annotate lispref/searching.texi @ 62993:67de0f04e17e

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author Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
date Sat, 04 Jun 2005 10:24:11 +0000
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1 @c -*-texinfo-*-
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2 @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
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3 @c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2004
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4 @c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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5 @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
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6 @setfilename ../info/searching
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7 @node Searching and Matching, Syntax Tables, Non-ASCII Characters, Top
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8 @chapter Searching and Matching
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9 @cindex searching
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10
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11 GNU Emacs provides two ways to search through a buffer for specified
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12 text: exact string searches and regular expression searches. After a
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13 regular expression search, you can examine the @dfn{match data} to
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14 determine which text matched the whole regular expression or various
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15 portions of it.
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16
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17 @menu
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18 * String Search:: Search for an exact match.
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19 * Regular Expressions:: Describing classes of strings.
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20 * Regexp Search:: Searching for a match for a regexp.
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21 * POSIX Regexps:: Searching POSIX-style for the longest match.
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22 * Search and Replace:: Internals of @code{query-replace}.
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23 * Match Data:: Finding out which part of the text matched,
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24 after a string or regexp search.
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25 * Searching and Case:: Case-independent or case-significant searching.
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26 * Standard Regexps:: Useful regexps for finding sentences, pages,...
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27 @end menu
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28
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29 The @samp{skip-chars@dots{}} functions also perform a kind of searching.
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30 @xref{Skipping Characters}.
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31
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32 @node String Search
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33 @section Searching for Strings
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34 @cindex string search
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35
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36 These are the primitive functions for searching through the text in a
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37 buffer. They are meant for use in programs, but you may call them
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38 interactively. If you do so, they prompt for the search string; the
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39 arguments @var{limit} and @var{noerror} are @code{nil}, and @var{repeat}
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40 is 1.
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41
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42 These search functions convert the search string to multibyte if the
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43 buffer is multibyte; they convert the search string to unibyte if the
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44 buffer is unibyte. @xref{Text Representations}.
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45
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46 @deffn Command search-forward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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47 This function searches forward from point for an exact match for
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48 @var{string}. If successful, it sets point to the end of the occurrence
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49 found, and returns the new value of point. If no match is found, the
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50 value and side effects depend on @var{noerror} (see below).
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51 @c Emacs 19 feature
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52
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53 In the following example, point is initially at the beginning of the
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54 line. Then @code{(search-forward "fox")} moves point after the last
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55 letter of @samp{fox}:
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56
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57 @example
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58 @group
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59 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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60 @point{}The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
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61 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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62 @end group
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63
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64 @group
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65 (search-forward "fox")
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66 @result{} 20
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67
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68 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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69 The quick brown fox@point{} jumped over the lazy dog.
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70 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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71 @end group
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72 @end example
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73
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74 The argument @var{limit} specifies the upper bound to the search. (It
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75 must be a position in the current buffer.) No match extending after
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76 that position is accepted. If @var{limit} is omitted or @code{nil}, it
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77 defaults to the end of the accessible portion of the buffer.
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78
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79 @kindex search-failed
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80 What happens when the search fails depends on the value of
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81 @var{noerror}. If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, a @code{search-failed}
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82 error is signaled. If @var{noerror} is @code{t}, @code{search-forward}
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83 returns @code{nil} and does nothing. If @var{noerror} is neither
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84 @code{nil} nor @code{t}, then @code{search-forward} moves point to the
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85 upper bound and returns @code{nil}. (It would be more consistent now to
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86 return the new position of point in that case, but some existing
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87 programs may depend on a value of @code{nil}.)
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88
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89 If @var{repeat} is supplied (it must be a positive number), then the
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90 search is repeated that many times (each time starting at the end of the
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91 previous time's match). If these successive searches succeed, the
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92 function succeeds, moving point and returning its new value. Otherwise
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93 the search fails, with results depending on the value of
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94 @var{noerror}, as described above.
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95 @end deffn
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96
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97 @deffn Command search-backward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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98 This function searches backward from point for @var{string}. It is
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99 just like @code{search-forward} except that it searches backwards and
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100 leaves point at the beginning of the match.
