Z + and \z is that \Z matches before a newline at the end of the string and + at the very end, while \z matches only at the end.</p> + + <p>The \G assertion is true only when the current matching position is at + the start point of the match, as specified by argument <c>startoffset</c> + of <c>run/3</c>. It differs from \A when the value of <c>startoffset</c> + is non-zero. By calling <c>run/3</c> multiple times with appropriate + arguments, you can mimic the Perl option <c>/g</c>, and it is in this + kind of implementation where \G can be useful.</p> + + <p>Notice, however, that the PCRE interpretation of \G, as the start of the + current match, is subtly different from Perl, which defines it as the end + of the previous match. In Perl, these can be different when the previously + matched string was empty. As PCRE does only one match at a time, it cannot + reproduce this behavior.</p> + + <p>If all the alternatives of a pattern begin with \G, the expression is + anchored to the starting match position, and the "anchored" flag is set in + the compiled regular expression.</p> + </section> -<p>The special property L& is also supported: it matches a character that has -the Lu, Ll, or Lt property, in other words, a letter that is not classified as -a modifier or "other".</p> - -<p>The Cs (Surrogate) property applies only to characters in the range U+D800 to -U+DFFF. Such characters are not valid in Unicode strings and so -cannot be tested by PCRE. Perl does not support the Cs property</p> - -<p>The long synonyms for property names that Perl supports (such as \p{Letter}) -are not supported by PCRE, nor is it permitted to prefix any of these -properties with "Is".</p> - -<p>No character that is in the Unicode table has the Cn (unassigned) property. -Instead, this property is assumed for any code point that is not in the -Unicode table.</p> - -<p>Specifying caseless matching does not affect these escape sequences. For -example, \p{Lu} always matches only upper case letters. This is different from -the behaviour of current versions of Perl.</p> -<p>Matching characters by Unicode property is not fast, because PCRE has to do a -multistage table lookup in order to find a character's property. That is why -the traditional escape sequences such as \d and \w do not use Unicode -properties in PCRE by default, though you can make them do so by setting the -<c>ucp</c> option or by starting the pattern with (*UCP).</p> - -<p><em>Extended grapheme clusters</em></p> -<p>The \X escape matches any number of Unicode characters that form an "extended -grapheme cluster", and treats the sequence as an atomic group (see below). -Up to and including release 8.31, PCRE matched an earlier, simpler definition -that was equivalent to</p> - -<quote><p> (?>\PM\pM*)</p></quote> - -<p>That is, it matched a character without the "mark" property, followed by zero -or more characters with the "mark" property. Characters with the "mark" -property are typically non-spacing accents that affect the preceding character.</p> - -<p>This simple definition was extended in Unicode to include more complicated -kinds of composite character by giving each character a grapheme breaking -property, and creating rules that use these properties to define the boundaries -of extended grapheme clusters. In releases of PCRE later than 8.31, \X matches -one of these clusters.</p> - -<p>\X always matches at least one character. Then it decides whether to add -additional characters according to the following rules for ending a cluster:</p> -<taglist> -<tag>1.</tag> <item>End at the end of the subject string.</item> -<tag>2.</tag> <item>Do not end between CR and LF; otherwise end after any control character.</item> -<tag>3.</tag> <item>Do not break Hangul (a Korean script) syllable sequences. Hangul characters -are of five types: L, V, T, LV, and LVT. An L character may be followed by an -L, V, LV, or LVT character; an LV or V character may be followed by a V or T -character; an LVT or T character may be follwed only by a T character.</item> -<tag>4.</tag> <item>Do not end before extending characters or spacing marks. Characters with -the "mark" property always have the "extend" grapheme breaking property.</item> -<tag>5.</tag> <item>Do not end after prepend characters.</item> -<tag>6.</tag> <item>Otherwise, end the cluster.</item> -</taglist> + <section> + <marker id="sect4"></marker> + <title>Circumflex and Dollar</title> + <p>The circumflex and dollar metacharacters are zero-width assertions. That + is, they test for a particular condition to be true without consuming any + characters from the subject string.</p> + + <p>Outside a character class, in the default matching mode, the circumflex + character is an assertion that is true only if the current matching point + is at the start of the subject string. If argument <c>startoffset</c> of + <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso> is non-zero, circumflex + can never match if option <c>multiline</c> is unset. Inside a character + class, circumflex has an entirely different meaning (see below).</p> + + <p>Circumflex needs not to be the first character of the pattern if + some alternatives are involved, but it is to be the first thing in + each alternative in which it appears if the pattern is ever to match that + branch. If all possible alternatives start with a circumflex, that is, if + the pattern is constrained to match only at the start of the subject, it + is said to be an "anchored" pattern. (There are also other constructs that + can cause a pattern to be anchored.)</p> + + <p>The dollar character is an assertion that is true only if the current + matching point is at the end of the subject string, or immediately before + a newline at the end of the string (by default). Notice however that it + does not match the newline. Dollar needs not to be the last character of + the pattern if some alternatives are involved, but it is to be the + last item in any branch in which it appears. Dollar has no special meaning + in a character class.</p> + + <p>The meaning of dollar can be changed so that it matches only at the very + end of the string, by setting option <c>dollar_endonly</c> at compile + time. This does not affect the \Z assertion.</p> + + <p>The meanings of the circumflex and dollar characters are changed if + option <c>multiline</c> is set. When this is the case, a circumflex + matches immediately after internal newlines and at the start of the + subject string. It does not match after a newline that ends the string. A + dollar matches before any newlines in the string, and at the very end, + when <c>multiline</c> is set. When newline is specified as the + two-character sequence CRLF, isolated CR and LF characters do not + indicate newlines.</p> + + <p>For example, the pattern /^abc$/ matches the subject string "def\nabc" + (where \n represents a newline) in multiline mode, but not otherwise. + So, patterns that are anchored in single-line mode because all + branches start with ^ are not anchored in multiline mode, and a match for + circumflex is possible when argument <em>startoffset</em> of <c>run/3</c> + is non-zero. Option <c>dollar_endonly</c> is ignored if <c>multiline</c> + is set.</p> + + <p>Notice that the sequences \A, \Z, and \z can be used to match the start + and end of the subject in both modes. If all branches of a pattern start + with \A, it is always anchored, regardless if <c>multiline</c> is set.</p> + </section> -<p><em>PCRE's additional properties</em></p> - -<p>As well as the standard Unicode properties described above, PCRE supports four -more that make it possible to convert traditional escape sequences such as \w -and \s and POSIX character classes to use Unicode properties. PCRE uses these -non-standard, non-Perl properties internally when PCRE_UCP is set. However, -they may also be used explicitly. These properties are:</p> -<taglist> - <tag>Xan</tag> <item>Any alphanumeric character</item> - <tag>Xps</tag> <item>Any POSIX space character</item> - <tag>Xsp</tag> <item>Any Perl space character</item> - <tag>Xwd</tag> <item>Any Perl "word" character</item> -</taglist> -<p>Xan matches characters that have either the L (letter) or the N (number) -property. Xps matches the characters tab, linefeed, vertical tab, form feed, or -carriage return, and any other character that has the Z (separator) property. -Xsp is the same as Xps, except that vertical tab is excluded. Xwd matches the -same characters as Xan, plus underscore.</p> - -<p>There is another non-standard property, Xuc, which matches any character that -can be represented by a Universal Character Name in C++ and other programming -languages. These are the characters $, @, ` (grave accent), and all characters -with Unicode code points greater than or equal to U+00A0, except for the -surrogates U+D800 to U+DFFF. Note that most base (ASCII) characters are -excluded. (Universal Character Names are of the form \uHHHH or \UHHHHHHHH -where H is a hexadecimal digit. Note that the Xuc property does not match these -sequences but the characters that they represent.)</p> - -<p><em>Resetting the match start</em></p> - -<p>The escape sequence \K causes any previously matched characters not to be -included in the final matched sequence. For example, the pattern:</p> - -<quote><p> foo\Kbar</p></quote> - -<p>matches "foobar", but reports that it has matched "bar". This feature is -similar to a lookbehind assertion -<!-- HTML <a href="#lookbehind"> --> -<!-- </a> --> -(described below). - -However, in this case, the part of the subject before the real match does not -have to be of fixed length, as lookbehind assertions do. The use of \K does -not interfere with the setting of -captured substrings. -For example, when the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (foo)\Kbar</p></quote> - -<p>matches "foobar", the first substring is still set to "foo".</p> - -<p>Perl documents that the use of \K within assertions is "not well defined". In -PCRE, \K is acted upon when it occurs inside positive assertions, but is -ignored in negative assertions.</p> - -<p><em>Simple assertions</em></p> - -<p>The final use of backslash is for certain simple assertions. An -assertion specifies a condition that has to be met at a particular -point in a match, without consuming any characters from the subject -string. The use of subpatterns for more complicated assertions is -described below. The backslashed assertions are:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>\b</tag> <item>matches at a word boundary</item> - <tag>\B</tag> <item>matches when not at a word boundary</item> - <tag>\A</tag> <item>matches at the start of the subject</item> - <tag>\Z</tag> <item>matches at the end of the subject - also matches before a newline at the end of - the subject</item> - <tag>\z</tag> <item>matches only at the end of the subject</item> - <tag>\G</tag> <item>matches at the first matching position in the - subject</item> -</taglist> + <section> + <marker id="sect5"></marker> + <title>Full Stop (Period, Dot) and \N</title> + <p>Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any character in + the subject string except (by default) a character that signifies the end + of a line.</p> + + <p>When a line ending is defined as a single character, dot never matches + that character. When the two-character sequence CRLF is used, dot does not + match CR if it is immediately followed by LF, otherwise it matches all + characters (including isolated CRs and LFs). When any Unicode line endings + are recognized, dot does not match CR, LF, or any of the other + line-ending characters.</p> + + <p>The behavior of dot regarding newlines can be changed. If option + <c>dotall</c> is set, a dot matches any character, without exception. If + the two-character sequence CRLF is present in the subject string, it takes + two dots to match it.</p> + + <p>The handling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of circumflex + and dollar, the only relationship is that both involve newlines. Dot has + no special meaning in a character class.</p> + + <p>The escape sequence \N behaves like a dot, except that it is not affected + by option <c>PCRE_DOTALL</c>. That is, it matches any character except one + that signifies the end of a line. Perl also uses \N to match characters by + name but PCRE does not support this.</p> + </section> -<p>Inside a character class, \b has a different meaning; it matches the backspace -character. If any other of these assertions appears in a character class, by -default it matches the corresponding literal character (for example, \B -matches the letter B). </p> - -<p>A word boundary is a position in the subject string where the current character -and the previous character do not both match \w or \W (i.e. one matches -\w and the other matches \W), or the start or end of the string if the -first or last character matches \w, respectively. In a UTF mode, the meanings -of \w and \W can be changed by setting the <c>ucp</c> option. When this is -done, it also affects \b and \B. Neither PCRE nor Perl has a separate "start -of word" or "end of word" metasequence. However, whatever follows \b normally -determines which it is. For example, the fragment \ba matches "a" at the start -of a word.</p> - -<p>The \A, \Z, and \z assertions differ from the traditional circumflex and -dollar (described in the next section) in that they only ever match at the very -start and end of the subject string, whatever options are set. Thus, they are -independent of multiline mode. These three assertions are not affected by the -<c>notbol</c> or <c>noteol</c> options, which affect only the behaviour of the -circumflex and dollar metacharacters. However, if the <em>startoffset</em> -argument of <c>re:run/3</c> is non-zero, indicating that matching is to start -at a point other than the beginning of the subject, \A can never match. The -difference between \Z and \z is that \Z matches before a newline at the end -of the string as well as at the very end, whereas \z matches only at the end.</p> - -<p>The \G assertion is true only when the current matching position is at the -start point of the match, as specified by the <em>startoffset</em> argument of -<c>re:run/3</c>. It differs from \A when the value of <em>startoffset</em> is -non-zero. By calling <c>re:run/3</c> multiple times with appropriate -arguments, you can mimic Perl's /g option, and it is in this kind of -implementation where \G can be useful.</p> - -<p>Note, however, that PCRE's interpretation of \G, as the start of the current -match, is subtly different from Perl's, which defines it as the end of the -previous match. In Perl, these can be different when the previously matched -string was empty. Because PCRE does just one match at a time, it cannot -reproduce this behaviour.</p> - -<p>If all the alternatives of a pattern begin with \G, the expression is anchored -to the starting match position, and the "anchored" flag is set in the compiled -regular expression.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect4"></marker><title>Circumflex and dollar</title> - -<p>The circumflex and dollar metacharacters are zero-width assertions. That is, -they test for a particular condition being true without consuming any -characters from the subject string.</p> - -<p>Outside a character class, in the default matching mode, the circumflex -character is an assertion that is true only if the current matching point is at -the start of the subject string. If the <i>startoffset</i> argument of -<c>re:run/3</c> is non-zero, circumflex can never match if the <c>multiline</c> -option is unset. Inside a character class, circumflex has an entirely different -meaning (see below).</p> - -<p>Circumflex need not be the first character of the pattern if a number of -alternatives are involved, but it should be the first thing in each alternative -in which it appears if the pattern is ever to match that branch. If all -possible alternatives start with a circumflex, that is, if the pattern is -constrained to match only at the start of the subject, it is said to be an -"anchored" pattern. (There are also other constructs that can cause a pattern -to be anchored.)</p> - -<p>The dollar character is an assertion that is true only if the current matching -point is at the end of the subject string, or immediately before a newline at -the end of the string (by default). Note, however, that it does not actually -match the newline. Dollar need not be the last character of the pattern if a -number of alternatives are involved, but it should be the last item in any -branch in which it appears. Dollar has no special meaning in a character class.</p> - -<p>The meaning of dollar can be changed so that it matches only at the -very end of the string, by setting the <c>dollar_endonly</c> option at -compile time. This does not affect the \Z assertion.</p> - -<p>The meanings of the circumflex and dollar characters are changed if the -<c>multiline</c> option is set. When this is the case, a circumflex matches -immediately after internal newlines as well as at the start of the subject -string. It does not match after a newline that ends the string. A dollar -matches before any newlines in the string, as well as at the very end, when -<c>multiline</c> is set. When newline is specified as the two-character -sequence CRLF, isolated CR and LF characters do not indicate newlines.</p> - -<p>For example, the pattern /^abc$/ matches the subject string -"def\nabc" (where \n represents a newline) in multiline mode, but -not otherwise. Consequently, patterns that are anchored in single line -mode because all branches start with ^ are not anchored in multiline -mode, and a match for circumflex is possible when the -<em>startoffset</em> argument of <c>re:run/3</c> is non-zero. The -<c>dollar_endonly</c> option is ignored if <c>multiline</c> is set.</p> - -<p>Note that the sequences \A, \Z, and \z can be used to match the start and -end of the subject in both modes, and if all branches of a pattern start with -\A it is always anchored, whether or not <c>multiline</c> is set.</p> - - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect5"></marker><title>Full stop (period, dot) and \N</title> - -<p>Outside a character class, a dot in the pattern matches any one character in -the subject string except (by default) a character that signifies the end of a -line. -</p> - -<p>When a line ending is defined as a single character, dot never matches that -character; when the two-character sequence CRLF is used, dot does not match CR -if it is immediately followed by LF, but otherwise it matches all characters -(including isolated CRs and LFs). -When any Unicode line endings are being -recognized, dot does not match CR or LF or any of the other line ending -characters. -</p> - -<p>The behaviour of dot with regard to newlines can be changed. If -the <c>dotall</c> option is set, a dot matches any one character, -without exception. If the two-character sequence CRLF is present in -the subject string, it takes two dots to match it.</p> - -<p>The handling of dot is entirely independent of the handling of -circumflex and dollar, the only relationship being that they both -involve newlines. Dot has no special meaning in a character class.</p> - -<p>The escape sequence \N behaves like a dot, except that it is not affected by -the PCRE_DOTALL option. In other words, it matches any character except one -that signifies the end of a line. Perl also uses \N to match characters by -name; PCRE does not support this.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect6"></marker><title>Matching a single data unit</title> - -<p>Outside a character class, the escape sequence \C matches any one data unit, -whether or not a UTF mode is set. One data unit is one -byte. Unlike a dot, \C always -matches line-ending characters. The feature is provided in Perl in order to -match individual bytes in UTF-8 mode, but it is unclear how it can usefully be -used. Because \C breaks up characters into individual data units, matching one -unit with \C in a UTF mode means that the rest of the string may start with a -malformed UTF character. This has undefined results, because PCRE assumes that -it is dealing with valid UTF strings.</p> - -<p>PCRE does not allow \C to appear in lookbehind assertions (described below) -in a UTF mode, because this would make it impossible to calculate the length of -the lookbehind.</p> - -<p>In general, the \C escape sequence is best avoided. However, one -way of using it that avoids the problem of malformed UTF characters is to use a -lookahead to check the length of the next character, as in this pattern, which -could be used with a UTF-8 string (ignore white space and line breaks):</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect6"></marker> + <title>Matching a Single Data Unit</title> + <p>Outside a character class, the escape sequence \C matches any data unit, + regardless if a UTF mode is set. One data unit is one byte. Unlike a dot, + \C always matches line-ending characters. The feature is provided in Perl + to match individual bytes in UTF-8 mode, but it is unclear how it can + usefully be used. As \C breaks up characters into individual data units, + matching one unit with \C in a UTF mode means that the remaining string + can start with a malformed UTF character. This has undefined results, as + PCRE assumes that it deals with valid UTF strings.</p> + + <p>PCRE does not allow \C to appear in lookbehind assertions (described + below) in a UTF mode, as this would make it impossible to calculate the + length of the lookbehind.</p> + + <p>The \C escape sequence is best avoided. However, one way of using it that + avoids the problem of malformed UTF characters is to use a lookahead to + check the length of the next character, as in the following pattern, which + can be used with a UTF-8 string (ignore whitespace and line breaks):</p> <code type="none"> - (?| (?=[\x00-\x7f])(\C) | - (?=[\x80-\x{7ff}])(\C)(\C) | - (?=[\x{800}-\x{ffff}])(\C)(\C)(\C) | - (?=[\x{10000}-\x{1fffff}])(\C)(\C)(\C)(\C))</code> - -<p>A group that starts with (?| resets the capturing parentheses numbers in each -alternative (see "Duplicate Subpattern Numbers" -below). The assertions at the start of each branch check the next UTF-8 -character for values whose encoding uses 1, 2, 3, or 4 bytes, respectively. The -character's individual bytes are then captured by the appropriate number of -groups.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect7"></marker><title>Square brackets and character classes</title> - -<p>An opening square bracket introduces a character class, terminated by a closing -square bracket. A closing square bracket on its own is not special by default. -However, if the PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT option is set, a lone closing square -bracket causes a compile-time error. If a closing square bracket is required as -a member of the class, it should be the first data character in the class -(after an initial circumflex, if present) or escaped with a backslash.</p> - -<p>A character class matches a single character in the subject. In a UTF mode, the -character may be more than one data unit long. A matched character must be in -the set of characters defined by the class, unless the first character in the -class definition is a circumflex, in which case the subject character must not -be in the set defined by the class. If a circumflex is actually required as a -member of the class, ensure it is not the first character, or escape it with a -backslash.</p> - -<p>For example, the character class [aeiou] matches any lower case vowel, while -[^aeiou] matches any character that is not a lower case vowel. Note that a -circumflex is just a convenient notation for specifying the characters that -are in the class by enumerating those that are not. A class that starts with a -circumflex is not an assertion; it still consumes a character from the subject -string, and therefore it fails if the current pointer is at the end of the -string.</p> - -<p>In UTF-8 mode, characters with values greater than 255 (0xffff) -can be included in a class as a literal string of data units, or by using the -\x{ escaping mechanism.</p> - -<p>When caseless matching is set, any letters in a class represent both their -upper case and lower case versions, so for example, a caseless [aeiou] matches -"A" as well as "a", and a caseless [^aeiou] does not match "A", whereas a -caseful version would. In a UTF mode, PCRE always understands the concept of -case for characters whose values are less than 256, so caseless matching is -always possible. For characters with higher values, the concept of case is -supported if PCRE is compiled with Unicode property support, but not otherwise. -If you want to use caseless matching in a UTF mode for characters 256 and -above, you must ensure that PCRE is compiled with Unicode property support as -well as with UTF support.