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101 @end deffn
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102
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103 @deffn Command word-search-forward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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104 @cindex word search
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105 This function searches forward from point for a ``word'' match for
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106 @var{string}. If it finds a match, it sets point to the end of the
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107 match found, and returns the new value of point.
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108 @c Emacs 19 feature
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109
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110 Word matching regards @var{string} as a sequence of words, disregarding
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111 punctuation that separates them. It searches the buffer for the same
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112 sequence of words. Each word must be distinct in the buffer (searching
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113 for the word @samp{ball} does not match the word @samp{balls}), but the
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114 details of punctuation and spacing are ignored (searching for @samp{ball
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115 boy} does match @samp{ball. Boy!}).
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116
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117 In this example, point is initially at the beginning of the buffer; the
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118 search leaves it between the @samp{y} and the @samp{!}.
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119
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120 @example
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121 @group
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122 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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123 @point{}He said "Please! Find
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124 the ball boy!"
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125 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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126 @end group
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127
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128 @group
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129 (word-search-forward "Please find the ball, boy.")
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130 @result{} 35
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131
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132 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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133 He said "Please! Find
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134 the ball boy@point{}!"
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135 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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136 @end group
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137 @end example
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138
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139 If @var{limit} is non-@code{nil}, it must be a position in the current
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140 buffer; it specifies the upper bound to the search. The match found
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141 must not extend after that position.
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142
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143 If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, then @code{word-search-forward} signals
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144 an error if the search fails. If @var{noerror} is @code{t}, then it
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145 returns @code{nil} instead of signaling an error. If @var{noerror} is
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146 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, it moves point to @var{limit} (or the
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147 end of the accessible portion of the buffer) and returns @code{nil}.
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148
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149 If @var{repeat} is non-@code{nil}, then the search is repeated that many
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150 times. Point is positioned at the end of the last match.
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151 @end deffn
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152
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153 @deffn Command word-search-backward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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154 This function searches backward from point for a word match to
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155 @var{string}. This function is just like @code{word-search-forward}
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156 except that it searches backward and normally leaves point at the
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157 beginning of the match.
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158 @end deffn
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159
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160 @node Regular Expressions
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161 @section Regular Expressions
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162 @cindex regular expression
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163 @cindex regexp
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164
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165 A @dfn{regular expression} (@dfn{regexp}, for short) is a pattern that
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166 denotes a (possibly infinite) set of strings. Searching for matches for
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167 a regexp is a very powerful operation. This section explains how to write
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168 regexps; the following section says how to search for them.
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169
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170 @menu
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171 * Syntax of Regexps:: Rules for writing regular expressions.
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172 * Regexp Example:: Illustrates regular expression syntax.
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173 * Regexp Functions:: Functions for operating on regular expressions.
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174 @end menu
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175
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176 @node Syntax of Regexps
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177 @subsection Syntax of Regular Expressions
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178
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179 Regular expressions have a syntax in which a few characters are
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180 special constructs and the rest are @dfn{ordinary}. An ordinary
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181 character is a simple regular expression that matches that character and
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182 nothing else. The special characters are @samp{.}, @samp{*}, @samp{+},
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183 @samp{?}, @samp{[}, @samp{]}, @samp{^}, @samp{$}, and @samp{\}; no new
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184 special characters will be defined in the future. Any other character
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185 appearing in a regular expression is ordinary, unless a @samp{\}
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186 precedes it.
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187
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188 For example, @samp{f} is not a special character, so it is ordinary, and
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189 therefore @samp{f} is a regular expression that matches the string
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190 @samp{f} and no other string. (It does @emph{not} match the string
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191 @samp{fg}, but it does match a @emph{part} of that string.) Likewise,
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192 @samp{o} is a regular expression that matches only @samp{o}.@refill
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193
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194 Any two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b} can be concatenated. The
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195 result is a regular expression that matches a string if @var{a} matches
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196 some amount of the beginning of that string and @var{b} matches the rest of
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197 the string.@refill
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198
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199 As a simple example, we can concatenate the regular expressions @samp{f}
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200 and @samp{o} to get the regular expression @samp{fo}, which matches only
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201 the string @samp{fo}. Still trivial. To do something more powerful, you
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202 need to use one of the special regular expression constructs.
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203
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204 @menu
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205 * Regexp Special:: Special characters in regular expressions.
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206 * Char Classes:: Character classes used in regular expressions.
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207 * Regexp Backslash:: Backslash-sequences in regular expressions.
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208 @end menu
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209
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210 @node Regexp Special
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211 @subsubsection Special Characters in Regular Expressions
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212
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213 Here is a list of the characters that are special in a regular
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214 expression.
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215
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216 @need 800
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217 @table @asis
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218 @item @samp{.}@: @r{(Period)}
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219 @cindex @samp{.} in regexp
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220 is a special character that matches any single character except a newline.
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221 Using concatenation, we can make regular expressions like @samp{a.b}, which
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222 matches any three-character string that begins with @samp{a} and ends with
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223 @samp{b}.@refill
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224
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225 @item @samp{*}
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226 @cindex @samp{*} in regexp
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227 is not a construct by itself; it is a postfix operator that means to
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228 match the preceding regular expression repetitively as many times as
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229 possible. Thus, @samp{o*} matches any number of @samp{o}s (including no
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230 @samp{o}s).
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231
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232 @samp{*} always applies to the @emph{smallest} possible preceding
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233 expression. Thus, @samp{fo*} has a repeating @samp{o}, not a repeating
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234 @samp{fo}. It matches @samp{f}, @samp{fo}, @samp{foo}, and so on.
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235
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236 The matcher processes a @samp{*} construct by matching, immediately, as
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237 many repetitions as can be found. Then it continues with the rest of
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238 the pattern. If that fails, backtracking occurs, discarding some of the
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239 matches of the @samp{*}-modified construct in the hope that that will
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240 make it possible to match the rest of the pattern. For example, in
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241 matching @samp{ca*ar} against the string @samp{caaar}, the @samp{a*}
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242 first tries to match all three @samp{a}s; but the rest of the pattern is
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243 @samp{ar} and there is only @samp{r} left to match, so this try fails.
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244 The next alternative is for @samp{a*} to match only two @samp{a}s. With
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245 this choice, the rest of the regexp matches successfully.@refill
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246
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247 Nested repetition operators can be extremely slow or loop infinitely
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248 if they use repetition operators inside repetition operators. For
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249 example, it could take hours for the regular expression
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250 @samp{\(x+y*\)*a} to try to match the sequence
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251 @samp{xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxz}, before it ultimately
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252 fails. Emacs must try each way of grouping the 35 @samp{x}s before
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253 concluding that none of them can work. Even worse, @samp{\(x*\)*} can
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254 match the null string in infinitely many ways, so it causes an
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255 infinite loop. To avoid these problems, check nested repetitions
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256 carefully.
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257
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258 @item @samp{+}
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259 @cindex @samp{+} in regexp
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260 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it must match
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261 the preceding expression at least once. So, for example, @samp{ca+r}
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262 matches the strings @samp{car} and @samp{caaaar} but not the string
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263 @samp{cr}, whereas @samp{ca*r} matches all three strings.
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264
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265 @item @samp{?}
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266 @cindex @samp{?} in regexp
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267 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it must match the
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268 preceding expression either once or not at all. For example,
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269 @samp{ca?r} matches @samp{car} or @samp{cr}; nothing else.
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270
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271 @item @samp{*?}, @samp{+?}, @samp{??}
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272 These are ``non-greedy'' variants of the operators @samp{*}, @samp{+}
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273 and @samp{?}. Where those operators match the largest possible
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274 substring (consistent with matching the entire containing expression),
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275 the non-greedy variants match the smallest possible substring
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276 (consistent with matching the entire containing expression).