</p> - -<p>Characters that might indicate line breaks are never treated in any special way -when matching character classes, whatever line-ending sequence is in use, and -whatever setting of the PCRE_DOTALL and PCRE_MULTILINE options is used. A class -such as [^a] always matches one of these characters.</p> - -<p>The minus (hyphen) character can be used to specify a range of characters in a -character class. For example, [d-m] matches any letter between d and m, -inclusive. If a minus character is required in a class, it must be escaped with -a backslash or appear in a position where it cannot be interpreted as -indicating a range, typically as the first or last character in the class.</p> - -<p>It is not possible to have the literal character "]" as the end character of a -range. A pattern such as [W-]46] is interpreted as a class of two characters -("W" and "-") followed by a literal string "46]", so it would match "W46]" or -"-46]". However, if the "]" is escaped with a backslash it is interpreted as -the end of range, so [W-\]46] is interpreted as a class containing a range -followed by two other characters. The octal or hexadecimal representation of -"]" can also be used to end a range.</p> - -<p>Ranges operate in the collating sequence of character values. They can also be -used for characters specified numerically, for example [\000-\037]. Ranges -can include any characters that are valid for the current mode.</p> - -<p>If a range that includes letters is used when caseless matching is set, it -matches the letters in either case. For example, [W-c] is equivalent to -[][\\^_`wxyzabc], matched caselessly, and in a non-UTF mode, if character -tables for a French locale are in use, [\xc8-\xcb] matches accented E -characters in both cases. In UTF modes, PCRE supports the concept of case for -characters with values greater than 255 only when it is compiled with Unicode -property support.</p> - -<p>The character escape sequences \d, \D, \h, \H, \p, \P, \s, \S, \v, -\V, \w, and \W may appear in a character class, and add the characters that -they match to the class. For example, [\dABCDEF] matches any hexadecimal -digit. In UTF modes, the <c>ucp</c> option affects the meanings of \d, \s, \w -and their upper case partners, just as it does when they appear outside a -character class, as described in the section entitled -"Generic character types" -above. The escape sequence \b has a different meaning inside a character -class; it matches the backspace character. The sequences \B, \N, \R, and \X -are not special inside a character class. Like any other unrecognized escape -sequences, they are treated as the literal characters "B", "N", "R", and "X".</p> - -<p>A circumflex can conveniently be used with the upper case character types to -specify a more restricted set of characters than the matching lower case type. -For example, the class [^\W_] matches any letter or digit, but not underscore, -whereas [\w] includes underscore. A positive character class should be read as -"something OR something OR ..." and a negative class as "NOT something AND NOT -something AND NOT ...".</p> - -<p>The only metacharacters that are recognized in character classes -are backslash, hyphen (only where it can be interpreted as specifying -a range), circumflex (only at the start), opening square bracket (only -when it can be interpreted as introducing a POSIX class name - see the -next section), and the terminating closing square bracket. However, -escaping other non-alphanumeric characters does no harm.</p> -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect8"></marker><title>POSIX character classes</title> - -<p>Perl supports the POSIX notation for character classes. This uses names -enclosed by [: and :] within the enclosing square brackets. PCRE also supports -this notation. For example,</p> - -<quote><p> [01[:alpha:]%]</p></quote> - -<p>matches "0", "1", any alphabetic character, or "%". The supported class names -are:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>alnum</tag> <item>letters and digits</item> - <tag>alpha</tag> <item>letters</item> - <tag>ascii</tag> <item>character codes 0 - 127</item> - <tag>blank</tag> <item>space or tab only</item> - <tag>cntrl</tag> <item>control characters</item> - <tag>digit</tag> <item>decimal digits (same as \d)</item> - <tag>graph</tag> <item>printing characters, excluding space</item> - <tag>lower</tag> <item>lower case letters</item> - <tag>print</tag> <item>printing characters, including space</item> - <tag>punct</tag> <item>printing characters, excluding letters and digits and space</item> - <tag>space</tag> <item>whitespace (not quite the same as \s)</item> - <tag>upper</tag> <item>upper case letters</item> - <tag>word</tag> <item>"word" characters (same as \w)</item> - <tag>xdigit</tag> <item>hexadecimal digits</item> -</taglist> - -<p>The "space" characters are HT (9), LF (10), VT (11), FF (12), CR (13), and -space (32). Notice that this list includes the VT character (code 11). This -makes "space" different to \s, which does not include VT (for Perl -compatibility).</p> - -<p>The name "word" is a Perl extension, and "blank" is a GNU extension -from Perl 5.8. Another Perl extension is negation, which is indicated -by a ^ character after the colon. For example,</p> - -<quote><p> [12[:^digit:]]</p></quote> - -<p>matches "1", "2", or any non-digit. PCRE (and Perl) also recognize the POSIX -syntax [.ch.] and [=ch=] where "ch" is a "collating element", but these are not -supported, and an error is given if they are encountered.</p> - -<p>By default, in UTF modes, characters with values greater than 255 do not match -any of the POSIX character classes. However, if the PCRE_UCP option is passed -to <em>pcre_compile()</em>, some of the classes are changed so that Unicode -character properties are used. This is achieved by replacing the POSIX classes -by other sequences, as follows:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>[:alnum:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Xan}</em></item> - <tag>[:alpha:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{L}</em></item> - <tag>[:blank:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\h</em></item> - <tag>[:digit:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Nd}</em></item> - <tag>[:lower:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Ll}</em></item> - <tag>[:space:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Xps}</em></item> - <tag>[:upper:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Lu}</em></item> - <tag>[:word:]</tag> <item>becomes <em>\p{Xwd}</em></item> -</taglist> - -<p>Negated versions, such as [:^alpha:] use \P instead of \p. The other POSIX -classes are unchanged, and match only characters with code points less than -256.</p> - -</section> - - -<section><marker id="sect9"></marker><title>Vertical bar</title> - -<p>Vertical bar characters are used to separate alternative -patterns. For example, the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> gilbert|sullivan</p></quote> - -<p>matches either "gilbert" or "sullivan". Any number of alternatives -may appear, and an empty alternative is permitted (matching the empty -string). The matching process tries each alternative in turn, from -left to right, and the first one that succeeds is used. If the -alternatives are within a subpattern (defined below), "succeeds" means -matching the rest of the main pattern as well as the alternative in -the subpattern.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect10"></marker><title>Internal option setting</title> - -<p>The settings of the <c>caseless</c>, <c>multiline</c>, <c>dotall</c>, and -<c>extended</c> options (which are Perl-compatible) can be changed from within -the pattern by a sequence of Perl option letters enclosed between "(?" and ")". -The option letters are</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>i</tag> <item>for <c>caseless</c></item> - <tag>m</tag> <item>for <c>multiline</c></item> - <tag>s</tag> <item>for <c>dotall</c></item> - <tag>x</tag> <item>for <c>extended</c></item> -</taglist> - -<p>For example, (?im) sets caseless, multiline matching. It is also possible to -unset these options by preceding the letter with a hyphen, and a combined -setting and unsetting such as (?im-sx), which sets <c>caseless</c> and -<c>multiline</c> while unsetting <c>dotall</c> and <c>extended</c>, is also -permitted. If a letter appears both before and after the hyphen, the option is -unset.</p> - -<p>The PCRE-specific options <c>dupnames</c>, <c>ungreedy</c>, and -<c>extra</c> can be changed in the same way as the Perl-compatible -options by using the characters J, U and X respectively.</p> - -<p>When one of these option changes occurs at top level (that is, not inside -subpattern parentheses), the change applies to the remainder of the pattern -that follows. If the change is placed right at the start of a pattern, PCRE -extracts it into the global options.</p> - -<p>An option change within a subpattern (see below for a description of -subpatterns) affects only that part of the subpattern that follows it, so</p> - -<quote><p> (a(?i)b)c</p></quote> - -<p>matches abc and aBc and no other strings (assuming <c>caseless</c> -is not used). By this means, options can be made to have different -settings in different parts of the pattern. Any changes made in one -alternative do carry on into subsequent branches within the same -subpattern. For example,</p> - -<quote><p> (a(?i)b|c)</p></quote> - -<p>matches "ab", "aB", "c", and "C", even though when matching "C" the first -branch is abandoned before the option setting. This is because the effects of -option settings happen at compile time. There would be some very weird -behaviour otherwise.</p> - -<p><em>Note:</em> There are other PCRE-specific options that can be set by the -application when the compiling or matching functions are called. In some cases -the pattern can contain special leading sequences such as (*CRLF) to override -what the application has set or what has been defaulted. Details are given in -the section entitled "Newline sequences" -above. There are also the (*UTF8) and (*UCP) leading -sequences that can be used to set UTF and Unicode property modes; they are -equivalent to setting the <c>unicode</c> and the <c>ucp</c> -options, respectively. The (*UTF) sequence is a generic version that can be -used with any of the libraries. However, the application can set the -<c>never_utf</c> option, which locks out the use of the (*UTF) sequences.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect11"></marker><title>Subpatterns</title> - -<p>Subpatterns are delimited by parentheses (round brackets), which -can be nested. Turning part of a pattern into a subpattern does two -things:</p> - -<p>1. It localizes a set of alternatives. For example, the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> cat(aract|erpillar|)</p></quote> - -<p>matches "cataract", "caterpillar", or "cat". Without the parentheses, it would -match "cataract", "erpillar" or an empty string.</p> - -<p>2. It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. This means that, when -the complete pattern matches, that portion of the subject string that matched the -subpattern is passed back to the caller via the return value of -<c>re:run/3</c>.</p> - -<p>Opening parentheses are counted from left to right (starting -from 1) to obtain numbers for the capturing subpatterns.For example, if the string -"the red king" is matched against the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> the ((red|white) (king|queen))</p></quote> - -<p>the captured substrings are "red king", "red", and "king", and are numbered 1, -2, and 3, respectively.</p> - -<p>The fact that plain parentheses fulfil two functions is not always helpful. -There are often times when a grouping subpattern is required without a -capturing requirement. If an opening parenthesis is followed by a question mark -and a colon, the subpattern does not do any capturing, and is not counted when -computing the number of any subsequent capturing subpatterns. For example, if -the string "the white queen" is matched against the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> the ((?:red|white) (king|queen))</p></quote> - -<p>the captured substrings are "white queen" and "queen", and are numbered 1 and -2. The maximum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535.</p> - -<p>As a convenient shorthand, if any option settings are required at the start of -a non-capturing subpattern, the option letters may appear between the "?" and -the ":". Thus the two patterns</p> +(?| (?=[\x00-\x7f])(\C) | + (?=[\x80-\x{7ff}])(\C)(\C) | + (?=[\x{800}-\x{ffff}])(\C)(\C)(\C) | + (?=[\x{10000}-\x{1fffff}])(\C)(\C)(\C)(\C))</code> + + <p>A group that starts with (?| resets the capturing parentheses numbers in + each alternative (see section <seealso marker="#sect12">Duplicate + Subpattern Numbers</seealso>). The assertions at the start of each branch + check the next UTF-8 character for values whose encoding uses 1, 2, 3, or + 4 bytes, respectively. The individual bytes of the character are then + captured by the appropriate number of groups.</p> + </section> -<list> -<item>(?i:saturday|sunday)</item> -<item>(?:(?i)saturday|sunday)</item> -</list> + <section> + <marker id="sect7"></marker> + <title>Square Brackets and Character Classes</title> + <p>An opening square bracket introduces a character class, terminated by a + closing square bracket. A closing square bracket on its own is not special + by default. However, if option <c>PCRE_JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT</c> is set, a + lone closing square bracket causes a compile-time error. If a closing + square bracket is required as a member of the class, it is to be the first + data character in the class (after an initial circumflex, if present) or + escaped with a backslash.</p> + + <p>A character class matches a single character in the subject. In a UTF + mode, the character can be more than one data unit long. A matched + character must be in the set of characters defined by the class, unless + the first character in the class definition is a circumflex, in which case + the subject character must not be in the set defined by the class. If a + circumflex is required as a member of the class, ensure that it is not the + first character, or escape it with a backslash.</p> + + <p>For example, the character class <c>[aeiou]</c> matches any lowercase + vowel, while <c>[^aeiou]</c> matches any character that is not a lowercase + vowel. Notice that a circumflex is just a convenient notation for + specifying the characters that are in the class by enumerating those that + are not. A class that starts with a circumflex is not an assertion; it + still consumes a character from the subject string, and therefore it fails + if the current pointer is at the end of the string.</p> + + <p>In UTF-8 mode, characters with values > 255 (0xffff) can be included + in a class as a literal string of data units, or by using the \x{ escaping + mechanism.</p> + + <p>When caseless matching is set, any letters in a class represent both + their uppercase and lowercase versions. For example, a caseless + <c>[aeiou]</c> matches "A" and "a", and a caseless <c>[^aeiou]</c> does + not match "A", but a caseful version would. In a UTF mode, PCRE always + understands the concept of case for characters whose values are < 256, + so caseless matching is always possible. For characters with higher + values, the concept of case is supported only if PCRE is compiled with + Unicode property support. If you want to use caseless matching in a UTF + mode for characters >=, ensure that PCRE is compiled with Unicode + property support and with UTF support.</p> + + <p>Characters that can indicate line breaks are never treated in any special + way when matching character classes, whatever line-ending sequence is in + use, and whatever setting of options <c>PCRE_DOTALL</c> and + <c>PCRE_MULTILINE</c> is used. A class such as [^a] always matches one of + these characters.</p> + + <p>The minus (hyphen) character can be used to specify a range of characters + in a character class. For example, [d-m] matches any letter between d and + m, inclusive. If a minus character is required in a class, it must be + escaped with a backslash or appear in a position where it cannot be + interpreted as indicating a range, typically as the first or last + character in the class.</p> + + <p>The literal character "]" cannot be the end character of a range. A + pattern such as [W-]46] is interpreted as a class of two characters ("W" + and "-") followed by a literal string "46]", so it would match "W46]" or + "-46]". However, if "]" is escaped with a backslash, it is interpreted as + the end of range, so [W-\]46] is interpreted as a class containing a range + followed by two other characters. The octal or hexadecimal representation + of "]" can also be used to end a range.</p> + + <p>Ranges operate in the collating sequence of character values. They can + also be used for characters specified numerically, for example, + [\000-\037]. Ranges can include any characters that are valid for the + current mode.</p> + + <p>If a range that includes letters is used when caseless matching is set, + it matches the letters in either case. For example, [W-c] is equivalent to + [][\\^_`wxyzabc], matched caselessly. In a non-UTF mode, if character + tables for a French locale are in use, [\xc8-\xcb] matches accented E + characters in both cases. In UTF modes, PCRE supports the concept of case + for characters with values > 255 only when it is compiled with Unicode + property support.</p> + + <p>The character escape sequences \d, \D, \h, \H, \p, \P, \s, \S, \v, \V, + \w, and \W can appear in a character class, and add the characters that + they match to the class. For example, [\dABCDEF] matches any hexadecimal + digit. In UTF modes, option <c>ucp</c> affects the meanings of \d, \s, \w + and their uppercase partners, just as it does when they appear outside a + character class, as described in section + <seealso marker="#generic_character_types">Generic Character + Types</seealso> earlier. The escape sequence \b has a different meaning + inside a character class; it matches the backspace character. The + sequences \B, \N, \R, and \X are not special inside a character class. + Like any other unrecognized escape sequences, they are treated as the + literal characters "B", "N", "R", and "X".</p> + + <p>A circumflex can conveniently be used with the uppercase character types + to specify a more restricted set of characters than the matching lowercase + type. For example, class [^\W_] matches any letter or digit, but not + underscore, while [\w] includes underscore. A positive character class + is to be read as "something OR something OR ..." and a negative class as + "NOT something AND NOT something AND NOT ...".</p> + + <p>Only the following metacharacters are recognized in character + classes:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item>Backslash</item> + <item>Hyphen (only where it can be interpreted as specifying a + range)</item> + <item>Circumflex (only at the start)</item> + <item>Opening square bracket (only when it can be interpreted as + introducing a Posix class name; see the next section)</item> + <item>Terminating closing square bracket</item> + </list> + + <p>However, escaping other non-alphanumeric characters does no harm.</p> + </section> -<p>match exactly the same set of strings. Because alternative branches are tried -from left to right, and options are not reset until the end of the subpattern -is reached, an option setting in one branch does affect subsequent branches, so -the above patterns match "SUNDAY" as well as "Saturday".</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect8"></marker> + <title>Posix Character Classes</title> + <p>Perl supports the Posix notation for character classes. This uses names + enclosed by [: and :] within the enclosing square brackets. PCRE also + supports this notation. For example, the following matches "0", "1", any + alphabetic character, or "%":</p> + + <code> +[01[:alpha:]%]</code> + + <p>The following are the supported class names:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>alnum</tag><item>Letters and digits</item> + <tag>alpha</tag><item>Letters</item> + <tag>ascii</tag><item>Character codes 0-127</item> + <tag>blank</tag><item>Space or tab only</item> + <tag>cntrl</tag><item>Control characters</item> + <tag>digit</tag><item>Decimal digits (same as \d)</item> + <tag>graph</tag><item>Printing characters, excluding space</item> + <tag>lower</tag><item>Lowercase letters</item> + <tag>print</tag><item>Printing characters, including space</item> + <tag>punct</tag><item>Printing characters, excluding letters, digits, and + space</item> + <tag>space</tag><item>Whitespace (not quite the same as \s)</item> + <tag>upper</tag><item>Uppercase letters</item> + <tag>word</tag><item>"Word" characters (same as \w)</item> + <tag>xdigit</tag><item>Hexadecimal digits</item> + </taglist> + + <p>The "space" characters are HT (9), LF (10), VT (11), FF (12), CR (13), + and space (32). Notice that this list includes the VT character (code 11). + This makes "space" different to \s, which does not include VT (for Perl + compatibility).</p> + + <p>The name "word" is a Perl extension, and "blank" is a GNU extension from + Perl 5.8. Another Perl extension is negation, which is indicated by a ^ + character after the colon. For example, the following matches "1", "2", + or any non-digit:</p> + + <code> +[12[:^digit:]]</code> + + <p>PCRE (and Perl) also recognize the Posix syntax [.ch.] and [=ch=] where + "ch" is a "collating element", but these are not supported, and an error + is given if they are encountered.</p> + + <p>By default, in UTF modes, characters with values > 255 do not match + any of the Posix character classes. However, if option <c>PCRE_UCP</c> is + passed to <c>pcre_compile()</c>, some of the classes are changed so that + Unicode character properties are used. This is achieved by replacing the + Posix classes by other sequences, as follows:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>[:alnum:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Xan}</em></item> + <tag>[:alpha:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{L}</em></item> + <tag>[:blank:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\h</em></item> + <tag>[:digit:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Nd}</em></item> + <tag>[:lower:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Ll}</em></item> + <tag>[:space:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Xps}</em></item> + <tag>[:upper:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Lu}</em></item> + <tag>[:word:]</tag><item>Becomes <em>\p{Xwd}</em></item> + </taglist> + + <p>Negated versions, such as [:^alpha:], use \P instead of \p. The other + Posix classes are unchanged, and match only characters with code points + < 256.</p> + </section> -</section> + <section> + <marker id="sect9"></marker> + <title>Vertical Bar</title> + <p>Vertical bar characters are used to separate alternative patterns. For + example, the following pattern matches either "gilbert" or "sullivan":</p> + + <code> +gilbert|sullivan</code> + + <p>Any number of alternatives can appear, and an empty alternative is + permitted (matching the empty string). The matching process tries each + alternative in turn, from left to right, and the first that succeeds is + used. If the alternatives are within a subpattern (defined in section + <seealso marker="#sect11">Subpatterns</seealso>), "succeeds" means + matching the remaining main pattern and the alternative in the + subpattern.</p> + </section> -<section><marker id="sect12"></marker><title>Duplicate subpattern numbers</title> + <section> + <marker id="sect10"></marker> + <title>Internal Option Setting</title> + <p>The settings of the Perl-compatible options <c>caseless</c>, + <c>multiline</c>, <c>dotall</c>, and <c>extended</c> can be changed from + within the pattern by a sequence of Perl option letters enclosed between + "(?" and ")". The option letters are as follows:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>i</tag><item>For <c>caseless</c></item> + <tag>m</tag><item>For <c>multiline</c></item> + <tag>s</tag><item>For <c>dotall</c></item> + <tag>x</tag><item>For <c>extended</c></item> + </taglist> + + <p>For example, <c>(?im)</c> sets caseless, multiline matching. These + options can also be unset by preceding the letter with a hyphen. A + combined setting and unsetting such as <c>(?im-sx)</c>, which sets + <c>caseless</c> and <c>multiline</c>, while unsetting <c>dotall</c> and + <c>extended</c>, is also permitted. If a letter appears both before and + after the hyphen, the option is unset.