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277
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278 For example, the regular expression @samp{c[ad]*a} when applied to the
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279 string @samp{cdaaada} matches the whole string; but the regular
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280 expression @samp{c[ad]*?a}, applied to that same string, matches just
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281 @samp{cda}. (The smallest possible match here for @samp{[ad]*?} that
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282 permits the whole expression to match is @samp{d}.)
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283
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284 @item @samp{[ @dots{} ]}
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285 @cindex character alternative (in regexp)
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286 @cindex @samp{[} in regexp
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287 @cindex @samp{]} in regexp
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288 is a @dfn{character alternative}, which begins with @samp{[} and is
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289 terminated by @samp{]}. In the simplest case, the characters between
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290 the two brackets are what this character alternative can match.
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291
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292 Thus, @samp{[ad]} matches either one @samp{a} or one @samp{d}, and
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293 @samp{[ad]*} matches any string composed of just @samp{a}s and @samp{d}s
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294 (including the empty string), from which it follows that @samp{c[ad]*r}
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295 matches @samp{cr}, @samp{car}, @samp{cdr}, @samp{caddaar}, etc.
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296
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297 You can also include character ranges in a character alternative, by
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298 writing the starting and ending characters with a @samp{-} between them.
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299 Thus, @samp{[a-z]} matches any lower-case @acronym{ASCII} letter.
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300 Ranges may be intermixed freely with individual characters, as in
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301 @samp{[a-z$%.]}, which matches any lower case @acronym{ASCII} letter
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302 or @samp{$}, @samp{%} or period.
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303
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304 Note that the usual regexp special characters are not special inside a
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305 character alternative. A completely different set of characters is
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306 special inside character alternatives: @samp{]}, @samp{-} and @samp{^}.
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307
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308 To include a @samp{]} in a character alternative, you must make it the
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309 first character. For example, @samp{[]a]} matches @samp{]} or @samp{a}.
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310 To include a @samp{-}, write @samp{-} as the first or last character of
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311 the character alternative, or put it after a range. Thus, @samp{[]-]}
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312 matches both @samp{]} and @samp{-}.
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313
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314 To include @samp{^} in a character alternative, put it anywhere but at
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315 the beginning.
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316
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317 The beginning and end of a range of multibyte characters must be in
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318 the same character set (@pxref{Character Sets}). Thus,
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319 @code{"[\x8e0-\x97c]"} is invalid because character 0x8e0 (@samp{a}
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320 with grave accent) is in the Emacs character set for Latin-1 but the
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321 character 0x97c (@samp{u} with diaeresis) is in the Emacs character
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322 set for Latin-2. (We use Lisp string syntax to write that example,
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323 and a few others in the next few paragraphs, in order to include hex
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324 escape sequences in them.)
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325
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326 If a range starts with a unibyte character @var{c} and ends with a
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327 multibyte character @var{c2}, the range is divided into two parts: one
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328 is @samp{@var{c}..?\377}, the other is @samp{@var{c1}..@var{c2}}, where
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329 @var{c1} is the first character of the charset to which @var{c2}
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330 belongs.
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331
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332 You cannot always match all non-@acronym{ASCII} characters with the regular
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333 expression @code{"[\200-\377]"}. This works when searching a unibyte
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334 buffer or string (@pxref{Text Representations}), but not in a multibyte
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335 buffer or string, because many non-@acronym{ASCII} characters have codes
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336 above octal 0377. However, the regular expression @code{"[^\000-\177]"}
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337 does match all non-@acronym{ASCII} characters (see below regarding @samp{^}),
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338 in both multibyte and unibyte representations, because only the
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339 @acronym{ASCII} characters are excluded.
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340
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341 A character alternative can also specify named
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342 character classes (@pxref{Char Classes}). This is a POSIX feature whose
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343 syntax is @samp{[:@var{class}:]}. Using a character class is equivalent
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344 to mentioning each of the characters in that class; but the latter is
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345 not feasible in practice, since some classes include thousands of
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346 different characters.
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347
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348 @item @samp{[^ @dots{} ]}
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349 @cindex @samp{^} in regexp
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350 @samp{[^} begins a @dfn{complemented character alternative}, which matches any
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351 character except the ones specified. Thus, @samp{[^a-z0-9A-Z]} matches
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352 all characters @emph{except} letters and digits.
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353
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354 @samp{^} is not special in a character alternative unless it is the first
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355 character. The character following the @samp{^} is treated as if it
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356 were first (in other words, @samp{-} and @samp{]} are not special there).
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357
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358 A complemented character alternative can match a newline, unless newline is
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359 mentioned as one of the characters not to match. This is in contrast to
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360 the handling of regexps in programs such as @code{grep}.
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361
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362 @item @samp{^}
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363 @cindex beginning of line in regexp
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364 When matching a buffer, @samp{^} matches the empty string, but only at the
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365 beginning of a line in the text being matched (or the beginning of the
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366 accessible portion of the buffer). Otherwise it fails to match
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367 anything. Thus, @samp{^foo} matches a @samp{foo} that occurs at the
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368 beginning of a line.
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369
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370 When matching a string instead of a buffer, @samp{^} matches at the
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371 beginning of the string or after a newline character.
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372
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373 For historical compatibility reasons, @samp{^} can be used only at the
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374 beginning of the regular expression, or after @samp{\(} or @samp{\|}.
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375
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376 @item @samp{$}
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377 @cindex @samp{$} in regexp
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378 @cindex end of line in regexp
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379 is similar to @samp{^} but matches only at the end of a line (or the
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380 end of the accessible portion of the buffer). Thus, @samp{x+$}
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381 matches a string of one @samp{x} or more at the end of a line.
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382
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383 When matching a string instead of a buffer, @samp{$} matches at the end
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384 of the string or before a newline character.
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385
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386 For historical compatibility reasons, @samp{$} can be used only at the
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387 end of the regular expression, or before @samp{\)} or @samp{\|}.
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388
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389 @item @samp{\}
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390 @cindex @samp{\} in regexp
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391 has two functions: it quotes the special characters (including
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392 @samp{\}), and it introduces additional special constructs.
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393
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394 Because @samp{\} quotes special characters, @samp{\$} is a regular
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395 expression that matches only @samp{$}, and @samp{\[} is a regular
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396 expression that matches only @samp{[}, and so on.
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397
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398 Note that @samp{\} also has special meaning in the read syntax of Lisp
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399 strings (@pxref{String Type}), and must be quoted with @samp{\}. For
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400 example, the regular expression that matches the @samp{\} character is
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401 @samp{\\}. To write a Lisp string that contains the characters
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402 @samp{\\}, Lisp syntax requires you to quote each @samp{\} with another
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403 @samp{\}. Therefore, the read syntax for a regular expression matching
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404 @samp{\} is @code{"\\\\"}.@refill
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405 @end table
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406
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407 @strong{Please note:} For historical compatibility, special characters
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408 are treated as ordinary ones if they are in contexts where their special
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409 meanings make no sense. For example, @samp{*foo} treats @samp{*} as
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410 ordinary since there is no preceding expression on which the @samp{*}
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411 can act. It is poor practice to depend on this behavior; quote the
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412 special character anyway, regardless of where it appears.@refill
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413
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414 @node Char Classes
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415 @subsubsection Character Classes
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416 @cindex character classes in regexp
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417
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418 Here is a table of the classes you can use in a character alternative,
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419 and what they mean:
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420
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421 @table @samp
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422 @item [:ascii:]
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423 This matches any @acronym{ASCII} (unibyte) character.
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424 @item [:alnum:]
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425 This matches any letter or digit. (At present, for multibyte
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426 characters, it matches anything that has word syntax.)
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427 @item [:alpha:]
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428 This matches any letter. (At present, for multibyte characters, it
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429 matches anything that has word syntax.)
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430 @item [:blank:]
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431 This matches space and tab only.
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432 @item [:cntrl:]
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433 This matches any @acronym{ASCII} control character.
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434 @item [:digit:]
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435 This matches @samp{0} through @samp{9}. Thus, @samp{[-+[:digit:]]}
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436 matches any digit, as well as @samp{+} and @samp{-}.