</p> + + <p>The PCRE-specific options <c>dupnames</c>, <c>ungreedy</c>, and + <c>extra</c> can be changed in the same way as the Perl-compatible + options by using the characters J, U, and X respectively.</p> + + <p>When one of these option changes occurs at top-level (that is, not inside + subpattern parentheses), the change applies to the remainder of the + pattern that follows. If the change is placed right at the start of a + pattern, PCRE extracts it into the global options.</p> + <p>An option change within a subpattern (see section + <seealso marker="#sect11">Subpatterns</seealso>) affects only that part of + the subpattern that follows it. So, the following matches abc and aBc and + no other strings (assuming <c>caseless</c> is not used):</p> + + <code> +(a(?i)b)c</code> + + <p>By this means, options can be made to have different settings in + different parts of the pattern. Any changes made in one alternative do + carry on into subsequent branches within the same subpattern. For + example:</p> + + <code> +(a(?i)b|c)</code> + + <p>matches "ab", "aB", "c", and "C", although when matching "C" the first + branch is abandoned before the option setting. This is because the effects + of option settings occur at compile time. There would be some weird + behavior otherwise.</p> -<p>Perl 5.10 introduced a feature whereby each alternative in a subpattern uses -the same numbers for its capturing parentheses. Such a subpattern starts with -(?| and is itself a non-capturing subpattern. For example, consider this -pattern:</p> + <note> + <p>Other PCRE-specific options can be set by the application when the + compiling or matching functions are called. Sometimes the pattern can + contain special leading sequences, such as (*CRLF), to override what + the application has set or what has been defaulted. Details are provided + in section <seealso marker="#newline_sequences"> + Newline Sequences</seealso> earlier.</p> + <p>The (*UTF8) and (*UCP) leading sequences can be used to set UTF and + Unicode property modes. They are equivalent to setting options + <c>unicode</c> and <c>ucp</c>, respectively. The (*UTF) sequence is a + generic version that can be used with any of the libraries. However, + the application can set option <c>never_utf</c>, which locks out the + use of the (*UTF) sequences.</p> + </note> + </section> -<quote><p> (?|(Sat)ur|(Sun))day</p></quote> + <section> + <marker id="sect11"></marker> + <title>Subpatterns</title> + <p>Subpatterns are delimited by parentheses (round brackets), which can be + nested. Turning part of a pattern into a subpattern does two things:</p> -<p>Because the two alternatives are inside a (?| group, both sets of capturing -parentheses are numbered one. Thus, when the pattern matches, you can look -at captured substring number one, whichever alternative matched. This construct -is useful when you want to capture part, but not all, of one of a number of -alternatives. Inside a (?| group, parentheses are numbered as usual, but the -number is reset at the start of each branch. The numbers of any capturing -parentheses that follow the subpattern start after the highest number used in -any branch. The following example is taken from the Perl documentation. The -numbers underneath show in which buffer the captured content will be stored.</p> + <taglist> + <tag>1.</tag> + <item> + <p>It localizes a set of alternatives. For example, the following + pattern matches "cataract", "caterpillar", or "cat":</p> + <code> +cat(aract|erpillar|)</code> + <p>Without the parentheses, it would match "cataract", "erpillar", or an + empty string.</p> + </item> + <tag>2.</tag> + <item> + <p>It sets up the subpattern as a capturing subpattern. That is, when + the complete pattern matches, that portion of the subject string that + matched the subpattern is passed back to the caller through the + return value of <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>.</p> + </item> + </taglist> + + <p>Opening parentheses are counted from left to right (starting from 1) to + obtain numbers for the capturing subpatterns. For example, if the string + "the red king" is matched against the following pattern, the captured + substrings are "red king", "red", and "king", and are numbered 1, 2, and + 3, respectively:</p> + + <code> +the ((red|white) (king|queen))</code> + + <p>It is not always helpful that plain parentheses fulfill two functions. + Often a grouping subpattern is required without a capturing requirement. + If an opening parenthesis is followed by a question mark and a colon, the + subpattern does not do any capturing, and is not counted when computing + the number of any subsequent capturing subpatterns. For example, if the + string "the white queen" is matched against the following pattern, the + captured substrings are "white queen" and "queen", and are numbered 1 and + 2:</p> + + <code> +the ((?:red|white) (king|queen))</code> + + <p>The maximum number of capturing subpatterns is 65535.</p> + + <p>As a convenient shorthand, if any option settings are required at the + start of a non-capturing subpattern, the option letters can appear between + "?" and ":". Thus, the following two patterns match the same set of + strings:</p> + + <code> +(?i:saturday|sunday) +(?:(?i)saturday|sunday)</code> + + <p>As alternative branches are tried from left to right, and options are not + reset until the end of the subpattern is reached, an option setting in one + branch does affect subsequent branches, so the above patterns match both + "SUNDAY" and "Saturday".</p> + </section> -<code type="none"> - # before ---------------branch-reset----------- after - / ( a ) (?| x ( y ) z | (p (q) r) | (t) u (v) ) ( z ) /x - # 1 2 2 3 2 3 4</code> - -<p>A back reference to a numbered subpattern uses the most recent value that is -set for that number by any subpattern. The following pattern matches "abcabc" -or "defdef":</p> - -<quote><p> /(?|(abc)|(def))\1/</p></quote> - -<p>In contrast, a subroutine call to a numbered subpattern always refers to the -first one in the pattern with the given number. The following pattern matches -"abcabc" or "defabc":</p> - -<quote><p> /(?|(abc)|(def))(?1)/</p></quote> - -<p>If a condition test -for a subpattern's having matched refers to a non-unique number, the test is -true if any of the subpatterns of that number have matched.</p> - -<p>An alternative approach to using this "branch reset" feature is to use -duplicate named subpatterns, as described in the next section.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect13"></marker><title>Named subpatterns</title> - -<p>Identifying capturing parentheses by number is simple, but it can be very hard -to keep track of the numbers in complicated regular expressions. Furthermore, -if an expression is modified, the numbers may change. To help with this -difficulty, PCRE supports the naming of subpatterns. This feature was not -added to Perl until release 5.10. Python had the feature earlier, and PCRE -introduced it at release 4.0, using the Python syntax. PCRE now supports both -the Perl and the Python syntax. Perl allows identically numbered subpatterns to -have different names, but PCRE does not.</p> - -<p>In PCRE, a subpattern can be named in one of three ways: -(?<name>...) or (?'name'...) as in Perl, or (?P<name>...) -as in Python. References to capturing parentheses from other parts of -the pattern, such as back references, recursion, and conditions, can be -made by name as well as by number.</p> - -<p>Names consist of up to 32 alphanumeric characters and underscores. Named -capturing parentheses are still allocated numbers as well as names, exactly as -if the names were not present. -<!-- XXX C Interface -The PCRE API provides function calls for -extracting the name-to-number translation table from a compiled pattern. There -is also a convenience function for extracting a captured substring by name. ---> -The <c>capture</c> specification to <c>re:run/3</c> can use named values if they are present in the regular expression. -</p> - -<p>By default, a name must be unique within a pattern, but it is possible to relax -this constraint by setting the <c>dupnames</c> option at compile time. (Duplicate -names are also always permitted for subpatterns with the same number, set up as -described in the previous section.) Duplicate names can be useful for patterns -where only one instance of the named parentheses can match. Suppose you want to -match the name of a weekday, either as a 3-letter abbreviation or as the full -name, and in both cases you want to extract the abbreviation. This pattern -(ignoring the line breaks) does the job:</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect12"></marker> + <title>Duplicate Subpattern Numbers</title> + <p>Perl 5.10 introduced a feature where each alternative in a subpattern + uses the same numbers for its capturing parentheses. Such a subpattern + starts with <c>(?|</c> and is itself a non-capturing subpattern. For + example, consider the following pattern:</p> + + <code> +(?|(Sat)ur|(Sun))day</code> + + <p>As the two alternatives are inside a <c>(?|</c> group, both sets of + capturing parentheses are numbered one. Thus, when the pattern matches, + you can look at captured substring number one, whichever alternative + matched. This construct is useful when you want to capture a part, but + not all, of one of many alternatives. Inside a <c>(?|</c> group, + parentheses are numbered as usual, but the number is reset at the start + of each branch. The numbers of any capturing parentheses that follow the + subpattern start after the highest number used in any branch. + The following example is from the Perl documentation; the numbers + underneath show in which buffer the captured content is stored:</p> <code type="none"> - (?<DN>Mon|Fri|Sun)(?:day)?| - (?<DN>Tue)(?:sday)?| - (?<DN>Wed)(?:nesday)?| - (?<DN>Thu)(?:rsday)?| - (?<DN>Sat)(?:urday)?</code> - -<p>There are five capturing substrings, but only one is ever set after a match. -(An alternative way of solving this problem is to use a "branch reset" -subpattern, as described in the previous section.)</p> - -<!-- XXX C Interface - -<p>The convenience function for extracting the data by name returns the substring -for the first (and in this example, the only) subpattern of that name that -matched. This saves searching to find which numbered subpattern it was. If you -make a reference to a non-unique named subpattern from elsewhere in the -pattern, the one that corresponds to the lowest number is used. For further -details of the interfaces for handling named subpatterns, see the -<em>pcreapi</em> - -documentation.</p> ---> - -<p>In case of capturing named subpatterns which names are not unique, the first matching occurrence (counted from left to right in the subject) is returned from <c>re:exec/3</c>, if the name is specified in the <c>values</c> part of the <c>capture</c> statement. The <c>all_names</c> capturing value will match all of the names in the same way.</p> - -<p><em>Warning:</em> You cannot use different names to distinguish between two -subpatterns with the same number because PCRE uses only the numbers when -matching. For this reason, an error is given at compile time if different names -are given to subpatterns with the same number. However, you can give the same -name to subpatterns with the same number, even when <c>dupnames</c> is not set.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect14"></marker><title>Repetition</title> - -<p>Repetition is specified by quantifiers, which can follow any of the -following items:</p> - -<list> - <item>a literal data character</item> - <item>the dot metacharacter</item> - <item>the \C escape sequence</item> - <item>the \X escape sequence</item> - <item>the \R escape sequence</item> - <item>an escape such as \d or \pL that matches a single character</item> - <item>a character class</item> - <item>a back reference (see next section)</item> - <item>a parenthesized subpattern (including assertions)</item> - <item>a subroutine call to a subpattern (recursive or otherwise)</item> -</list> - -<p>The general repetition quantifier specifies a minimum and maximum number of -permitted matches, by giving the two numbers in curly brackets (braces), -separated by a comma. The numbers must be less than 65536, and the first must -be less than or equal to the second. For example:</p> - -<quote><p> z{2,4}</p></quote> - -<p>matches "zz", "zzz", or "zzzz". A closing brace on its own is not a special -character. If the second number is omitted, but the comma is present, there is -no upper limit; if the second number and the comma are both omitted, the -quantifier specifies an exact number of required matches. Thus</p> - -<quote><p> [aeiou]{3,}</p></quote> - -<p>matches at least 3 successive vowels, but may match many more, while</p> - -<quote><p> \d{8}</p></quote> - -<p>matches exactly 8 digits. An opening curly bracket that appears in a position -where a quantifier is not allowed, or one that does not match the syntax of a -quantifier, is taken as a literal character. For example, {,6} is not a -quantifier, but a literal string of four characters.</p> - -<p>In Unicode mode, quantifiers apply to characters rather than to individual data -units. Thus, for example, \x{100}{2} matches two characters, each of -which is represented by a two-byte sequence in a UTF-8 string. Similarly, -\X{3} matches three Unicode extended grapheme clusters, each of which may be -several data units long (and they may be of different lengths).</p> -<p>The quantifier {0} is permitted, causing the expression to behave as if the -previous item and the quantifier were not present. This may be useful for -subpatterns that are referenced as subroutines -from elsewhere in the pattern (but see also the section entitled -"Defining subpatterns for use by reference only" -below). Items other than subpatterns that have a {0} quantifier are omitted -from the compiled pattern.</p> - -<p>For convenience, the three most common quantifiers have single-character -abbreviations:</p> - -<taglist> - <tag>*</tag> <item>is equivalent to {0,}</item> - <tag>+</tag> <item>is equivalent to {1,}</item> - <tag>?</tag> <item>is equivalent to {0,1}</item> -</taglist> - -<p>It is possible to construct infinite loops by following a -subpattern that can match no characters with a quantifier that has no -upper limit, for example:</p> - -<quote><p> (a?)*</p></quote> - -<p>Earlier versions of Perl and PCRE used to give an error at compile time for -such patterns. However, because there are cases where this can be useful, such -patterns are now accepted, but if any repetition of the subpattern does in fact -match no characters, the loop is forcibly broken.</p> - -<p>By default, the quantifiers are "greedy", that is, they match as much as -possible (up to the maximum number of permitted times), without causing the -rest of the pattern to fail. The classic example of where this gives problems -is in trying to match comments in C programs. These appear between /* and */ -and within the comment, individual * and / characters may appear. An attempt to -match C comments by applying the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> /\*.*\*/</p></quote> - -<p>to the string</p> - -<quote><p> /* first comment */ not comment /* second comment */</p></quote> - -<p>fails, because it matches the entire string owing to the greediness of the .* -item.</p> - -<p>However, if a quantifier is followed by a question mark, it ceases to be -greedy, and instead matches the minimum number of times possible, so the -pattern</p> - -<quote><p> /\*.*?\*/</p></quote> - -<p>does the right thing with the C comments. The meaning of the various -quantifiers is not otherwise changed, just the preferred number of matches. -Do not confuse this use of question mark with its use as a quantifier in its -own right. Because it has two uses, it can sometimes appear doubled, as in</p> - -<quote><p> \d??\d</p></quote> - -<p>which matches one digit by preference, but can match two if that is the only -way the rest of the pattern matches.</p> - -<p>If the <c>ungreedy</c> option is set (an option that is not available in Perl), -the quantifiers are not greedy by default, but individual ones can be made -greedy by following them with a question mark. In other words, it inverts the -default behaviour.</p> - -<p>When a parenthesized subpattern is quantified with a minimum repeat count that -is greater than 1 or with a limited maximum, more memory is required for the -compiled pattern, in proportion to the size of the minimum or maximum.</p> - -<p>If a pattern starts with .* or .{0,} and the <c>dotall</c> option (equivalent -to Perl's /s) is set, thus allowing the dot to match newlines, the pattern is -implicitly anchored, because whatever follows will be tried against every -character position in the subject string, so there is no point in retrying the -overall match at any position after the first. PCRE normally treats such a -pattern as though it were preceded by \A.</p> - -<p>In cases where it is known that the subject string contains no newlines, it is -worth setting <c>dotall</c> in order to obtain this optimization, or -alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly.</p> - -<p>However, there are some cases where the optimization cannot be used. When .* -is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a back reference -elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start may fail where a later one -succeeds. Consider, for example:</p> - -<quote><p> (.*)abc\1</p></quote> - -<p>If the subject is "xyz123abc123" the match point is the fourth character. For -this reason, such a pattern is not implicitly anchored.</p> - -<p>Another case where implicit anchoring is not applied is when the leading .* is -inside an atomic group. Once again, a match at the start may fail where a later -one succeeds. Consider this pattern:</p> - -<quote><p> (?>.*?a)b</p></quote> - -<p>It matches "ab" in the subject "aab". The use of the backtracking control verbs -(*PRUNE) and (*SKIP) also disable this optimization.</p> - -<p>When a capturing subpattern is repeated, the value captured is the substring -that matched the final iteration. For example, after</p> - -<quote><p> (tweedle[dume]{3}\s*)+</p></quote> - -<p>has matched "tweedledum tweedledee" the value of the captured substring is -"tweedledee". However, if there are nested capturing subpatterns, the -corresponding captured values may have been set in previous iterations. For -example, after</p> - -<quote><p> /(a|(b))+/</p></quote> - -<p>matches "aba" the value of the second captured substring is "b".</p> - - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect15"></marker><title>Atomic grouping and possessive quantifiers</title> +# before ---------------branch-reset----------- after +/ ( a ) (?| x ( y ) z | (p (q) r) | (t) u (v) ) ( z ) /x +# 1 2 2 3 2 3 4</code> -<p>With both maximizing ("greedy") and minimizing ("ungreedy" or "lazy") -repetition, failure of what follows normally causes the repeated item to be -re-evaluated to see if a different number of repeats allows the rest of the -pattern to match. Sometimes it is useful to prevent this, either to change the -nature of the match, or to cause it fail earlier than it otherwise might, when -the author of the pattern knows there is no point in carrying on.</p> + <p>A back reference to a numbered subpattern uses the most recent value that + is set for that number by any subpattern. The following pattern matches + "abcabc" or "defdef":</p> -<p>Consider, for example, the pattern \d+foo when applied to the subject line</p> + <code> +/(?|(abc)|(def))\1/</code> -<quote><p> 123456bar</p></quote> + <p>In contrast, a subroutine call to a numbered subpattern always refers to + the first one in the pattern with the given number. The following pattern + matches "abcabc" or "defabc":</p> -<p>After matching all 6 digits and then failing to match "foo", the normal -action of the matcher is to try again with only 5 digits matching the \d+ -item, and then with 4, and so on, before ultimately failing. "Atomic grouping" -(a term taken from Jeffrey Friedl's book) provides the means for specifying -that once a subpattern has matched, it is not to be re-evaluated in this way.</p> + <code> +/(?|(abc)|(def))(?1)/</code> -<p>If we use atomic grouping for the previous example, the matcher gives up -immediately on failing to match "foo" the first time. The notation is a kind of -special parenthesis, starting with (?> as in this example:</p> + <p>If a condition test for a subpattern having matched refers to a + non-unique number, the test is true if any of the subpatterns of that + number have matched.</p> -<quote><p> (?>\d+)foo</p></quote> - -<p>This kind of parenthesis "locks up" the part of the pattern it contains once -it has matched, and a failure further into the pattern is prevented from -backtracking into it. Backtracking past it to previous items, however, works as -normal.</p> - -<p>An alternative description is that a subpattern of this type matches the string -of characters that an identical standalone pattern would match, if anchored at -the current point in the subject string.</p> - -<p>Atomic grouping subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns. Simple cases such as -the above example can be thought of as a maximizing repeat that must swallow -everything it can. So, while both \d+ and \d+? are prepared to adjust the -number of digits they match in order to make the rest of the pattern match, -(?>\d+) can only match an entire sequence of digits.</p> - -<p>Atomic groups in general can of course contain arbitrarily complicated -subpatterns, and can be nested. However, when the subpattern for an atomic -group is just a single repeated item, as in the example above, a simpler -notation, called a "possessive quantifier" can be used. This consists of an -additional + character following a quantifier. Using this notation, the -previous example can be rewritten as</p> - -<quote><p> \d++foo</p></quote> - -<p>Note that a possessive quantifier can be used with an entire group, for -example:</p> - -<quote><p> (abc|xyz){2,3}+</p></quote> - -<p>Possessive quantifiers are always greedy; the setting of the <c>ungreedy</c> -option is ignored. They are a convenient notation for the simpler forms of -atomic group. However, there is no difference in the meaning of a possessive -quantifier and the equivalent atomic group, though there may be a performance -difference; possessive quantifiers should be slightly faster.</p> - -<p>The possessive quantifier syntax is an extension to the Perl 5.8 syntax. -Jeffrey Friedl originated the idea (and the name) in the first edition of his -book. Mike McCloskey liked it, so implemented it when he built Sun's Java -package, and PCRE copied it from there. It ultimately found its way into Perl -at release 5.10.</p> - -<p>PCRE has an optimization that automatically "possessifies" certain simple -pattern constructs. For example, the sequence A+B is treated as A++B because -there is no point in backtracking into a sequence of A's when B must follow.</p> + <p>An alternative approach using this "branch reset" feature is to use + duplicate named subpatterns, as described in the next section.</p> + </section> -<p>When a pattern contains an unlimited repeat inside a subpattern that can itself -be repeated an unlimited number of times, the use of an atomic group is the -only way to avoid some failing matches taking a very long time indeed. The -pattern</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect13"></marker> + <title>Named Subpatterns</title> + <p>Identifying capturing parentheses by number is simple, but it can be + hard to keep track of the numbers in complicated regular expressions. + Also, if an expression is modified, the numbers can change. To help with + this difficulty, PCRE supports the naming of subpatterns. This feature was + not added to Perl until release 5.10. Python had the feature earlier, and + PCRE introduced it at release 4.0, using the Python syntax. PCRE now + supports both the Perl and the Python syntax. Perl allows identically + numbered subpatterns to have different names, but PCRE does not.</p> + + <p>In PCRE, a subpattern can be named in one of three ways: + <c>(?<name>...)</c> or <c>(?'name'...)</c> as in Perl, or + <c>(?P<name>...)</c> as in Python. References to capturing + parentheses from other parts of the pattern, such as back references, + recursion, and conditions, can be made by name and by number.