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437 @item [:graph:]
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438 This matches graphic characters---everything except @acronym{ASCII} control
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439 characters, space, and the delete character.
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440 @item [:lower:]
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441 This matches any lower-case letter, as determined by
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442 the current case table (@pxref{Case Tables}).
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443 @item [:nonascii:]
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444 This matches any non-@acronym{ASCII} (multibyte) character.
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445 @item [:print:]
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446 This matches printing characters---everything except @acronym{ASCII} control
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447 characters and the delete character.
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448 @item [:punct:]
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449 This matches any punctuation character. (At present, for multibyte
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450 characters, it matches anything that has non-word syntax.)
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451 @item [:space:]
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452 This matches any character that has whitespace syntax
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453 (@pxref{Syntax Class Table}).
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454 @item [:upper:]
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455 This matches any upper-case letter, as determined by
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456 the current case table (@pxref{Case Tables}).
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457 @item [:word:]
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458 This matches any character that has word syntax (@pxref{Syntax Class
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459 Table}).
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460 @item [:xdigit:]
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461 This matches the hexadecimal digits: @samp{0} through @samp{9}, @samp{a}
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462 through @samp{f} and @samp{A} through @samp{F}.
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463 @end table
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464
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465 @node Regexp Backslash
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466 @subsubsection Backslash Constructs in Regular Expressions
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467
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468 For the most part, @samp{\} followed by any character matches only
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469 that character. However, there are several exceptions: certain
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470 two-character sequences starting with @samp{\} that have special
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471 meanings. (The character after the @samp{\} in such a sequence is
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472 always ordinary when used on its own.) Here is a table of the special
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473 @samp{\} constructs.
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474
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475 @table @samp
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476 @item \|
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477 @cindex @samp{|} in regexp
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478 @cindex regexp alternative
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479 specifies an alternative.
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480 Two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b} with @samp{\|} in
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481 between form an expression that matches anything that either @var{a} or
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482 @var{b} matches.@refill
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483
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484 Thus, @samp{foo\|bar} matches either @samp{foo} or @samp{bar}
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485 but no other string.@refill
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486
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487 @samp{\|} applies to the largest possible surrounding expressions. Only a
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488 surrounding @samp{\( @dots{} \)} grouping can limit the grouping power of
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489 @samp{\|}.@refill
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490
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491 If you need full backtracking capability to handle multiple uses of
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492 @samp{\|}, use the POSIX regular expression functions (@pxref{POSIX
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493 Regexps}).
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494
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495 @item \@{@var{m}\@}
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496 is a postfix operator that repeats the previous pattern exactly @var{m}
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497 times. Thus, @samp{x\@{5\@}} matches the string @samp{xxxxx}
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498 and nothing else. @samp{c[ad]\@{3\@}r} matches string such as
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499 @samp{caaar}, @samp{cdddr}, @samp{cadar}, and so on.
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500
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501 @item \@{@var{m},@var{n}\@}
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parents: 53568
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502 is a more general postfix operator that specifies repetition with a
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503 minimum of @var{m} repeats and a maximum of @var{n} repeats. If @var{m}
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504 is omitted, the minimum is 0; if @var{n} is omitted, there is no
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505 maximum.
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506
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507 For example, @samp{c[ad]\@{1,2\@}r} matches the strings @samp{car},
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508 @samp{cdr}, @samp{caar}, @samp{cadr}, @samp{cdar}, and @samp{cddr}, and
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509 nothing else.@*
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510 @samp{\@{0,1\@}} or @samp{\@{,1\@}} is equivalent to @samp{?}. @*
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511 @samp{\@{0,\@}} or @samp{\@{,\@}} is equivalent to @samp{*}. @*
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512 @samp{\@{1,\@}} is equivalent to @samp{+}.
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513
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514 @item \( @dots{} \)
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515 @cindex @samp{(} in regexp
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516 @cindex @samp{)} in regexp
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517 @cindex regexp grouping
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518 is a grouping construct that serves three purposes:
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519
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520 @enumerate
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521 @item
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parents: 12805
diff changeset
522 To enclose a set of @samp{\|} alternatives for other operations. Thus,
981e116b4ac6 Minor cleanups for overfull hboxes.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 12805
diff changeset
523 the regular expression @samp{\(foo\|bar\)x} matches either @samp{foox}
981e116b4ac6 Minor cleanups for overfull hboxes.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 12805
diff changeset
524 or @samp{barx}.