</p> + + <p>Names consist of up to 32 alphanumeric characters and underscores. Named + capturing parentheses are still allocated numbers as well as names, + exactly as if the names were not present. + The <c>capture</c> specification to <seealso marker="#run/3"> + <c>run/3</c></seealso> can use named values if they are present in the + regular expression.</p> -<quote><p> (\D+|<\d+>)*[!?]</p></quote> + <p>By default, a name must be unique within a pattern, but this constraint + can be relaxed by setting option <c>dupnames</c> at compile time. + (Duplicate names are also always permitted for subpatterns with the same + number, set up as described in the previous section.) Duplicate names can + be useful for patterns where only one instance of the named parentheses + can match. Suppose that you want to match the name of a weekday, either as + a 3-letter abbreviation or as the full name, and in both cases you want to + extract the abbreviation. The following pattern (ignoring the line + breaks) does the job:</p> + + <code type="none"> +(?<DN>Mon|Fri|Sun)(?:day)?| +(?<DN>Tue)(?:sday)?| +(?<DN>Wed)(?:nesday)?| +(?<DN>Thu)(?:rsday)?| +(?<DN>Sat)(?:urday)?</code> + + <p>There are five capturing substrings, but only one is ever set after a + match. (An alternative way of solving this problem is to use a "branch + reset" subpattern, as described in the previous section.)</p> + + <p>For capturing named subpatterns which names are not unique, the first + matching occurrence (counted from left to right in the subject) is + returned from <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>, if the name + is specified in the <c>values</c> part of the <c>capture</c> statement. + The <c>all_names</c> capturing value matches all the names in the same + way.</p> -<p>matches an unlimited number of substrings that either consist of non-digits, or -digits enclosed in <>, followed by either ! or ?. When it matches, it runs -quickly. However, if it is applied to</p> + <note> + <p>You cannot use different names to distinguish between two subpatterns + with the same number, as PCRE uses only the numbers when matching. For + this reason, an error is given at compile time if different names are + specified to subpatterns with the same number. However, you can specify + the same name to subpatterns with the same number, even when + <c>dupnames</c> is not set.</p> + </note> + </section> -<quote><p> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa</p></quote> + <section> + <marker id="sect14"></marker> + <title>Repetition</title> + <p>Repetition is specified by quantifiers, which can follow any of the + following items:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item>A literal data character</item> + <item>The dot metacharacter</item> + <item>The \C escape sequence</item> + <item>The \X escape sequence</item> + <item>The \R escape sequence</item> + <item>An escape such as \d or \pL that matches a single character</item> + <item>A character class</item> + <item>A back reference (see the next section)</item> + <item>A parenthesized subpattern (including assertions)</item> + <item>A subroutine call to a subpattern (recursive or otherwise)</item> + </list> + + <p>The general repetition quantifier specifies a minimum and maximum number + of permitted matches, by giving the two numbers in curly brackets + (braces), separated by a comma. The numbers must be < 65536, and the + first must be less than or equal to the second. For example, the following + matches "zz", "zzz", or "zzzz":</p> + + <code> +z{2,4}</code> + + <p>A closing brace on its own is not a special character. If the second + number is omitted, but the comma is present, there is no upper limit. If + the second number and the comma are both omitted, the quantifier specifies + an exact number of required matches. Thus, the following matches at least + three successive vowels, but can match many more:</p> + + <code> +[aeiou]{3,}</code> + + <p>The following matches exactly eight digits:</p> + + <code> +\d{8}</code> + + <p>An opening curly bracket that appears in a position where a quantifier is + not allowed, or one that does not match the syntax of a quantifier, is + taken as a literal character. For example, {,6} is not a quantifier, but a + literal string of four characters.</p> + + <p>In Unicode mode, quantifiers apply to characters rather than to + individual data units. Thus, for example, \x{100}{2} matches two + characters, each of which is represented by a 2-byte sequence in a + UTF-8 string. Similarly, \X{3} matches three Unicode extended grapheme + clusters, each of which can be many data units long (and they can be of + different lengths).</p> + + <p>The quantifier {0} is permitted, causing the expression to behave as if + the previous item and the quantifier were not present. This can be useful + for subpatterns that are referenced as subroutines from elsewhere in the + pattern (but see also section <seealso marker="#defining_subpatterns"> + Defining Subpatterns for Use by Reference Only</seealso>). Items other + than subpatterns that have a {0} quantifier are omitted from the compiled + pattern.</p> + + <p>For convenience, the three most common quantifiers have single-character + abbreviations:</p> + + <taglist> + <tag>*</tag><item>Equivalent to {0,}</item> + <tag>+</tag><item>Equivalent to {1,}</item> + <tag>?</tag><item>Equivalent to {0,1}</item> + </taglist> + + <p>Infinite loops can be constructed by following a subpattern that can + match no characters with a quantifier that has no upper limit, for + example:</p> + + <code> +(a?)*</code> + + <p>Earlier versions of Perl and PCRE used to give an error at compile time + for such patterns. However, as there are cases where this can be useful, + such patterns are now accepted. However, if any repetition of the + subpattern matches no characters, the loop is forcibly broken.</p> + + <p>By default, the quantifiers are "greedy", that is, they match as much as + possible (up to the maximum number of permitted times), without causing + the remaining pattern to fail. The classic example of where this gives + problems is in trying to match comments in C programs. These appear + between /* and */. Within the comment, individual * and / characters can + appear. An attempt to match C comments by applying the pattern</p> + + <code> +/\*.*\*/</code> + + <p>to the string</p> + + <code> +/* first comment */ not comment /* second comment */</code> + + <p>fails, as it matches the entire string owing to the greediness of the .* + item.</p> + + <p>However, if a quantifier is followed by a question mark, it ceases to be + greedy, and instead matches the minimum number of times possible, so the + following pattern does the right thing with the C comments:</p> + + <code> +/\*.*?\*/</code> + + <p>The meaning of the various quantifiers is not otherwise changed, only + the preferred number of matches. Do not confuse this use of question mark + with its use as a quantifier in its own right. As it has two uses, it can + sometimes appear doubled, as in</p> + + <code> +\d??\d</code> + + <p>which matches one digit by preference, but can match two if that is the + only way the remaining pattern matches.</p> -<p>it takes a long time before reporting failure. This is because the string can -be divided between the internal \D+ repeat and the external * repeat in a -large number of ways, and all have to be tried. (The example uses [!?] rather -than a single character at the end, because both PCRE and Perl have an -optimization that allows for fast failure when a single character is used. They -remember the last single character that is required for a match, and fail early -if it is not present in the string.) If the pattern is changed so that it uses -an atomic group, like this:</p> + <p>If option <c>ungreedy</c> is set (an option that is not available in + Perl), the quantifiers are not greedy by default, but individual ones can + be made greedy by following them with a question mark. That is, it inverts + the default behavior.</p> -<quote><p> ((?>\D+)|<\d+>)*[!?]</p></quote> + <p>When a parenthesized subpattern is quantified with a minimum repeat count + that is > 1 or with a limited maximum, more memory is required for the + compiled pattern, in proportion to the size of the minimum or maximum.</p> -<p>sequences of non-digits cannot be broken, and failure happens quickly.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect16"></marker><title>Back references</title> - -<p>Outside a character class, a backslash followed by a digit greater than 0 (and -possibly further digits) is a back reference to a capturing subpattern earlier -(that is, to its left) in the pattern, provided there have been that many -previous capturing left parentheses.</p> - -<p>However, if the decimal number following the backslash is less than 10, it is -always taken as a back reference, and causes an error only if there are not -that many capturing left parentheses in the entire pattern. In other words, the -parentheses that are referenced need not be to the left of the reference for -numbers less than 10. A "forward back reference" of this type can make sense -when a repetition is involved and the subpattern to the right has participated -in an earlier iteration.</p> - -<p>It is not possible to have a numerical "forward back reference" to -a subpattern whose number is 10 or more using this syntax because a -sequence such as \50 is interpreted as a character defined in -octal. See the subsection entitled "Non-printing characters" above for -further details of the handling of digits following a backslash. There -is no such problem when named parentheses are used. A back reference -to any subpattern is possible using named parentheses (see below).</p> - -<p>Another way of avoiding the ambiguity inherent in the use of digits following a -backslash is to use the \g escape sequence. This escape must be followed by an -unsigned number or a negative number, optionally enclosed in braces. These -examples are all identical:</p> - -<list> - <item>(ring), \1</item> - <item>(ring), \g1</item> - <item>(ring), \g{1}</item> -</list> - -<p>An unsigned number specifies an absolute reference without the -ambiguity that is present in the older syntax. It is also useful when -literal digits follow the reference. A negative number is a relative -reference. Consider this example:</p> - -<quote><p> (abc(def)ghi)\g{-1}</p></quote> - -<p>The sequence \g{-1} is a reference to the most recently started capturing -subpattern before \g, that is, is it equivalent to \2 in this example. -Similarly, \g{-2} would be equivalent to \1. The use of relative references -can be helpful in long patterns, and also in patterns that are created by -joining together fragments that contain references within themselves.</p> - -<p>A back reference matches whatever actually matched the capturing -subpattern in the current subject string, rather than anything -matching the subpattern itself (see "Subpatterns as subroutines" below -for a way of doing that). So the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (sens|respons)e and \1ibility</p></quote> - -<p>matches "sense and sensibility" and "response and responsibility", but not -"sense and responsibility". If caseful matching is in force at the time of the -back reference, the case of letters is relevant. For example,</p> - -<quote><p> ((?i)rah)\s+\1</p></quote> - -<p>matches "rah rah" and "RAH RAH", but not "RAH rah", even though the original -capturing subpattern is matched caselessly.</p> - -<p>There are several different ways of writing back references to named -subpatterns. The .NET syntax \k{name} and the Perl syntax \k<name> or -\k'name' are supported, as is the Python syntax (?P=name). Perl 5.10's unified -back reference syntax, in which \g can be used for both numeric and named -references, is also supported. We could rewrite the above example in any of -the following ways:</p> - -<list> - <item>(?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\k<p1></item> - <item>(?'p1'(?i)rah)\s+\k{p1}</item> - <item>(?P<p1>(?i)rah)\s+(?P=p1)</item> - <item>(?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\g{p1}</item> -</list> - -<p>A subpattern that is referenced by name may appear in the pattern before or -after the reference.</p> - -<p>There may be more than one back reference to the same subpattern. If a -subpattern has not actually been used in a particular match, any back -references to it always fail. For example, the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (a|(bc))\2</p></quote> - -<p>always fails if it starts to match "a" rather than "bc". Because -there may be many capturing parentheses in a pattern, all digits -following the backslash are taken as part of a potential back -reference number. If the pattern continues with a digit character, -some delimiter must be used to terminate the back reference. If the -<c>extended</c> option is set, this can be whitespace. Otherwise an -empty comment (see "Comments" below) can be used.</p> - -<p><em>Recursive back references</em></p> - -<p>A back reference that occurs inside the parentheses to which it refers fails -when the subpattern is first used, so, for example, (a\1) never matches. -However, such references can be useful inside repeated subpatterns. For -example, the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (a|b\1)+</p></quote> - -<p>matches any number of "a"s and also "aba", "ababbaa" etc. At each iteration of -the subpattern, the back reference matches the character string corresponding -to the previous iteration. In order for this to work, the pattern must be such -that the first iteration does not need to match the back reference. This can be -done using alternation, as in the example above, or by a quantifier with a -minimum of zero.</p> - -<p>Back references of this type cause the group that they reference to be treated -as an atomic group. -Once the whole group has been matched, a subsequent matching failure cannot -cause backtracking into the middle of the group.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect17"></marker><title>Assertions</title> - -<p>An assertion is a test on the characters following or preceding the current -matching point that does not actually consume any characters. The simple -assertions coded as \b, \B, \A, \G, \Z, \z, ^ and $ are described -above.</p> - - -<p>More complicated assertions are coded as subpatterns. There are two kinds: -those that look ahead of the current position in the subject string, and those -that look behind it. An assertion subpattern is matched in the normal way, -except that it does not cause the current matching position to be changed.</p> - -<p>Assertion subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns. If such an assertion -contains capturing subpatterns within it, these are counted for the purposes of -numbering the capturing subpatterns in the whole pattern. However, substring -capturing is carried out only for positive assertions. (Perl sometimes, but not -always, does do capturing in negative assertions.)</p> - -<p>For compatibility with Perl, assertion subpatterns may be repeated; though -it makes no sense to assert the same thing several times, the side effect of -capturing parentheses may occasionally be useful. In practice, there only three -cases:</p> - -<taglist> -<tag>(1)</tag> <item>If the quantifier is {0}, the assertion is never obeyed during matching. -However, it may contain internal capturing parenthesized groups that are called -from elsewhere via the subroutine mechanism.</item> -<tag>(2)</tag> <item>If quantifier is {0,n} where n is greater than zero, it is treated as if it -were {0,1}. At run time, the rest of the pattern match is tried with and -without the assertion, the order depending on the greediness of the quantifier.</item> -<tag>(3)</tag> <item>If the minimum repetition is greater than zero, the quantifier is ignored. -The assertion is obeyed just once when encountered during matching.</item> -</taglist> + <p>If a pattern starts with .* or .{0,} and option <c>dotall</c> (equivalent + to Perl option <c>/s</c>) is set, thus allowing the dot to match newlines, + the pattern is implicitly anchored, because whatever follows is tried + against every character position in the subject string. So, there is no + point in retrying the overall match at any position after the first. PCRE + normally treats such a pattern as if it was preceded by \A.</p> -<p><em>Lookahead assertions</em></p> + <p>In cases where it is known that the subject string contains no newlines, + it is worth setting <c>dotall</c> to obtain this optimization, or + alternatively using ^ to indicate anchoring explicitly.</p> -<p>Lookahead assertions start with (?= for positive assertions and (?! for -negative assertions. For example,</p> + <p>However, there are some cases where the optimization cannot be used. When + .* is inside capturing parentheses that are the subject of a back + reference elsewhere in the pattern, a match at the start can fail where a + later one succeeds. Consider, for example:</p> + + <code> +(.*)abc\1</code> -<quote><p> \w+(?=;)</p></quote> + <p>If the subject is "xyz123abc123", the match point is the fourth + character. Therefore, such a pattern is not implicitly anchored.</p> -<p>matches a word followed by a semicolon, but does not include the semicolon in -the match, and</p> + <p>Another case where implicit anchoring is not applied is when the leading + .* is inside an atomic group. Once again, a match at the start can fail + where a later one succeeds. Consider the following pattern:</p> -<quote><p> foo(?!bar)</p></quote> + <code> +(?>.*?a)b</code> -<p>matches any occurrence of "foo" that is not followed by "bar". Note that the -apparently similar pattern</p> + <p>It matches "ab" in the subject "aab". The use of the backtracking control + verbs (*PRUNE) and (*SKIP) also disable this optimization.</p> -<quote><p> (?!foo)bar</p></quote> + <p>When a capturing subpattern is repeated, the value captured is the + substring that matched the final iteration. For example, after</p> -<p>does not find an occurrence of "bar" that is preceded by something other than -"foo"; it finds any occurrence of "bar" whatsoever, because the assertion -(?!foo) is always true when the next three characters are "bar". A -lookbehind assertion is needed to achieve the other effect.</p> + <code> +(tweedle[dume]{3}\s*)+</code> -<p>If you want to force a matching failure at some point in a pattern, the most -convenient way to do it is with (?!) because an empty string always matches, so -an assertion that requires there not to be an empty string must always fail. -The backtracking control verb (*FAIL) or (*F) is a synonym for (?!).</p> + <p>has matched "tweedledum tweedledee", the value of the captured substring + is "tweedledee". However, if there are nested capturing subpatterns, the + corresponding captured values can have been set in previous iterations. + For example, after</p> + <code> +/(a|(b))+/</code> -<p><em>Lookbehind assertions</em></p> + <p>matches "aba", the value of the second captured substring is "b".</p> + </section> -<p>Lookbehind assertions start with (?<= for positive assertions and (?<! for -negative assertions. For example,</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect15"></marker> + <title>Atomic Grouping and Possessive Quantifiers</title> + <p>With both maximizing ("greedy") and minimizing ("ungreedy" or "lazy") + repetition, failure of what follows normally causes the repeated item to + be re-evaluated to see if a different number of repeats allows the + remaining pattern to match. Sometimes it is useful to prevent this, either + to change the nature of the match, or to cause it to fail earlier than it + otherwise might, when the author of the pattern knows that there is no + point in carrying on.</p> + + <p>Consider, for example, the pattern \d+foo when applied to the following + subject line:</p> + + <code> +123456bar</code> + + <p>After matching all six digits and then failing to match "foo", the normal + action of the matcher is to try again with only five digits matching item + \d+, and then with four, and so on, before ultimately failing. "Atomic + grouping" (a term taken from Jeffrey Friedl's book) provides the means for + specifying that once a subpattern has matched, it is not to be + re-evaluated in this way.</p> + + <p>If atomic grouping is used for the previous example, the matcher gives up + immediately on failing to match "foo" the first time. The notation is a + kind of special parenthesis, starting with <c>(?></c> as in the + following example:</p> + + <code> +(?>\d+)foo</code> + + <p>This kind of parenthesis "locks up" the part of the pattern it contains + once it has matched, and a failure further into the pattern is prevented + from backtracking into it. Backtracking past it to previous items, + however, works as normal.</p> + + <p>An alternative description is that a subpattern of this type matches the + string of characters that an identical standalone pattern would match, if + anchored at the current point in the subject string.</p> + + <p>Atomic grouping subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns. Simple cases + such as the above example can be thought of as a maximizing repeat that + must swallow everything it can. So, while both \d+ and \d+? are prepared + to adjust the number of digits they match to make the remaining pattern + match, <c>(?>\d+)</c> can only match an entire sequence of digits.</p> + + <p>Atomic groups in general can contain any complicated + subpatterns, and can be nested. However, when the subpattern for an atomic + group is just a single repeated item, as in the example above, a simpler + notation, called a "possessive quantifier" can be used. This consists of + an extra + character following a quantifier. Using this notation, the + previous example can be rewritten as</p> + + <code> +\d++foo</code> + + <p>Notice that a possessive quantifier can be used with an entire group, + for example:</p> + + <code> +(abc|xyz){2,3}+</code> + + <p>Possessive quantifiers are always greedy; the setting of option + <c>ungreedy</c> is ignored. They are a convenient notation for the simpler + forms of an atomic group. However, there is no difference in the meaning + of a possessive quantifier and the equivalent atomic group, but there can + be a performance difference; possessive quantifiers are probably slightly + faster.</p> + + <p>The possessive quantifier syntax is an extension to the Perl 5.8 syntax. + Jeffrey Friedl originated the idea (and the name) in the first edition of + his book. Mike McCloskey liked it, so implemented it when he built the + Sun Java package, and PCRE copied it from there. It ultimately found its + way into Perl at release 5.10.</p> + + <p>PCRE has an optimization that automatically "possessifies" certain simple + pattern constructs. For example, the sequence A+B is treated as A++B, as + there is no point in backtracking into a sequence of A:s when B must + follow.</p> + + <p>When a pattern contains an unlimited repeat inside a subpattern that can + itself be repeated an unlimited number of times, the use of an atomic + group is the only way to avoid some failing matches taking a long time. + The pattern</p> + + <code> +(\D+|<\d+>)*[!?]</code> + + <p>matches an unlimited number of substrings that either consist of + non-digits, or digits enclosed in <>, followed by ! or ?. When it + matches, it runs quickly. However, if it is applied to</p> + + <code> +aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa</code> + + <p>it takes a long time before reporting failure. This is because the string + can be divided between the internal \D+ repeat and the external * repeat + in many ways, and all must be tried. (The example uses [!?] rather than a + single character at the end, as both PCRE and Perl have an optimization + that allows for fast failure when a single character is used. They + remember the last single character that is required for a match, and fail + early if it is not present in the string.) If the pattern is changed so + that it uses an atomic group, like the following, sequences of non-digits + cannot be broken, and failure happens quickly:</p> + + <code> +((?>\D+)|<\d+>)*[!?]</code> + </section> -<quote><p> (?<!foo)bar</p></quote> + <section> + <marker id="sect16"></marker> + <title>Back References</title> + <p>Outside a character class, a backslash followed by a digit > 0 (and + possibly further digits) is a back reference to a capturing subpattern + earlier (that is, to its left) in the pattern, provided there have been + that many previous capturing left parentheses.</p> + + <p>However, if the decimal number following the backslash is < 10, it is + always taken as a back reference, and causes an error only if there are + not that many capturing left parentheses in the entire pattern. That is, + the parentheses that are referenced do need not be to the left of the + reference for numbers < 10. A "forward back reference" of this type can + make sense when a repetition is involved and the subpattern to the right + has participated in an earlier iteration.</p> + + <p>It is not possible to have a numerical "forward back reference" to a + subpattern whose number is 10 or more using this syntax, as a sequence + such as \50 is interpreted as a character defined in octal. For more + details of the handling of digits following a backslash, see section + <seealso marker="#non_printing_characters">Non-Printing + Characters</seealso> earlier. There is no such problem when named + parentheses are used. A back reference to any subpattern is possible + using named parentheses (see below).</p> + + <p>Another way to avoid the ambiguity inherent in the use of digits + following a backslash is to use the \g escape sequence. This escape must + be followed by an unsigned number or a negative number, optionally + enclosed in braces. The following examples are identical:</p> + + <code> +(ring), \1 +(ring), \g1 +(ring), \g{1}</code> + + <p>An unsigned number specifies an absolute reference without the ambiguity + that is present in the older syntax. It is also useful when literal digits + follow the reference. A negative number is a relative reference. Consider + the following example:</p> + + <code> +(abc(def)ghi)\g{-1}</code> + + <p>The sequence \g{-1} is a reference to the most recently started capturing + subpattern before \g, that is, it is equivalent to \2 in this example. + Similarly, \g{-2} would be equivalent to \1. The use of relative + references can be helpful in long patterns, and also in patterns that are + created by joining fragments containing references within themselves.</p> + + <p>A back reference matches whatever matched the capturing subpattern in the + current subject string, rather than anything matching the subpattern + itself (section <seealso marker="#sect21">Subpattern as + Subroutines</seealso> describes a way of doing that). So, the + following pattern matches "sense and sensibility" and "response and + responsibility", but not "sense and responsibility":</p> + + <code> +(sens|respons)e and \1ibility</code> + + <p>If caseful matching is in force at the time of the back reference, the + case of letters is relevant. For example, the following matches "rah rah" + and "RAH RAH", but not "RAH rah", although the original capturing + subpattern is matched caselessly:</p> + + <code> +((?i)rah)\s+\1</code> + + <p>There are many different ways of writing back references to named + subpatterns. The .NET syntax <c>\k{name}</c> and the Perl syntax + <c>\k<name></c> or <c>\k'name'</c> are supported, as is the Python + syntax <c>(?P=name)</c>. The unified back reference syntax in Perl 5.10, + in which \g can be used for both numeric and named references, is also + supported. The previous example can be rewritten in the following + ways:</p> + + <code> +(?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\k<p1> +(?'p1'(?i)rah)\s+\k{p1} +(?P<p1>(?i)rah)\s+(?P=p1) +(?<p1>(?i)rah)\s+\g{p1}</code> + + <p>A subpattern that is referenced by name can appear in the pattern before + or after the reference.</p> + + <p>There can be more than one back reference to the same subpattern. If a + subpattern has not been used in a particular match, any back references to + it always fails. For example, the following pattern always fails if it + starts to match "a" rather than "bc":</p> + + <code> +(a|(bc))\2</code> + + <p>As there can be many capturing parentheses in a pattern, all digits + following the backslash are taken as part of a potential back reference + number. If the pattern continues with a digit character, some delimiter + must be used to terminate the back reference. If option <c>extended</c> is + set, this can be whitespace. Otherwise an empty comment (see section + <seealso marker="#sect19">Comments</seealso>) can be used.</p> + + <p><em>Recursive Back References</em></p> + + <p>A back reference that occurs inside the parentheses to which it refers + fails when the subpattern is first used, so, for example, (a\1) never + matches. However, such references can be useful inside repeated + subpatterns. For example, the following pattern matches any number of + "a"s and also "aba", "ababbaa", and so on:</p> + + <code> +(a|b\1)+</code> + + <p>At each iteration of the subpattern, the back reference matches the + character string corresponding to the previous iteration. In order for + this to work, the pattern must be such that the first iteration does not + need to match the back reference. This can be done using alternation, as + in the example above, or by a quantifier with a minimum of zero.</p> + + <p>Back references of this type cause the group that they reference to be + treated as an atomic group. Once the whole group has been matched, a + subsequent matching failure cannot cause backtracking into the middle of + the group.</p> + </section> -<p>does find an occurrence of "bar" that is not preceded by "foo". The contents of -a lookbehind assertion are restricted such that all the strings it matches must -have a fixed length. However, if there are several top-level alternatives, they -do not all have to have the same fixed length. Thus</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect17"></marker> + <title>Assertions</title> + <p>An assertion is a test on the characters following or preceding the + current matching point that does not consume any characters. The simple + assertions coded as \b, \B, \A, \G, \Z, \z, ^, and $ are described in + the previous sections.</p> + + <p>More complicated assertions are coded as subpatterns. There are two + kinds: those that look ahead of the current position in the subject + string, and those that look behind it. An assertion subpattern is matched + in the normal way, except that it does not cause the current matching + position to be changed.</p> + + <p>Assertion subpatterns are not capturing subpatterns. If such an assertion + contains capturing subpatterns within it, these are counted for the + purposes of numbering the capturing subpatterns in the whole pattern. + However, substring capturing is done only for positive assertions. (Perl + sometimes, but not always, performs capturing in negative assertions.)</p> + + <p>For compatibility with Perl, assertion subpatterns can be repeated. + However, it makes no sense to assert the same thing many times, the side + effect of capturing parentheses can occasionally be useful. In practice, + there are only three cases:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item> + <p>If the quantifier is {0}, the assertion is never obeyed during + matching. However, it can contain internal capturing parenthesized + groups that are called from elsewhere through the subroutine + mechanism.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>If quantifier is {0,n}, where n > 0, it is treated as if it was + {0,1}. At runtime, the remaining pattern match is tried with and + without the assertion, the order depends on the greediness of the + quantifier.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>If the minimum repetition is > 0, the quantifier is ignored. The + assertion is obeyed only once when encountered during matching.</p> + </item> + </list> -<quote><p> (?<=bullock|donkey)</p></quote> + <p><em>Lookahead Assertions</em></p> -<p>is permitted, but</p> + <p>Lookahead assertions start with (?= for positive assertions and (?! for + negative assertions. For example, the following matches a word followed by + a semicolon, but does not include the semicolon in the match:</p> -<quote><p> (?<!dogs?|cats?)</p></quote> + <code> +\w+(?=;)</code> -<p>causes an error at compile time. Branches that match different length strings -are permitted only at the top level of a lookbehind assertion. This is an -extension compared with Perl, which requires all branches to -match the same length of string. An assertion such as</p> + <p>The following matches any occurrence of "foo" that is not followed by + "bar":</p> -<quote><p> (?<=ab(c|de))</p></quote> + <code> +foo(?!bar)</code> -<p>is not permitted, because its single top-level branch can match two different -lengths, but it is acceptable to PCRE if rewritten to use two top-level -branches:</p> + <p>Notice that the apparently similar pattern</p> -<quote><p> (?<=abc|abde)</p></quote> + <code> +(?!foo)bar</code> -<p>In some cases, the escape sequence \K (see above) can be -used instead of a lookbehind assertion to get round the fixed-length -restriction.</p> + <p>does not find an occurrence of "bar" that is preceded by something other + than "foo". It finds any occurrence of "bar" whatsoever, as the assertion + (?!foo) is always true when the next three characters are "bar". A + lookbehind assertion is needed to achieve the other effect.</p> -<p>The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, to -temporarily move the current position back by the fixed length and then try to -match. If there are insufficient characters before the current position, the -assertion fails.</p> + <p>If you want to force a matching failure at some point in a pattern, the + most convenient way to do it is with (?!), as an empty string always + matches. So, an assertion that requires there is not to be an empty + string must always fail. The backtracking control verb (*FAIL) or (*F) is + a synonym for (?!).</p> -<p>In a UTF mode, PCRE does not allow the \C escape (which matches a single data -unit even in a UTF mode) to appear in lookbehind assertions, because it makes -it impossible to calculate the length of the lookbehind. The \X and \R -escapes, which can match different numbers of data units, are also not -permitted.</p> -<p>"Subroutine" calls (see below) such as (?2) or (?&X) are permitted in lookbehinds, as long -as the subpattern matches a fixed-length string. Recursion, -however, is not supported.</p> + <p><em>Lookbehind Assertions</em></p> -<p>Possessive quantifiers can be used in conjunction with lookbehind assertions to -specify efficient matching of fixed-length strings at the end of subject -strings. Consider a simple pattern such as</p> + <p>Lookbehind assertions start with (?<= for positive assertions and + (?<! for negative assertions. For example, the following finds an + occurrence of "bar" that is not preceded by "foo":</p> -<quote><p> abcd$</p></quote> + <code> +(?<!foo)bar</code> -<p>when applied to a long string that does not match. Because matching proceeds -from left to right, PCRE will look for each "a" in the subject and then see if -what follows matches the rest of the pattern. If the pattern is specified as</p> + <p>The contents of a lookbehind assertion are restricted such that all the + strings it matches must have a fixed length. However, if there are many + top-level alternatives, they do not all have to have the same fixed + length. Thus, the following is permitted:</p> -<quote><p> ^.*abcd$</p></quote> + <code> +(?<=bullock|donkey)</code> -<p>the initial .* matches the entire string at first, but when this fails (because -there is no following "a"), it backtracks to match all but the last character, -then all but the last two characters, and so on. Once again the search for "a" -covers the entire string, from right to left, so we are no better off. However, -if the pattern is written as</p> + <p>The following causes an error at compile time:</p> -<quote><p> ^.*+(?<=abcd)</p></quote> + <code> +(?<!dogs?|cats?)</code> -<p>there can be no backtracking for the .*+ item; it can match only the entire -string. The subsequent lookbehind assertion does a single test on the last four -characters. If it fails, the match fails immediately. For long strings, this -approach makes a significant difference to the processing time.</p> + <p>Branches that match different length strings are permitted only at the + top-level of a lookbehind assertion. This is an extension compared with + Perl, which requires all branches to match the same length of string. An + assertion such as the following is not permitted, as its single top-level + branch can match two different lengths:</p> -<p><em>Using multiple assertions</em></p> + <code> +(?<=ab(c|de))</code> -<p>Several assertions (of any sort) may occur in succession. For example,</p> + <p>However, it is acceptable to PCRE if rewritten to use two top-level + branches:</p> -<quote><p> (?<=\d{3})(?<!999)foo</p></quote> + <code> +(?<=abc|abde)</code> -<p>matches "foo" preceded by three digits that are not "999". Notice -that each of the assertions is applied independently at the same point -in the subject string. First there is a check that the previous three -characters are all digits, and then there is a check that the same -three characters are not "999". This pattern does <em>not</em> match -"foo" preceded by six characters, the first of which are digits and -the last three of which are not "999". For example, it doesn't match -"123abcfoo". A pattern to do that is</p> + <p>Sometimes the escape sequence \K (see above) can be used instead of + a lookbehind assertion to get round the fixed-length restriction.</p> -<quote><p> (?<=\d{3}...)(?<!999)foo</p></quote> + <p>The implementation of lookbehind assertions is, for each alternative, to + move the current position back temporarily by the fixed length and then + try to match. If there are insufficient characters before the current + position, the assertion fails.</p> -<p>This time the first assertion looks at the preceding six -characters, checking that the first three are digits, and then the -second assertion checks that the preceding three characters are not -"999".</p> + <p>In a UTF mode, PCRE does not allow the \C escape (which matches a single + data unit even in a UTF mode) to appear in lookbehind assertions, as it + makes it impossible to calculate the length of the lookbehind. The \X and + \R escapes, which can match different numbers of data units, are not + permitted either.</p> -<p>Assertions can be nested in any combination. For example,</p> + <p>"Subroutine" calls (see below), such as (?2) or (?&X), are permitted + in lookbehinds, as long as the subpattern matches a fixed-length string. + Recursion, however, is not supported.</p> -<quote><p> (?<=(?<!foo)bar)baz</p></quote> + <p>Possessive quantifiers can be used with lookbehind + assertions to specify efficient matching of fixed-length strings at the + end of subject strings. Consider the following simple pattern when applied + to a long string that does not match:</p> -<p>matches an occurrence of "baz" that is preceded by "bar" which in -turn is not preceded by "foo", while</p> + <code> +abcd$</code> -<quote><p> (?<=\d{3}(?!999)...)foo</p></quote> + <p>As matching proceeds from left to right, PCRE looks for each "a" in the + subject and then sees if what follows matches the remaining pattern. If + the pattern is specified as</p> -<p>is another pattern that matches "foo" preceded by three digits and any three -characters that are not "999".</p> + <code> +^.*abcd$</code> -</section> + <p>the initial .* matches the entire string at first. However, when this + fails (as there is no following "a"), it backtracks to match all but the + last character, then all but the last two characters, and so on. Once + again the search for "a" covers the entire string, from right to left, so + we are no better off. However, if the pattern is written as</p> -<section><marker id="sect18"></marker><title>Conditional subpatterns</title> + <code> +^.*+(?<=abcd)</code> -<p>It is possible to cause the matching process to obey a subpattern -conditionally or to choose between two alternative subpatterns, depending on -the result of an assertion, or whether a specific capturing subpattern has -already been matched. The two possible forms of conditional subpattern are:</p> + <p>there can be no backtracking for the .*+ item; it can match only the + entire string. The subsequent lookbehind assertion does a single test on + the last four characters. If it fails, the match fails immediately. For + long strings, this approach makes a significant difference to the + processing time.</p> -<list> -<item>(?(condition)yes-pattern)</item> -<item>(?(condition)yes-pattern|no-pattern)</item> -</list> + <p><em>Using Multiple Assertions</em></p> -<p>If the condition is satisfied, the yes-pattern is used; otherwise the -no-pattern (if present) is used. If there are more than two alternatives in the -subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. Each of the two alternatives may -itself contain nested subpatterns of any form, including conditional -subpatterns; the restriction to two alternatives applies only at the level of -the condition. This pattern fragment is an example where the alternatives are -complex:</p> + <p>Many assertions (of any sort) can occur in succession. For example, the + following matches "foo" preceded by three digits that are not "999":</p> -<quote><p> (?(1) (A|B|C) | (D | (?(2)E|F) | E) )</p></quote> + <code> +(?<=\d{3})(?<!999)foo</code> -<p>There are four kinds of condition: references to subpatterns, references to -recursion, a pseudo-condition called DEFINE, and assertions.</p> + <p>Notice that each of the assertions is applied independently at the same + point in the subject string. First there is a check that the previous + three characters are all digits, and then there is a check that the same + three characters are not "999". This pattern does <em>not</em> match + "foo" preceded by six characters, the first of which are digits and the + last three of which are not "999". For example, it does not match + "123abcfoo". A pattern to do that is the following:</p> + <code> +(?<=\d{3}...)(?<!999)foo</code> -<p><em>Checking for a used subpattern by number</em></p> + <p>This time the first assertion looks at the preceding six characters, + checks that the first three are digits, and then the second assertion + checks that the preceding three characters are not "999".</p> -<p>If the text between the parentheses consists of a sequence of -digits, the condition is true if a capturing subpattern of that number has previously -matched. If there is more than one capturing subpattern with the same number -(see the earlier section about duplicate subpattern numbers), -the condition is true if any of them have matched. An alternative notation is -to precede the digits with a plus or minus sign. In this case, the subpattern -number is relative rather than absolute. The most recently opened parentheses -can be referenced by (?(-1), the next most recent by (?(-2), and so on. Inside -loops it can also make sense to refer to subsequent groups. The next -parentheses to be opened can be referenced as (?(+1), and so on. (The value -zero in any of these forms is not used; it provokes a compile-time error.)</p> + <p>Assertions can be nested in any combination. For example, the following + matches an occurrence of "baz" that is preceded by "bar", which in turn is + not preceded by "foo":</p> -<p>Consider the following pattern, which contains non-significant -whitespace to make it more readable (assume the <c>extended</c> -option) and to divide it into three parts for ease of discussion:</p> + <code> +(?<=(?<!foo)bar)baz</code> -<quote><p> ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(1) \) )</p></quote> + <p>The following pattern matches "foo" preceded by three digits and any + three characters that are not "999":</p> -<p>The first part matches an optional opening parenthesis, and if that -character is present, sets it as the first captured substring. The second part -matches one or more characters that are not parentheses. The third part is a -conditional subpattern that tests whether or not the first set of parentheses matched -or not. If they did, that is, if subject started with an opening parenthesis, -the condition is true, and so the yes-pattern is executed and a closing -parenthesis is required. Otherwise, since no-pattern is not present, the -subpattern matches nothing. In other words, this pattern matches a sequence of -non-parentheses, optionally enclosed in parentheses.</p> + <code> +(?<=\d{3}(?!999)...)foo</code> + </section> -<p>If you were embedding this pattern in a larger one, you could use a relative -reference:</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect18"></marker> + <title>Conditional Subpatterns</title> + <p>It is possible to cause the matching process to obey a subpattern + conditionally or to choose between two alternative subpatterns, depending + on the result of an assertion, or whether a specific capturing subpattern + has already been matched. The following are the two possible forms of + conditional subpattern:</p> + + <code> +(?(condition)yes-pattern) +(?(condition)yes-pattern|no-pattern)</code> + + <p>If the condition is satisfied, the yes-pattern is used, otherwise the + no-pattern (if present). If more than two alternatives exist in the + subpattern, a compile-time error occurs. Each of the two alternatives can + itself contain nested subpatterns of any form, including conditional + subpatterns; the restriction to two alternatives applies only at the level + of the condition. The following pattern fragment is an example where the + alternatives are complex:</p> + + <code> +(?(1) (A|B|C) | (D | (?(2)E|F) | E) )</code> + + <p>There are four kinds of condition: references to subpatterns, references + to recursion, a pseudo-condition called DEFINE, and assertions.</p> + + <p><em>Checking for a Used Subpattern By Number</em></p> + + <p>If the text between the parentheses consists of a sequence of digits, + the condition is true if a capturing subpattern of that number has + previously matched. If more than one capturing subpattern with the same + number exists (see section <seealso marker="#sect12"> + Duplicate Subpattern Numbers</seealso> earlier), the condition is true if + any of them have matched. An alternative notation is to precede the + digits with a plus or minus sign. In this case, the subpattern number is + relative rather than absolute. The most recently opened parentheses can be + referenced by (?(-1), the next most recent by (?(-2), and so on. Inside + loops, it can also make sense to refer to subsequent groups. The next + parentheses to be opened can be referenced as (?(+1), and so on. (The + value zero in any of these forms is not used; it provokes a compile-time + error.)</p> + + <p>Consider the following pattern, which contains non-significant whitespace + to make it more readable (assume option <c>extended</c>) and to divide it + into three parts for ease of discussion:</p> + + <code> +( \( )? [^()]+ (?(1) \) )</code> + + <p>The first part matches an optional opening parenthesis, and if that + character is present, sets it as the first captured substring. The second + part matches one or more characters that are not parentheses. The third + part is a conditional subpattern that tests whether the first set of + parentheses matched or not. If they did, that is, if subject started with + an opening parenthesis, the condition is true, and so the yes-pattern is + executed and a closing parenthesis is required. Otherwise, as no-pattern + is not present, the subpattern matches nothing. That is, this pattern + matches a sequence of non-parentheses, optionally enclosed in + parentheses.</p> + + <p>If this pattern is embedded in a larger one, a relative reference can be + used:</p> + + <code> +...other stuff... ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(-1) \) ) ...</code> + + <p>This makes the fragment independent of the parentheses in the larger + pattern.</p> + + <p><em>Checking for a Used Subpattern By Name</em></p> + + <p>Perl uses the syntax (?(<name>)...) or (?('name')...) to test for a + used subpattern by name. For compatibility with earlier versions of PCRE, + which had this facility before Perl, the syntax (?(name)...) is also + recognized. However, there is a possible ambiguity with this syntax, as + subpattern names can consist entirely of digits. PCRE looks first for a + named subpattern; if it cannot find one and the name consists entirely of + digits, PCRE looks for a subpattern of that number, which must be > 0. + Using subpattern names that consist entirely of digits is not + recommended.</p> + + <p>Rewriting the previous example to use a named subpattern gives:</p> + + <code> +(?<OPEN> \( )? [^()]+ (?(<OPEN>) \) )</code> + + <p>If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is + applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of + them has matched.</p> + + <p><em>Checking for Pattern Recursion</em></p> + + <p>If the condition is the string (R), and there is no subpattern with the + name R, the condition is true if a recursive call to the whole pattern or + any subpattern has been made. If digits or a name preceded by ampersand + follow the letter R, for example:</p> + + <code> +(?(R3)...) or (?(R&name)...)</code> + + <p>the condition is true if the most recent recursion is into a subpattern + whose number or name is given. This condition does not check the entire + recursion stack. If the name used in a condition of this kind is a + duplicate, the test is applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is + true if any one of them is the most recent recursion.</p> + + <p>At "top-level", all these recursion test conditions are false. The syntax + for recursive patterns is described below.</p> + + <p><em>Defining Subpatterns for Use By Reference Only</em></p> + <marker id="defining_subpatterns"/> + + <p>If the condition is the string (DEFINE), and there is no subpattern with + the name DEFINE, the condition is always false. In this case, there can be + only one alternative in the subpattern. It is always skipped if control + reaches this point in the pattern. The idea of DEFINE is that it can be + used to define "subroutines" that can be referenced from elsewhere. (The + use of subroutines is described below.) For example, a pattern to match + an IPv4 address, such as "192.168.23.245", can be written like this + (ignore whitespace and line breaks):</p> + + <code> +(?(DEFINE) (?<byte> 2[0-4]\d | 25[0-5] | 1\d\d | [1-9]?\d) ) \b (?&byte) (\.(?&byte)){3} \b</code> + + <p>The first part of the pattern is a DEFINE group inside which is a another + group named "byte" is defined. This matches an individual component of an + IPv4 address (a number < 256). When matching takes place, this part of + the pattern is skipped, as DEFINE acts like a false condition. The + remaining pattern uses references to the named group to match the four + dot-separated components of an IPv4 address, insisting on a word boundary + at each end.</p> + + <p><em>Assertion Conditions</em></p> + + <p>If the condition is not in any of the above formats, it must be an + assertion. This can be a positive or negative lookahead or lookbehind + assertion. Consider the following pattern, containing non-significant + whitespace, and with the two alternatives on the second line:</p> + + <code type="none"> +(?(?=[^a-z]*[a-z]) +\d{2}-[a-z]{3}-\d{2} | \d{2}-\d{2}-\d{2} )</code> + + <p>The condition is a positive lookahead assertion that matches an optional + sequence of non-letters followed by a letter. That is, it tests for the + presence of at least one letter in the subject. If a letter is found, the + subject is matched against the first alternative, otherwise it is matched + against the second. This pattern matches strings in one of the two forms + dd-aaa-dd or dd-dd-dd, where aaa are letters and dd are digits.</p> + </section> -<quote><p> ...other stuff... ( \( )? [^()]+ (?(-1) \) ) ...</p></quote> + <section> + <marker id="sect19"></marker> + <title>Comments</title> + <p>There are two ways to include comments in patterns that are processed by + PCRE. In both cases, the start of the comment must not be in a character + class, or in the middle of any other sequence of related characters such + as (?: or a subpattern name or number. The characters that make up a + comment play no part in the pattern matching.</p> + + <p>The sequence (?# marks the start of a comment that continues up to the + next closing parenthesis. Nested parentheses are not permitted. If option + PCRE_EXTENDED is set, an unescaped # character also introduces a comment, + which in this case continues to immediately after the next newline + character or character sequence in the pattern. Which characters are + interpreted as newlines is controlled by the options passed to a + compiling function or by a special sequence at the start of the pattern, + as described in section <seealso marker="#newline_conventions"> + Newline Conventions</seealso> earlier.</p> + + <p>Notice that the end of this type of comment is a literal newline sequence + in the pattern; escape sequences that happen to represent a newline do not + count. For example, consider the following pattern when <c>extended</c> is + set, and the default newline convention is in force:</p> + + <code> +abc #comment \n still comment</code> + + <p>On encountering character #, <c>pcre_compile()</c> skips along, looking + for a newline in the pattern. The sequence \n is still literal at this + stage, so it does not terminate the comment. Only a character with code + value 0x0a (the default newline) does so.</p> + </section> -<p>This makes the fragment independent of the parentheses in the larger pattern.</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect20"></marker> + <title>Recursive Patterns</title> + <p>Consider the problem of matching a string in parentheses, allowing for + unlimited nested parentheses. Without the use of recursion, the best that + can be done is to use a pattern that matches up to some fixed depth of + nesting. It is not possible to handle an arbitrary nesting depth.</p> + + <p>For some time, Perl has provided a facility that allows regular + expressions to recurse (among other things). It does this by + interpolating Perl code in the expression at runtime, and the code can + refer to the expression itself. A Perl pattern using code interpolation to + solve the parentheses problem can be created like this:</p> + + <code> +$re = qr{\( (?: (?>[^()]+) | (?p{$re}) )* \)}x;</code> + + <p>Item (?p{...}) interpolates Perl code at runtime, and in this case refers + recursively to the pattern in which it appears.</p> + + <p>Obviously, PCRE cannot support the interpolation of Perl code. Instead, + it supports special syntax for recursion of the entire pattern, and for + individual subpattern recursion. After its introduction in PCRE and + Python, this kind of recursion was later introduced into Perl at + release 5.10.</p> + + <p>A special item that consists of (? followed by a number > 0 and a + closing parenthesis is a recursive subroutine call of the subpattern of + the given number, if it occurs inside that subpattern. (If not, + it is a non-recursive subroutine call, which is described in the next + section.) The special item (?R) or (?0) is a recursive call of the entire + regular expression.</p> -<p><em>Checking for a used subpattern by name</em></p> + <p>This PCRE pattern solves the nested parentheses problem (assume that + option <c>extended</c> is set so that whitespace is ignored):</p> + + <code> +\( ( [^()]++ | (?R) )* \)</code> + + <p>First it matches an opening parenthesis. Then it matches any number of + substrings, which can either be a sequence of non-parentheses or a + recursive match of the pattern itself (that is, a correctly parenthesized + substring). Finally there is a closing parenthesis. Notice the use of a + possessive quantifier to avoid backtracking into sequences of + non-parentheses.</p> + + <p>If this was part of a larger pattern, you would not want to recurse the + entire pattern, so instead you can use:</p> + + <code> +( \( ( [^()]++ | (?1) )* \) )</code> + + <p>The pattern is here within parentheses so that the recursion refers to + them instead of the whole pattern.</p> + + <p>In a larger pattern, keeping track of parenthesis numbers can be tricky. + This is made easier by the use of relative references. Instead of (?1) in + the pattern above, you can write (?-2) to refer to the second most + recently opened parentheses preceding the recursion. That is, a negative + number counts capturing parentheses leftwards from the point at which it + is encountered.</p> + + <p>It is also possible to refer to later opened parentheses, by + writing references such as (?+2). However, these cannot be recursive, as + the reference is not inside the parentheses that are referenced. They are + always non-recursive subroutine calls, as described in the next + section.</p> + + <p>An alternative approach is to use named parentheses instead. The Perl + syntax for this is (?&name). The earlier PCRE syntax (?P>name) is + also supported. We can rewrite the above example as follows:</p> + + <code> +(?<pn> \( ( [^()]++ | (?&pn) )* \) )</code> + + <p>If there is more than one subpattern with the same name, the earliest + one is used.</p> + + <p>This particular example pattern that we have studied contains nested + unlimited repeats, and so the use of a possessive quantifier for matching + strings of non-parentheses is important when applying the pattern to + strings that do not match. For example, when this pattern is applied + to</p> + + <code> +(aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa()</code> + + <p>it gives "no match" quickly. However, if a possessive quantifier is not + used, the match runs for a long time, as there are so many different + ways the + and * repeats can carve up the subject, and all must be tested + before failure can be reported.</p> + + <p>At the end of a match, the values of capturing parentheses are those from + the outermost level. If the pattern above is matched against</p> + + <code> +(ab(cd)ef)</code> + + <p>the value for the inner capturing parentheses (numbered 2) is "ef", + which is the last value taken on at the top-level. If a capturing + subpattern is not matched at the top level, its final captured value is + unset, even if it was (temporarily) set at a deeper level during the + matching process.</p> + + <p>Do not confuse item (?R) with condition (R), which tests for recursion. + Consider the following pattern, which matches text in angle brackets, + allowing for arbitrary nesting. Only digits are allowed in nested brackets + (that is, when recursing), while any characters are permitted at the + outer level.</p> + + <code> +< (?: (?(R) \d++ | [^<>]*+) | (?R)) * ></code> + + <p>Here (?(R) is the start of a conditional subpattern, with two different + alternatives for the recursive and non-recursive cases. Item (?R) is the + actual recursive call.</p> + + <p><em>Differences in Recursion Processing between PCRE and Perl</em></p> + + <p>Recursion processing in PCRE differs from Perl in two important ways. In + PCRE (like Python, but unlike Perl), a recursive subpattern call is always + treated as an atomic group. That is, once it has matched some of the + subject string, it is never re-entered, even if it contains untried + alternatives and there is a subsequent matching failure. This can be + illustrated by the following pattern, which means to match a palindromic + string containing an odd number of characters (for example, "a", "aba", + "abcba", "abcdcba"):</p> + + <code> +^(.|(.)(?1)\2)$</code> + + <p>The idea is that it either matches a single character, or two identical + characters surrounding a subpalindrome. In Perl, this pattern works; in + PCRE it does not work if the pattern is longer than three characters. + Consider the subject string "abcba".</p> + + <p>At the top level, the first character is matched, but as it is not at + the end of the string, the first alternative fails, the second + alternative is taken, and the recursion kicks in. The recursive call to + subpattern 1 successfully matches the next character ("b"). (Notice that + the beginning and end of line tests are not part of the recursion.)</p> + + <p>Back at the top level, the next character ("c") is compared with what + subpattern 2 matched, which was "a". This fails. As the recursion is + treated as an atomic group, there are now no backtracking points, and so + the entire match fails. (Perl can now re-enter the recursion + and try the second alternative.) However, if the pattern is written with + the alternatives in the other order, things are different:</p> + + <code> +^((.)(?1)\2|.)$</code> + + <p>This time, the recursing alternative is tried first, and continues to + recurse until it runs out of characters, at which point the recursion + fails. But this time we have another alternative to try at the higher + level. That is the significant difference: in the previous case the + remaining alternative is at a deeper recursion level, which PCRE cannot + use.</p> + + <p>To change the pattern so that it matches all palindromic strings, not + only those with an odd number of characters, it is tempting to change the + pattern to this:</p> + + <code> +^((.)(?1)\2|.?)$</code> + + <p>Again, this works in Perl, but not in PCRE, and for the same reason. When + a deeper recursion has matched a single character, it cannot be entered + again to match an empty string. The solution is to separate the two cases, + and write out the odd and even cases as alternatives at the higher + level:</p> + + <code> +^(?:((.)(?1)\2|)|((.)(?3)\4|.))</code> + + <p>If you want to match typical palindromic phrases, the pattern must ignore + all non-word characters, which can be done as follows:</p> + + <code> +^\W*+(?:((.)\W*+(?1)\W*+\2|)|((.)\W*+(?3)\W*+\4|\W*+.\W*+))\W*+$</code> + + <p>If run with option <c>caseless</c>, this pattern matches phrases such as + "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama!" and it works well in both PCRE and Perl. + Notice the use of the possessive quantifier *+ to avoid backtracking into + sequences of non-word characters. Without this, PCRE takes much longer + (10 times or more) to match typical phrases, and Perl takes so long that + you think it has gone into a loop.</p> -<p>Perl uses the syntax (?(<name>)...) or (?('name')...) to test -for a used subpattern by name. For compatibility with earlier versions -of PCRE, which had this facility before Perl, the syntax (?(name)...) -is also recognized. However, there is a possible ambiguity with this -syntax, because subpattern names may consist entirely of digits. PCRE -looks first for a named subpattern; if it cannot find one and the name -consists entirely of digits, PCRE looks for a subpattern of that -number, which must be greater than zero. Using subpattern names that -consist entirely of digits is not recommended.</p> + <note> + <p>The palindrome-matching patterns above work only if the subject string + does not start with a palindrome that is shorter than the entire string. + For example, although "abcba" is correctly matched, if the subject is + "ababa", PCRE finds palindrome "aba" at the start, and then fails at top + level, as the end of the string does not follow. Once again, it cannot + jump back into the recursion to try other alternatives, so the entire + match fails.</p> + </note> -<p>Rewriting the above example to use a named subpattern gives this:</p> + <p>The second way in which PCRE and Perl differ in their recursion + processing is in the handling of captured values. In Perl, when a + subpattern is called recursively or as a subpattern (see the next + section), it has no access to any values that were captured outside the + recursion. In PCRE these values can be referenced. Consider the following + pattern:</p> + + <code> +^(.)(\1|a(?2))</code> + + <p>In PCRE, it matches "bab". The first capturing parentheses match "b", + then in the second group, when the back reference \1 fails to match "b", + the second alternative matches "a", and then recurses. In the recursion, + \1 does now match "b" and so the whole match succeeds. In Perl, the + pattern fails to match because inside the recursive call \1 cannot access + the externally set value.</p> + </section> -<quote><p> (?<OPEN> \( )? [^()]+ (?(<OPEN>) \) )</p></quote> + <section> + <marker id="sect21"></marker> + <title>Subpatterns as Subroutines</title> + <p>If the syntax for a recursive subpattern call (either by number or by + name) is used outside the parentheses to which it refers, it operates + like a subroutine in a programming language. The called subpattern can be + defined before or after the reference. A numbered reference can be + absolute or relative, as in the following examples:</p> + + <code> +(...(absolute)...)...(?2)... +(...(relative)...)...(?-1)... +(...(?+1)...(relative)...</code> + + <p>An earlier example pointed out that the following pattern matches "sense + and sensibility" and "response and responsibility", but not "sense and + responsibility":</p> + + <code> +(sens|respons)e and \1ibility</code> + + <p>If instead the following pattern is used, it matches "sense and + responsibility" and the other two strings:</p> + + <code> +(sens|respons)e and (?1)ibility</code> + + <p>Another example is provided in the discussion of DEFINE earlier.</p> + + <p>All subroutine calls, recursive or not, are always treated as atomic + groups. That is, once a subroutine has matched some of the subject string, + it is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and there + is a subsequent matching failure. Any capturing parentheses that are set + during the subroutine call revert to their previous values afterwards.</p> + + <p>Processing options such as case-independence are fixed when a subpattern + is defined, so if it is used as a subroutine, such options cannot be + changed for different calls. For example, the following pattern matches + "abcabc" but not "abcABC", as the change of processing option does not + affect the called subpattern:</p> + + <code> +(abc)(?i:(?-1))</code> + </section> -<p>If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is -applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them has -matched.</p> + <section> + <marker id="sect22"></marker> + <title>Oniguruma Subroutine Syntax</title> + <p>For compatibility with Oniguruma, the non-Perl syntax \g followed by a + name or a number enclosed either in angle brackets or single quotes, is + alternative syntax for referencing a subpattern as a subroutine, possibly + recursively. Here follows two of the examples used above, rewritten using + this syntax:</p> + + <code> +(?<pn> \( ( (?>[^()]+) | \g<pn> )* \) ) +(sens|respons)e and \g'1'ibility</code> + + <p>PCRE supports an extension to Oniguruma: if a number is preceded by a + plus or minus sign, it is taken as a relative reference, for example:</p> + + <code> +(abc)(?i:\g<-1>)</code> + + <p>Notice that \g{...} (Perl syntax) and \g<...> (Oniguruma syntax) + are <em>not</em> synonymous. The former is a back reference; the latter + is a subroutine call.</p> + </section> -<p><em>Checking for pattern recursion</em></p> + <section> + <marker id="sect23"></marker> + <title>Backtracking Control</title> + <p>Perl 5.10 introduced some "Special Backtracking Control Verbs", + which are still described in the Perl documentation as "experimental and + subject to change or removal in a future version of Perl". It goes on to + say: "Their usage in production code should be noted to avoid problems + during upgrades." The same remarks apply to the PCRE features described + in this section.</p> + + <p>The new verbs make use of what was previously invalid syntax: an opening + parenthesis followed by an asterisk. They are generally of the form + (*VERB) or (*VERB:NAME). Some can take either form, possibly behaving + differently depending on whether a name is present. A name is any sequence + of characters that does not include a closing parenthesis. The maximum + name length is 255 in the 8-bit library and 65535 in the 16-bit and 32-bit + libraries. If the name is empty, that is, if the closing parenthesis + immediately follows the colon, the effect is as if the colon was not + there. Any number of these verbs can occur in a pattern.</p> + + <p>The behavior of these verbs in repeated groups, assertions, and in + subpatterns called as subroutines (whether or not recursively) is + described below.</p> + + <p><em>Optimizations That Affect Backtracking Verbs</em></p> + + <p>PCRE contains some optimizations that are used to speed up matching by + running some checks at the start of each match attempt. For example, it + can know the minimum length of matching subject, or that a particular + character must be present. When one of these optimizations bypasses the + running of a match, any included backtracking verbs are not processed. + processed. You can suppress the start-of-match optimizations by setting + option <c>no_start_optimize</c> when calling + <seealso marker="#compile/2"><c>compile/2</c></seealso> or + <seealso marker="#run/3"><c>run/3</c></seealso>, or by starting the + pattern with (*NO_START_OPT).</p> + + <p>Experiments with Perl suggest that it too has similar optimizations, + sometimes leading to anomalous results.</p> + + <p><em>Verbs That Act Immediately</em></p> + + <p>The following verbs act as soon as they are encountered. They must not + be followed by a name.</p> + + <code> +(*ACCEPT)</code> + + <p>This verb causes the match to end successfully, skipping the remainder of + the pattern. However, when it is inside a subpattern that is called as a + subroutine, only that subpattern is ended successfully. Matching then + continues at the outer level. If (*ACCEPT) is triggered in a positive + assertion, the assertion succeeds; in a negative assertion, the assertion + fails.</p> + + <p>If (*ACCEPT) is inside capturing parentheses, the data so far is + captured. For example, the following matches "AB", "AAD", or "ACD". When + it matches "AB", "B" is captured by the outer parentheses.</p> + + <code> +A((?:A|B(*ACCEPT)|C)D)</code> + + <p>The following verb causes a matching failure, forcing backtracking to + occur. It is equivalent to (?!) but easier to read.</p> + + <code> +(*FAIL) or (*F)</code> + + <p>The Perl documentation states that it is probably useful only when + combined with (?{}) or (??{}). Those are Perl features that + are not present in PCRE.</p> + + <p>A match with the string "aaaa" always fails, but the callout is taken + before each backtrack occurs (in this example, 10 times).</p> + + <p><em>Recording Which Path Was Taken</em></p> + + <p>The main purpose of this verb is to track how a match was arrived at, + although it also has a secondary use in with advancing the match + starting point (see (*SKIP) below).</p> -<p>If the condition is the string (R), and there is no subpattern with -the name R, the condition is true if a recursive call to the whole -pattern or any subpattern has been made. If digits or a name preceded -by ampersand follow the letter R, for example:</p> + <note> + <p>In Erlang, there is no interface to retrieve a mark with + <seealso marker="#run/2"><c>run/2,3</c></seealso>, so only the secondary + purpose is relevant to the Erlang programmer.</p> -<quote><p> (?(R3)...) or (?(R&name)...)</p></quote> + <p>The rest of this section is therefore deliberately not adapted for + reading by the Erlang programmer, but the examples can help in + understanding NAMES as they can be used by (*SKIP).</p> + </note> -<p>the condition is true if the most recent recursion is into a -subpattern whose number or name is given. This condition does not -check the entire recursion stack. If the name used in a condition of this kind is a duplicate, the test is -applied to all subpatterns of the same name, and is true if any one of them is -the most recent recursion.</p> + <code> +(*MARK:NAME) or (*:NAME)</code> -<p>At "top level", all these recursion test conditions are false. The syntax for recursive -patterns is described below.</p> - -<p><em>Defining subpatterns for use by reference only</em></p> - -<p>If the condition is the string (DEFINE), and there is no subpattern with the -name DEFINE, the condition is always false. In this case, there may be only one -alternative in the subpattern. It is always skipped if control reaches this -point in the pattern; the idea of DEFINE is that it can be used to define -"subroutines" that can be referenced from elsewhere. (The use of subroutines -is described below.) For example, a pattern to match an IPv4 address such as -"192.168.23.245" could be -written like this (ignore whitespace and line breaks):</p> + <p>A name is always required with this verb. There can be as many instances + of (*MARK) as you like in a pattern, and their names do not have to be + unique.</p> -<quote><p> (?(DEFINE) (?<byte> 2[0-4]\d | 25[0-5] | 1\d\d | [1-9]?\d) ) - \b (?&byte) (\.(?&byte)){3} \b</p></quote> - -<p>The first part of the pattern is a DEFINE group inside which a -another group named "byte" is defined. This matches an individual -component of an IPv4 address (a number less than 256). When matching -takes place, this part of the pattern is skipped because DEFINE acts -like a false condition. The rest of the pattern uses references to the -named group to match the four dot-separated components of an IPv4 -address, insisting on a word boundary at each end.</p> - -<p><em>Assertion conditions</em></p> + <p>When a match succeeds, the name of the last encountered (*MARK:NAME), + (*PRUNE:NAME), or (*THEN:NAME) on the matching path is passed back to the + caller as described in section "Extra data for <c>pcre_exec()</c>" in the + <c>pcreapi</c> documentation. In the following example of <c>pcretest</c> + output, the /K modifier requests the retrieval and outputting of (*MARK) + data:</p> -<p>If the condition is not in any of the above formats, it must be an -assertion. This may be a positive or negative lookahead or lookbehind -assertion. Consider this pattern, again containing non-significant -whitespace, and with the two alternatives on the second line:</p> +<code> + re> /X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K +data> XY + 0: XY +MK: A +XZ + 0: XZ +MK: B</code> + + <p>The (*MARK) name is tagged with "MK:" in this output, and in this example + it indicates which of the two alternatives matched. This is a more + efficient way of obtaining this information than putting each alternative + in its own capturing parentheses.</p> + + <p>If a verb with a name is encountered in a positive assertion that is + true, the name is recorded and passed back if it is the last encountered. + This does not occur for negative assertions or failing positive + assertions.</p> + + <p>After a partial match or a failed match, the last encountered name in the + entire match process is returned, for example:</p> + + <code> + re> /X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K +data> XP +No match, mark = B</code> + + <p>Notice that in this unanchored example, the mark is retained from the + match attempt that started at letter "X" in the subject. Subsequent match + attempts starting at "P" and then with an empty string do not get as far + as the (*MARK) item, nevertheless do not reset it.</p> + + <p><em>Verbs That Act after Backtracking</em></p> + + <p>The following verbs do nothing when they are encountered. Matching + continues with what follows, but if there is no subsequent match, causing + a backtrack to the verb, a failure is forced. That is, backtracking cannot + pass to the left of the verb. However, when one of these verbs appears + inside an atomic group or an assertion that is true, its effect is + confined to that group, as once the group has been matched, there is never + any backtracking into it. In this situation, backtracking can "jump back" + to the left of the entire atomic group or assertion. (Remember also, as + stated above, that this localization also applies in subroutine + calls.)</p> + + <p>These verbs differ in exactly what kind of failure occurs when + backtracking reaches them. The behavior described below is what occurs + when the verb is not in a subroutine or an assertion. Subsequent sections + cover these special cases.</p> + + <p>The following verb, which must not be followed by a name, causes the + whole match to fail outright if there is a later matching failure that + causes backtracking to reach it. Even if the pattern is unanchored, no + further attempts to find a match by advancing the starting point take + place.</p> + + <code> +(*COMMIT)</code> + + <p>If (*COMMIT) is the only backtracking verb that is encountered, once it + has been passed, <seealso marker="#run/2"><c>run/2,3</c></seealso> is + committed to find a match at the current starting point, or not at all, + for example:</p> + + <code> +a+(*COMMIT)b</code> + + <p>This matches "xxaab" but not "aacaab". It can be thought of as a kind of + dynamic anchor, or "I've started, so I must finish". The name of the most + recently passed (*MARK) in the path is passed back when (*COMMIT) forces + a match failure.</p> + + <p>If more than one backtracking verb exists in a pattern, a different one + that follows (*COMMIT) can be triggered first, so merely passing (*COMMIT) + during a match does not always guarantee that a match must be at this + starting point.</p> + + <p>Notice that (*COMMIT) at the start of a pattern is not the same as an + anchor, unless the PCRE start-of-match optimizations are turned off, as + shown in the following example:</p> <code type="none"> - (?(?=[^a-z]*[a-z]) - \d{2}-[a-z]{3}-\d{2} | \d{2}-\d{2}-\d{2} )</code> - -<p>The condition is a positive lookahead assertion that matches an optional -sequence of non-letters followed by a letter. In other words, it tests for the -presence of at least one letter in the subject. If a letter is found, the -subject is matched against the first alternative; otherwise it is matched -against the second. This pattern matches strings in one of the two forms -dd-aaa-dd or dd-dd-dd, where aaa are letters and dd are digits.</p> - - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect19"></marker><title>Comments</title> - -<p>There are two ways of including comments in patterns that are processed by -PCRE. In both cases, the start of the comment must not be in a character class, -nor in the middle of any other sequence of related characters such as (?: or a -subpattern name or number. The characters that make up a comment play no part -in the pattern matching.</p> - -<p>The sequence (?# marks the start of a comment that continues up to the next -closing parenthesis. Nested parentheses are not permitted. If the PCRE_EXTENDED -option is set, an unescaped # character also introduces a comment, which in -this case continues to immediately after the next newline character or -character sequence in the pattern. Which characters are interpreted as newlines -is controlled by the options passed to a compiling function or by a special -sequence at the start of the pattern, as described in the section entitled -"Newline conventions" -above. Note that the end of this type of comment is a literal newline sequence -in the pattern; escape sequences that happen to represent a newline do not -count. For example, consider this pattern when <c>extended</c> is set, and the -default newline convention is in force:</p> - -<quote><p> abc #comment \n still comment</p></quote> - -<p>On encountering the # character, <em>pcre_compile()</em> skips along, looking for -a newline in the pattern. The sequence \n is still literal at this stage, so -it does not terminate the comment. Only an actual character with the code value -0x0a (the default newline) does so.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect20"></marker><title>Recursive patterns</title> +1> re:run("xyzabc","(*COMMIT)abc",[{capture,all,list}]). +{match,["abc"]} +2> re:run("xyzabc","(*COMMIT)abc",[{capture,all,list},no_start_optimize]). +nomatch</code> + + <p>PCRE knows that any match must start with "a", so the optimization skips + along the subject to "a" before running the first match attempt, which + succeeds. When the optimization is disabled by option + <c>no_start_optimize</c>, the match starts at "x" and so the (*COMMIT) + causes it to fail without trying any other starting points.</p> + + <p>The following verb causes the match to fail at the current starting + position in the subject if there is a later matching failure that causes + backtracking to reach it:</p> + + <code> +(*PRUNE) or (*PRUNE:NAME)</code> + + <p>If the pattern is unanchored, the normal "bumpalong" advance to the next + starting character then occurs. Backtracking can occur as usual to the + left of (*PRUNE), before it is reached, or when matching to the right of + (*PRUNE), but if there is no match to the right, backtracking cannot + cross (*PRUNE). In simple cases, the use of (*PRUNE) is just an + alternative to an atomic group or possessive quantifier, but there are + some uses of (*PRUNE) that cannot be expressed in any other way. In an + anchored pattern, (*PRUNE) has the same effect as (*COMMIT).</p> + + <p>The behavior of (*PRUNE:NAME) is the not the same as + (*MARK:NAME)(*PRUNE). It is like (*MARK:NAME) in that the name is + remembered for passing back to the caller. However, (*SKIP:NAME) searches + only for names set with (*MARK).</p> -<p>Consider the problem of matching a string in parentheses, allowing for -unlimited nested parentheses. Without the use of recursion, the best that can -be done is to use a pattern that matches up to some fixed depth of nesting. It -is not possible to handle an arbitrary nesting depth.</p> - -<p>For some time, Perl has provided a facility that allows regular -expressions to recurse (amongst other things). It does this by -interpolating Perl code in the expression at run time, and the code -can refer to the expression itself. A Perl pattern using code -interpolation to solve the parentheses problem can be created like -this:</p> - -<quote><p> $re = qr{\( (?: (?>[^()]+) | (?p{$re}) )* \)}x;</p></quote> - -<p>The (?p{...}) item interpolates Perl code at run time, and in this -case refers recursively to the pattern in which it appears.</p> - -<p>Obviously, PCRE cannot support the interpolation of Perl code. Instead, it -supports special syntax for recursion of the entire pattern, and also for -individual subpattern recursion. After its introduction in PCRE and Python, -this kind of recursion was subsequently introduced into Perl at release 5.10.</p> - -<p>A special item that consists of (? followed by a number greater -than zero and a closing parenthesis is a recursive subroutine call of the -subpattern of the given number, provided that it occurs inside that -subpattern. (If not, it is a non-recursive subroutine call, which is described in -the next section.) The special item (?R) or (?0) is a recursive call -of the entire regular expression.</p> - -<p>This PCRE pattern solves the nested parentheses problem (assume the -<c>extended</c> option is set so that whitespace is ignored):</p> - -<quote><p> \( ( [^()]++ | (?R) )* \)</p></quote> - -<p>First it matches an opening parenthesis. Then it matches any number -of substrings which can either be a sequence of non-parentheses, or a -recursive match of the pattern itself (that is, a correctly -parenthesized substring). Finally there is a closing -parenthesis. Note the use of a possessive quantifier to avoid -backtracking into sequences of non-parentheses.</p> - -<p>If this were part of a larger pattern, you would not want to -recurse the entire pattern, so instead you could use this:</p> - -<quote><p> ( \( ( [^()]++ | (?1) )* \) )</p></quote> - -<p>We have put the pattern into parentheses, and caused the recursion -to refer to them instead of the whole pattern.</p> - -<p>In a larger pattern, keeping track of parenthesis numbers can be tricky. This -is made easier by the use of relative references. Instead of (?1) in the -pattern above you can write (?-2) to refer to the second most recently opened -parentheses preceding the recursion. In other words, a negative number counts -capturing parentheses leftwards from the point at which it is encountered.</p> - -<p>It is also possible to refer to subsequently opened parentheses, by -writing references such as (?+2). However, these cannot be recursive -because the reference is not inside the parentheses that are -referenced. They are always non-recursive subroutine calls, as described in the -next section.</p> - -<p>An alternative approach is to use named parentheses instead. The -Perl syntax for this is (?&name); PCRE's earlier syntax -(?P>name) is also supported. We could rewrite the above example as -follows:</p> - -<quote><p> (?<pn> \( ( [^()]++ | (?&pn) )* \) )</p></quote> - -<p>If there is more than one subpattern with the same name, the earliest one is -used.</p> - -<p>This particular example pattern that we have been looking at contains nested -unlimited repeats, and so the use of a possessive quantifier for matching -strings of non-parentheses is important when applying the pattern to strings -that do not match. For example, when this pattern is applied to</p> - -<quote><p> (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa()</p></quote> - -<p>it yields "no match" quickly. However, if a possessive quantifier is not used, -the match runs for a very long time indeed because there are so many different -ways the + and * repeats can carve up the subject, and all have to be tested -before failure can be reported.</p> - -<p>At the end of a match, the values of capturing parentheses are those from -the outermost level. If the pattern above is matched against</p> - -<quote><p> (ab(cd)ef)</p></quote> - -<p>the value for the inner capturing parentheses (numbered 2) is "ef", which is -the last value taken on at the top level. If a capturing subpattern is not -matched at the top level, its final captured value is unset, even if it was -(temporarily) set at a deeper level during the matching process.</p> - -<p>Do not confuse the (?R) item with the condition (R), which tests for recursion. -Consider this pattern, which matches text in angle brackets, allowing for -arbitrary nesting. Only digits are allowed in nested brackets (that is, when -recursing), whereas any characters are permitted at the outer level.</p> - -<quote><p> < (?: (?(R) \d++ | [^<>]*+) | (?R)) * ></p></quote> - -<p>In this pattern, (?(R) is the start of a conditional subpattern, with two -different alternatives for the recursive and non-recursive cases. The (?R) item -is the actual recursive call.</p> - -<p><em>Differences in recursion processing between PCRE and Perl</em></p> - -<p>Recursion processing in PCRE differs from Perl in two important ways. In PCRE -(like Python, but unlike Perl), a recursive subpattern call is always treated -as an atomic group. That is, once it has matched some of the subject string, it -is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and there is a -subsequent matching failure. This can be illustrated by the following pattern, -which purports to match a palindromic string that contains an odd number of -characters (for example, "a", "aba", "abcba", "abcdcba"):</p> - -<quote><p> ^(.|(.)(?1)\2)$</p></quote> - -<p>The idea is that it either matches a single character, or two identical -characters surrounding a sub-palindrome. In Perl, this pattern works; in PCRE -it does not if the pattern is longer than three characters. Consider the -subject string "abcba":</p> - -<p>At the top level, the first character is matched, but as it is not at the end -of the string, the first alternative fails; the second alternative is taken -and the recursion kicks in. The recursive call to subpattern 1 successfully -matches the next character ("b"). (Note that the beginning and end of line -tests are not part of the recursion).</p> - -<p>Back at the top level, the next character ("c") is compared with what -subpattern 2 matched, which was "a". This fails. Because the recursion is -treated as an atomic group, there are now no backtracking points, and so the -entire match fails. (Perl is able, at this point, to re-enter the recursion and -try the second alternative.) However, if the pattern is written with the -alternatives in the other order, things are different:</p> - -<quote><p> ^((.)(?1)\2|.)$</p></quote> - -<p>This time, the recursing alternative is tried first, and continues to recurse -until it runs out of characters, at which point the recursion fails. But this -time we do have another alternative to try at the higher level. That is the big -difference: in the previous case the remaining alternative is at a deeper -recursion level, which PCRE cannot use.</p> - -<p>To change the pattern so that it matches all palindromic strings, not just -those with an odd number of characters, it is tempting to change the pattern to -this:</p> - -<quote><p> ^((.)(?1)\2|.?)$</p></quote> - -<p>Again, this works in Perl, but not in PCRE, and for the same reason. When a -deeper recursion has matched a single character, it cannot be entered again in -order to match an empty string. The solution is to separate the two cases, and -write out the odd and even cases as alternatives at the higher level:</p> - -<quote><p> ^(?:((.)(?1)\2|)|((.)(?3)\4|.))</p></quote> - -<p>If you want to match typical palindromic phrases, the pattern has to ignore all -non-word characters, which can be done like this:</p> - - <quote><p> ^\W*+(?:((.)\W*+(?1)\W*+\2|)|((.)\W*+(?3)\W*+\4|\W*+.\W*+))\W*+$</p></quote> - -<p>If run with the <c>caseless</c> option, this pattern matches phrases such as "A -man, a plan, a canal: Panama!" and it works well in both PCRE and Perl. Note -the use of the possessive quantifier *+ to avoid backtracking into sequences of -non-word characters. Without this, PCRE takes a great deal longer (ten times or -more) to match typical phrases, and Perl takes so long that you think it has -gone into a loop.</p> - -<p><em>WARNING</em>: The palindrome-matching patterns above work only if the subject -string does not start with a palindrome that is shorter than the entire string. -For example, although "abcba" is correctly matched, if the subject is "ababa", -PCRE finds the palindrome "aba" at the start, then fails at top level because -the end of the string does not follow. Once again, it cannot jump back into the -recursion to try other alternatives, so the entire match fails.</p> - -<p>The second way in which PCRE and Perl differ in their recursion processing is -in the handling of captured values. In Perl, when a subpattern is called -recursively or as a subpattern (see the next section), it has no access to any -values that were captured outside the recursion, whereas in PCRE these values -can be referenced. Consider this pattern:</p> - -<quote><p> ^(.)(\1|a(?2))</p></quote> - -<p>In PCRE, this pattern matches "bab". The first capturing parentheses match "b", -then in the second group, when the back reference \1 fails to match "b", the -second alternative matches "a" and then recurses. In the recursion, \1 does -now match "b" and so the whole match succeeds. In Perl, the pattern fails to -match because inside the recursive call \1 cannot access the externally set -value.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect21"></marker><title>Subpatterns as subroutines</title> - -<p>If the syntax for a recursive subpattern call (either by number or by -name) is used outside the parentheses to which it refers, it operates like a -subroutine in a programming language. The called subpattern may be defined -before or after the reference. A numbered reference can be absolute or -relative, as in these examples:</p> - -<list> - <item>(...(absolute)...)...(?2)...</item> - <item>(...(relative)...)...(?-1)...</item> - <item>(...(?+1)...(relative)...</item> -</list> - -<p>An earlier example pointed out that the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (sens|respons)e and \1ibility</p></quote> - -<p>matches "sense and sensibility" and "response and responsibility", but not -"sense and responsibility". If instead the pattern</p> - -<quote><p> (sens|respons)e and (?1)ibility</p></quote> - -<p>is used, it does match "sense and responsibility" as well as the other two -strings. Another example is given in the discussion of DEFINE above.</p> - -<p>All subroutine calls, whether recursive or not, are always treated as atomic -groups. That is, once a subroutine has matched some of the subject string, it -is never re-entered, even if it contains untried alternatives and there is a -subsequent matching failure. Any capturing parentheses that are set during the -subroutine call revert to their previous values afterwards.</p> - -<p>Processing options such as case-independence are fixed when a subpattern is -defined, so if it is used as a subroutine, such options cannot be changed for -different calls. For example, consider this pattern:</p> -<quote><p> (abc)(?i:(?-1))</p></quote> - -<p>It matches "abcabc". It does not match "abcABC" because the change of -processing option does not affect the called subpattern.</p> - -</section> - -<section><marker id="sect22"></marker><title>Oniguruma subroutine syntax</title> -<p>For compatibility with Oniguruma, the non-Perl syntax \g followed by a name or -a number enclosed either in angle brackets or single quotes, is an alternative -syntax for referencing a subpattern as a subroutine, possibly recursively. Here -are two of the examples used above, rewritten using this syntax:</p> -<quote> - <p> (?<pn> \( ( (?>[^()]+) | \g<pn> )* \) )</p> - <p> (sens|respons)e and \g'1'ibility</p> -</quote> -<p>PCRE supports an extension to Oniguruma: if a number is preceded by a -plus or a minus sign it is taken as a relative reference. For example:</p> - - <quote><p> (abc)(?i:\g<-1>)</p></quote> - -<p>Note that \g{...} (Perl syntax) and \g<...> (Oniguruma syntax) are <i>not</i> -synonymous. The former is a back reference; the latter is a subroutine call.</p> - -</section> -<!-- XXX C interface - -<section> <marker id="sect22"><title>Callouts</title></marker> - -<p>Perl has a feature whereby using the sequence (?{...}) causes arbitrary Perl -code to be obeyed in the middle of matching a regular expression. This makes it -possible, amongst other things, to extract different substrings that match the -same pair of parentheses when there is a repetition.</p> - -<p>PCRE provides a similar feature, but of course it cannot obey arbitrary Perl -code. The feature is called "callout". The caller of PCRE provides an external -function by putting its entry point in the global variable <em>pcre_callout</em>. -By default, this variable contains NULL, which disables all calling out.</p> - -<p>Within a regular expression, (?C) indicates the points at which the external -function is to be called. If you want to identify different callout points, you -can put a number less than 256 after the letter C. The default value is zero. -For example, this pattern has two callout points:</p> - -<quote><p> (?C1)abc(?C2)def</p></quote> - - -<p>If the <c>AUTO_CALLOUT</c> flag is passed to <c>re:compile/2</c>, callouts are -automatically installed before each item in the pattern. They are all numbered -255.</p> + <note> + <p>The fact that (*PRUNE:NAME) remembers the name is useless to the Erlang + programmer, as names cannot be retrieved.</p> + </note> -<p>During matching, when PCRE reaches a callout point (and <em>pcre_callout</em> is -set), the external function is called. It is provided with the number of the -callout, the position in the pattern, and, optionally, one item of data -originally supplied by the caller of <c>re:run/3</c>. The callout function -may cause matching to proceed, to backtrack, or to fail altogether. A complete -description of the interface to the callout function is given in the -<em>pcrecallout</em> -documentation.</p> + <p>The following verb, when specified without a name, is like (*PRUNE), + except that if the pattern is unanchored, the "bumpalong" advance is not + to the next character, but to the position in the subject where (*SKIP) + was encountered.</p> + <code> +(*SKIP)</code> -</section> ---> + <p>(*SKIP) signifies that whatever text was matched leading up to it cannot + be part of a successful match. Consider:</p> -<section><marker id="sect23"></marker><title>Backtracking control</title> - -<p>Perl 5.10 introduced a number of "Special Backtracking Control Verbs", which -are still described in the Perl documentation as "experimental and subject to -change or removal in a future version of Perl". It goes on to say: "Their usage -in production code should be noted to avoid problems during upgrades." The same -remarks apply to the PCRE features described in this section.</p> - -<p>The new verbs make use of what was previously invalid syntax: an opening -parenthesis followed by an asterisk. They are generally of the form -(*VERB) or (*VERB:NAME). Some may take either form, possibly behaving -differently depending on whether or not a name is present. A name is any -sequence of characters that does not include a closing parenthesis. The maximum -length of name is 255 in the 8-bit library and 65535 in the 16-bit and 32-bit -libraries. If the name is empty, that is, if the closing parenthesis -immediately follows the colon, the effect is as if the colon were not there. -Any number of these verbs may occur in a pattern.</p> - -<!-- XXX C interface -<p>Since these verbs are specifically related to backtracking, most of them can be -used only when the pattern is to be matched using one of the traditional -matching functions, because these use a backtracking algorithm. With the -exception of (*FAIL), which behaves like a failing negative assertion, the -backtracking control verbs cause an error if encountered by a DFA matching -function.</p> ---> -<p>The behaviour of these verbs in -repeated groups, assertions, -and in subpatterns called as subroutines -(whether or not recursively) is documented below.</p> - -<p><em>Optimizations that affect backtracking verbs</em></p> - -<p>PCRE contains some optimizations that are used to speed up matching by running -some checks at the start of each match attempt. For example, it may know the -minimum length of matching subject, or that a particular character must be -present. When one of these optimizations bypasses the running of a match, any -included backtracking verbs will not, of course, be processed. You can suppress -the start-of-match optimizations by setting the <c>no_start_optimize</c> option -when calling <c>re:compile/2</c> or <c>re:run/3</c>, or by starting the -pattern with (*NO_START_OPT).</p> - -<p>Experiments with Perl suggest that it too has similar optimizations, sometimes -leading to anomalous results.</p> - -<p><em>Verbs that act immediately</em></p> - -<p>The following verbs act as soon as they are encountered. They may not be -followed by a name.</p> - -<quote><p> (*ACCEPT)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb causes the match to end successfully, skipping the remainder of the -pattern. However, when it is inside a subpattern that is called as a -subroutine, only that subpattern is ended successfully. Matching then continues -at the outer level. If (*ACCEPT) in triggered in a positive assertion, the -assertion succeeds; in a negative assertion, the assertion fails.</p> - -<p>If (*ACCEPT) is inside capturing parentheses, the data so far is captured. For -example:</p> - -<quote><p> A((?:A|B(*ACCEPT)|C)D)</p></quote> - -<p>This matches "AB", "AAD", or "ACD"; when it matches "AB", "B" is captured by -the outer parentheses.</p> - -<quote><p> (*FAIL) or (*F)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb causes a matching failure, forcing backtracking to occur. It is -equivalent to (?!) but easier to read. The Perl documentation notes that it is -probably useful only when combined with (?{}) or (??{}). Those are, of course, -Perl features that are not present in PCRE. The nearest equivalent is the -callout feature, as for example in this pattern:</p> - -<quote><p> a+(?C)(*FAIL)</p></quote> - -<p>A match with the string "aaaa" always fails, but the callout is taken before -each backtrack happens (in this example, 10 times).</p> - -<p><em>Recording which path was taken</em></p> - -<p>There is one verb whose main purpose is to track how a match was arrived at, -though it also has a secondary use in conjunction with advancing the match -starting point (see (*SKIP) below).</p> - -<warning> -<p>In Erlang, there is no interface to retrieve a mark with <c>re:run/{2,3]</c>, -so only the secondary purpose is relevant to the Erlang programmer!</p> -<p>The rest of this section is therefore deliberately not adapted for reading -by the Erlang programmer, however the examples might help in understanding NAMES as -they can be used by (*SKIP).</p> -</warning> - -<quote><p> (*MARK:NAME) or (*:NAME)</p></quote> - -<p>A name is always required with this verb. There may be as many instances of -(*MARK) as you like in a pattern, and their names do not have to be unique.</p> - -<p>When a match succeeds, the name of the last-encountered (*MARK:NAME), -(*PRUNE:NAME), or (*THEN:NAME) on the matching path is passed back to the -caller as described in the section entitled "Extra data for <c>pcre_exec()</c>" -in the <c>pcreapi</c> -documentation. Here is an example of <c>pcretest</c> output, where the /K -modifier requests the retrieval and outputting of (*MARK) data:</p> -<code> - re> /X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K - data> XY - 0: XY - MK: A - XZ - 0: XZ - MK: B</code> - -<p>The (*MARK) name is tagged with "MK:" in this output, and in this example it -indicates which of the two alternatives matched. This is a more efficient way -of obtaining this information than putting each alternative in its own -capturing parentheses.</p> - -<p>If a verb with a name is encountered in a positive assertion that is true, the -name is recorded and passed back if it is the last-encountered. This does not -happen for negative assertions or failing positive assertions.</p> - -<p>After a partial match or a failed match, the last encountered name in the -entire match process is returned. For example:</p> -<code> - re> /X(*MARK:A)Y|X(*MARK:B)Z/K - data> XP - No match, mark = B</code> - -<p>Note that in this unanchored example the mark is retained from the match -attempt that started at the letter "X" in the subject. Subsequent match -attempts starting at "P" and then with an empty string do not get as far as the -(*MARK) item, but nevertheless do not reset it.</p> - -<!-- -<p>If you are interested in (*MARK) values after failed matches, you should -probably set the PCRE_NO_START_OPTIMIZE option -(see above) -to ensure that the match is always attempted.</p> ---> - -<p><em>Verbs that act after backtracking</em></p> - -<p>The following verbs do nothing when they are encountered. Matching continues -with what follows, but if there is no subsequent match, causing a backtrack to -the verb, a failure is forced. That is, backtracking cannot pass to the left of -the verb. However, when one of these verbs appears inside an atomic group or an -assertion that is true, its effect is confined to that group, because once the -group has been matched, there is never any backtracking into it. In this -situation, backtracking can "jump back" to the left of the entire atomic group -or assertion. (Remember also, as stated above, that this localization also -applies in subroutine calls.)</p> - -<p>These verbs differ in exactly what kind of failure occurs when backtracking -reaches them. The behaviour described below is what happens when the verb is -not in a subroutine or an assertion. Subsequent sections cover these special -cases.</p> - -<quote><p> (*COMMIT)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb, which may not be followed by a name, causes the whole match to fail -outright if there is a later matching failure that causes backtracking to reach -it. Even if the pattern is unanchored, no further attempts to find a match by -advancing the starting point take place. If (*COMMIT) is the only backtracking -verb that is encountered, once it has been passed <c>re:run/{2,3}</c> is -committed to finding a match at the current starting point, or not at all. For -example:</p> - -<quote><p> a+(*COMMIT)b</p></quote> - -<p>This matches "xxaab" but not "aacaab". It can be thought of as a kind of -dynamic anchor, or "I've started, so I must finish." The name of the most -recently passed (*MARK) in the path is passed back when (*COMMIT) forces a -match failure.</p> - -<p>If there is more than one backtracking verb in a pattern, a different one that -follows (*COMMIT) may be triggered first, so merely passing (*COMMIT) during a -match does not always guarantee that a match must be at this starting point.</p> - -<p>Note that (*COMMIT) at the start of a pattern is not the same as an anchor, -unless PCRE's start-of-match optimizations are turned off, as shown in this - example:</p> -<code type="none"> - 1> re:run("xyzabc","(*COMMIT)abc",[{capture,all,list}]). - {match,["abc"]} - 2> re:run("xyzabc","(*COMMIT)abc",[{capture,all,list},no_start_optimize]). - nomatch</code> - -<p>PCRE knows that any match must start with "a", so the optimization skips along -the subject to "a" before running the first match attempt, which succeeds. When -the optimization is disabled by the <c>no_start_optimize</c> option, the match -starts at "x" and so the (*COMMIT) causes it to fail without trying any other -starting points.</p> - -<quote><p> (*PRUNE) or (*PRUNE:NAME)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb causes the match to fail at the current starting position in the -subject if there is a later matching failure that causes backtracking to reach -it. If the pattern is unanchored, the normal "bumpalong" advance to the next -starting character then happens. Backtracking can occur as usual to the left of -(*PRUNE), before it is reached, or when matching to the right of (*PRUNE), but -if there is no match to the right, backtracking cannot cross (*PRUNE). In -simple cases, the use of (*PRUNE) is just an alternative to an atomic group or -possessive quantifier, but there are some uses of (*PRUNE) that cannot be -expressed in any other way. In an anchored pattern (*PRUNE) has the same effect -as (*COMMIT).</p> - -<p>The behaviour of (*PRUNE:NAME) is the not the same as (*MARK:NAME)(*PRUNE). -It is like (*MARK:NAME) in that the name is remembered for passing back to the -caller. However, (*SKIP:NAME) searches only for names set with (*MARK).</p> - -<warning> -<p>The fact that (*PRUNE:NAME) remembers the name is useless to the Erlang programmer, -as names can not be retrieved.</p> -</warning> - -<quote><p> (*SKIP)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb, when given without a name, is like (*PRUNE), except that if the -pattern is unanchored, the "bumpalong" advance is not to the next character, -but to the position in the subject where (*SKIP) was encountered. (*SKIP) -signifies that whatever text was matched leading up to it cannot be part of a -successful match. Consider:</p> - -<quote><p> a+(*SKIP)b</p></quote> - -<p>If the subject is "aaaac...", after the first match attempt fails (starting at -the first character in the string), the starting point skips on to start the -next attempt at "c". Note that a possessive quantifer does not have the same -effect as this example; although it would suppress backtracking during the -first match attempt, the second attempt would start at the second character -instead of skipping on to "c".</p> - -<quote><p> (*SKIP:NAME)</p></quote> - -<p>When (*SKIP) has an associated name, its behaviour is modified. When it is -triggered, the previous path through the pattern is searched for the most -recent (*MARK) that has the same name. If one is found, the "bumpalong" advance -is to the subject position that corresponds to that (*MARK) instead of to where -(*SKIP) was encountered. If no (*MARK) with a matching name is found, the -(*SKIP) is ignored.</p> - -<p>Note that (*SKIP:NAME) searches only for names set by (*MARK:NAME). It ignores -names that are set by (*PRUNE:NAME) or (*THEN:NAME).</p> - -<quote><p> (*THEN) or (*THEN:NAME)</p></quote> - -<p>This verb causes a skip to the next innermost alternative when backtracking -reaches it. That is, it cancels any further backtracking within the current -alternative. Its name comes from the observation that it can be used for a -pattern-based if-then-else block:</p> - -<quote><p> ( COND1 (*THEN) FOO | COND2 (*THEN) BAR | COND3 (*THEN) BAZ ) ...</p></quote> + <code> +a+(*SKIP)b</code> -<p>If the COND1 pattern matches, FOO is tried (and possibly further items after -the end of the group if FOO succeeds); on failure, the matcher skips to the -second alternative and tries COND2, without backtracking into COND1. If that -succeeds and BAR fails, COND3 is tried. If subsequently BAZ fails, there are no -more alternatives, so there is a backtrack to whatever came before the entire -group. If (*THEN) is not inside an alternation, it acts like (*PRUNE).</p> - -<p>The behaviour of (*THEN:NAME) is the not the same as (*MARK:NAME)(*THEN). -It is like (*MARK:NAME) in that the name is remembered for passing back to the -caller. However, (*SKIP:NAME) searches only for names set with (*MARK).</p> - -<warning> -<p>The fact that (*THEN:NAME) remembers the name is useless to the Erlang programmer, -as names can not be retrieved.</p> -</warning> - -<p>A subpattern that does not contain a | character is just a part of the -enclosing alternative; it is not a nested alternation with only one -alternative. The effect of (*THEN) extends beyond such a subpattern to the -enclosing alternative. Consider this pattern, where A, B, etc. are complex -pattern fragments that do not contain any | characters at this level:</p> - -<quote><p> A (B(*THEN)C) | D</p></quote> + <p>If the subject is "aaaac...", after the first match attempt fails + (starting at the first character in the string), the starting point skips + on to start the next attempt at "c". Notice that a possessive quantifier + does not have the same effect as this example; although it would suppress + backtracking during the first match attempt, the second attempt would + start at the second character instead of skipping on to "c".</p> -<p>If A and B are matched, but there is a failure in C, matching does not -backtrack into A; instead it moves to the next alternative, that is, D. -However, if the subpattern containing (*THEN) is given an alternative, it -behaves differently:</p> - -<quote><p> A (B(*THEN)C | (*FAIL)) | D</p></quote> + <p>When (*SKIP) has an associated name, its behavior is modified:</p> -<p>The effect of (*THEN) is now confined to the inner subpattern. After a failure -in C, matching moves to (*FAIL), which causes the whole subpattern to fail -because there are no more alternatives to try. In this case, matching does now -backtrack into A.</p> + <code> +(*SKIP:NAME)</code> -<p>Note that a conditional subpattern is not considered as having two -alternatives, because only one is ever used. In other words, the | character in -a conditional subpattern has a different meaning. Ignoring white space, -consider:</p> + <p>When this is triggered, the previous path through the pattern is searched + for the most recent (*MARK) that has the same name. If one is found, the + "bumpalong" advance is to the subject position that corresponds to that + (*MARK) instead of to where (*SKIP) was encountered. If no (*MARK) with a + matching name is found, (*SKIP) is ignored.</p> -<quote><p> ^.*? (?(?=a) a | b(*THEN)c )</p></quote> + <p>Notice that (*SKIP:NAME) searches only for names set by (*MARK:NAME). It + ignores names that are set by (*PRUNE:NAME) or (*THEN:NAME).</p> -<p>If the subject is "ba", this pattern does not match. Because .*? is ungreedy, -it initially matches zero characters. The condition (?=a) then fails, the -character "b" is matched, but "c" is not. At this point, matching does not -backtrack to .*? as might perhaps be expected from the presence of the | -character. The conditional subpattern is part of the single alternative that -comprises the whole pattern, and so the match fails. (If there was a backtrack -into .*?, allowing it to match "b", the match would succeed.)</p> + <p>The following verb causes a skip to the next innermost alternative when + backtracking reaches it. That is, it cancels any further backtracking + within the current alternative.</p> -<p>The verbs just described provide four different "strengths" of control when -subsequent matching fails. (*THEN) is the weakest, carrying on the match at the -next alternative. (*PRUNE) comes next, failing the match at the current -starting position, but allowing an advance to the next character (for an -unanchored pattern). (*SKIP) is similar, except that the advance may be more -than one character. (*COMMIT) is the strongest, causing the entire match to -fail.</p> + <code> +(*THEN) or (*THEN:NAME)</code> + <p>The verb name comes from the observation that it can be used for a + pattern-based if-then-else block:</p> -<p><em>More than one backtracking verb</em></p> + <code> +( COND1 (*THEN) FOO | COND2 (*THEN) BAR | COND3 (*THEN) BAZ ) ...</code> -<p>If more than one backtracking verb is present in a pattern, the one that is -backtracked onto first acts. For example, consider this pattern, where A, B, -etc. are complex pattern fragments:</p> + <p>If the COND1 pattern matches, FOO is tried (and possibly further items + after the end of the group if FOO succeeds). On failure, the matcher skips + to the second alternative and tries COND2, without backtracking into + COND1. If that succeeds and BAR fails, COND3 is tried. If BAZ then fails, + there are no more alternatives, so there is a backtrack to whatever + came before the entire group. If (*THEN) is not inside an alternation, it + acts like (*PRUNE).</p> -<quote><p> (A(*COMMIT)B(*THEN)C|ABD)</p></quote> + <p>The behavior of (*THEN:NAME) is the not the same as (*MARK:NAME)(*THEN). + It is like (*MARK:NAME) in that the name is remembered for passing back to + the caller. However, (*SKIP:NAME) searches only for names set with + (*MARK).</p> -<p>If A matches but B fails, the backtrack to (*COMMIT) causes the entire match to -fail. However, if A and B match, but C fails, the backtrack to (*THEN) causes -the next alternative (ABD) to be tried. This behaviour is consistent, but is -not always the same as Perl's. It means that if two or more backtracking verbs -appear in succession, all the the last of them has no effect. Consider this -example:</p> + <note> + <p>The fact that (*THEN:NAME) remembers the name is useless to the Erlang + programmer, as names cannot be retrieved.</p> + </note> -<quote><p> ...(*COMMIT)(*PRUNE)...</p></quote> + <p>A subpattern that does not contain a | character is just a part of the + enclosing alternative; it is not a nested alternation with only one + alternative. The effect of (*THEN) extends beyond such a subpattern to the + enclosing alternative. Consider the following pattern, where A, B, and so + on, are complex pattern fragments that do not contain any | characters at + this level:</p> + + <code> +A (B(*THEN)C) | D</code> + + <p>If A and B are matched, but there is a failure in C, matching does not + backtrack into A; instead it moves to the next alternative, that is, D. + However, if the subpattern containing (*THEN) is given an alternative, it + behaves differently:</p> + + <code> +A (B(*THEN)C | (*FAIL)) | D</code> + + <p>The effect of (*THEN) is now confined to the inner subpattern. After a + failure in C, matching moves to (*FAIL), which causes the whole subpattern + to fail, as there are no more alternatives to try. In this case, matching + does now backtrack into A.</p> + + <p>Notice that a conditional subpattern is not considered as having two + alternatives, as only one is ever used. That is, the | character in a + conditional subpattern has a different meaning. Ignoring whitespace, + consider:</p> + + <code> +^.*? (?(?=a) a | b(*THEN)c )</code> + + <p>If the subject is "ba", this pattern does not match. As .*? is ungreedy, + it initially matches zero characters. The condition (?=a) then fails, the + character "b" is matched, but "c" is not. At this point, matching does not + backtrack to .*? as can perhaps be expected from the presence of the | + character. The conditional subpattern is part of the single alternative + that comprises the whole pattern, and so the match fails. (If there was a + backtrack into .*?, allowing it to match "b", the match would + succeed.)</p> + + <p>The verbs described above provide four different "strengths" of control + when subsequent matching fails:</p> + + <list type="bulleted"> + <item> + <p>(*THEN) is the weakest, carrying on the match at the next + alternative.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*PRUNE) comes next, fails the match at the current starting + position, but allows an advance to the next character (for an + unanchored pattern).</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*SKIP) is similar, except that the advance can be more than one + character.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*COMMIT) is the strongest, causing the entire match to fail.</p> + </item> + </list> -<p>If there is a matching failure to the right, backtracking onto (*PRUNE) cases -it to be triggered, and its action is taken. There can never be a backtrack -onto (*COMMIT).</p> + <p><em>More than One Backtracking Verb</em></p> -<p><em>Backtracking verbs in repeated groups</em></p> + <p>If more than one backtracking verb is present in a pattern, the one that + is backtracked onto first acts. For example, consider the following + pattern, where A, B, and so on, are complex pattern fragments:</p> -<p>PCRE differs from Perl in its handling of backtracking verbs in repeated -groups. For example, consider:</p> + <code> +(A(*COMMIT)B(*THEN)C|ABD)</code> -<quote><p> /(a(*COMMIT)b)+ac/</p></quote> + <p>If A matches but B fails, the backtrack to (*COMMIT) causes the entire + match to fail. However, if A and B match, but C fails, the backtrack to + (*THEN) causes the next alternative (ABD) to be tried. This behavior is + consistent, but is not always the same as in Perl. It means that if two or + more backtracking verbs appear in succession, the last of them has no + effect. Consider the following example:</p> -<p>If the subject is "abac", Perl matches, but PCRE fails because the (*COMMIT) in -the second repeat of the group acts.</p> + <code> +...(*COMMIT)(*PRUNE)...</code> -<p><em>Backtracking verbs in assertions</em></p> + <p>If there is a matching failure to the right, backtracking onto (*PRUNE) + cases it to be triggered, and its action is taken. There can never be a + backtrack onto (*COMMIT).</p> -<p>(*FAIL) in an assertion has its normal effect: it forces an immediate backtrack.</p> + <p><em>Backtracking Verbs in Repeated Groups</em></p> -<p>(*ACCEPT) in a positive assertion causes the assertion to succeed without any -further processing. In a negative assertion, (*ACCEPT) causes the assertion to -fail without any further processing.</p> + <p>PCRE differs from Perl in its handling of backtracking verbs in repeated + groups. For example, consider:</p> -<p>The other backtracking verbs are not treated specially if they appear in a -positive assertion. In particular, (*THEN) skips to the next alternative in the -innermost enclosing group that has alternations, whether or not this is within -the assertion.</p> + <code> +/(a(*COMMIT)b)+ac/</code> -<p>Negative assertions are, however, different, in order to ensure that changing a -positive assertion into a negative assertion changes its result. Backtracking -into (*COMMIT), (*SKIP), or (*PRUNE) causes a negative assertion to be true, -without considering any further alternative branches in the assertion. -Backtracking into (*THEN) causes it to skip to the next enclosing alternative -within the assertion (the normal behaviour), but if the assertion does not have -such an alternative, (*THEN) behaves like (*PRUNE).</p> + <p>If the subject is "abac", Perl matches, but PCRE fails because the + (*COMMIT) in the second repeat of the group acts.</p> -<p><em>Backtracking verbs in subroutines</em></p> + <p><em>Backtracking Verbs in Assertions</em></p> -<p>These behaviours occur whether or not the subpattern is called recursively. -Perl's treatment of subroutines is different in some cases.</p> + <p>(*FAIL) in an assertion has its normal effect: it forces an immediate + backtrack.</p> -<p>(*FAIL) in a subpattern called as a subroutine has its normal effect: it forces -an immediate backtrack.</p> + <p>(*ACCEPT) in a positive assertion causes the assertion to succeed without + any further processing. In a negative assertion, (*ACCEPT) causes the + assertion to fail without any further processing.</p> -<p>(*ACCEPT) in a subpattern called as a subroutine causes the subroutine match to -succeed without any further processing. Matching then continues after the -subroutine call.</p> + <p>The other backtracking verbs are not treated specially if they appear in + a positive assertion. In particular, (*THEN) skips to the next alternative + in the innermost enclosing group that has alternations, regardless if this + is within the assertion.</p> -<p>(*COMMIT), (*SKIP), and (*PRUNE) in a subpattern called as a subroutine cause -the subroutine match to fail.</p> + <p>Negative assertions are, however, different, to ensure that changing a + positive assertion into a negative assertion changes its result. + Backtracking into (*COMMIT), (*SKIP), or (*PRUNE) causes a negative + assertion to be true, without considering any further alternative branches + in the assertion. Backtracking into (*THEN) causes it to skip to the next + enclosing alternative within the assertion (the normal behavior), but if + the assertion does not have such an alternative, (*THEN) behaves like + (*PRUNE).</p> -<p>(*THEN) skips to the next alternative in the innermost enclosing group within -the subpattern that has alternatives. If there is no such group within the -subpattern, (*THEN) causes the subroutine match to fail.</p> + <p><em>Backtracking Verbs in Subroutines</em></p> -</section> + <p>These behaviors occur regardless if the subpattern is called recursively. + The treatment of subroutines in Perl is different in some cases.</p> + <list type="bulleted"> + <item> + <p>(*FAIL) in a subpattern called as a subroutine has its normal effect: + it forces an immediate backtrack.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*ACCEPT) in a subpattern called as a subroutine causes the + subroutine match to succeed without any further processing. Matching + then continues after the subroutine call.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*COMMIT), (*SKIP), and (*PRUNE) in a subpattern called as a + subroutine cause the subroutine match to fail.</p> + </item> + <item> + <p>(*THEN) skips to the next alternative in the innermost enclosing + group within the subpattern that has alternatives. If there is no such + group within the subpattern, (*THEN) causes the subroutine match to + fail.</p> + </item> + </list> + </section> </erlref> |