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525
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526 @item
17884
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
527 To enclose a complicated expression for the postfix operators @samp{*},
aa0b21b54684 Update regexp syntax from Emacs manual.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
528 @samp{+} and @samp{?} to operate on. Thus, @samp{ba\(na\)*} matches
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529 @samp{ba}, @samp{bana}, @samp{banana}, @samp{bananana}, etc., with any
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parents: 21682
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530 number (zero or more) of @samp{na} strings.
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531
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532 @item
27780
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533 To record a matched substring for future reference with
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parents: 27374
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534 @samp{\@var{digit}} (see below).
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535 @end enumerate
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536
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537 This last application is not a consequence of the idea of a
27780
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538 parenthetical grouping; it is a separate feature that was assigned as a
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539 second meaning to the same @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct because, in
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bfdd0deae843 Fix typo.
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parents: 47435
diff changeset
540 practice, there was usually no conflict between the two meanings. But
27780
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541 occasionally there is a conflict, and that led to the introduction of
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542 shy groups.
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543
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544 @item \(?: @dots{} \)
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545 is the @dfn{shy group} construct. A shy group serves the first two
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parents: 27374
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546 purposes of an ordinary group (controlling the nesting of other
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547 operators), but it does not get a number, so you cannot refer back to
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548 its value with @samp{\@var{digit}}.
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549
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550 Shy groups are particularly useful for mechanically-constructed regular
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551 expressions because they can be added automatically without altering the
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552 numbering of any ordinary, non-shy groups.
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553
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554 @item \@var{digit}
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555 matches the same text that matched the @var{digit}th occurrence of a
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
556 grouping (@samp{\( @dots{} \)}) construct.
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
557
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
558 In other words, after the end of a group, the matcher remembers the
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
559 beginning and end of the text matched by that group. Later on in the
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
560 regular expression you can use @samp{\} followed by @var{digit} to
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
561 match that same text, whatever it may have been.
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562
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
563 The strings matching the first nine grouping constructs appearing in
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
564 the entire regular expression passed to a search or matching function
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
565 are assigned numbers 1 through 9 in the order that the open
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
566 parentheses appear in the regular expression. So you can use
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
567 @samp{\1} through @samp{\9} to refer to the text matched by the
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
568 corresponding grouping constructs.
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569
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parents:
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570 For example, @samp{\(.*\)\1} matches any newline-free string that is
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
571 composed of two identical halves. The @samp{\(.*\)} matches the first
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
572 half, which may be anything, but the @samp{\1} that follows must match
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parents:
diff changeset
573 the same exact text.
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parents:
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574
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Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
575 If a @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct matches more than once (which can
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
576 happen, for instance, if it is followed by @samp{*}), only the last
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
577 match is recorded.
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
578
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parents: 38927
diff changeset
579 If a particular grouping construct in the regular expression was never
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
580 matched---for instance, if it appears inside of an alternative that
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
581 wasn't used, or inside of a repetition that repeated zero times---then
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
582 the corresponding @samp{\@var{digit}} construct never matches
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
583 anything. To use an artificial example,, @samp{\(foo\(b*\)\|lose\)\2}
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
584 cannot match @samp{lose}: the second alternative inside the larger
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
585 group matches it, but then @samp{\2} is undefined and can't match
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
586 anything. But it can match @samp{foobb}, because the first
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
587 alternative matches @samp{foob} and @samp{\2} matches @samp{b}.
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
588
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diff changeset
589 @item \w
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parents:
diff changeset
590 @cindex @samp{\w} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
591 matches any word-constituent character. The editor syntax table
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
592 determines which characters these are. @xref{Syntax Tables}.
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parents:
diff changeset
593
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
594 @item \W
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
595 @cindex @samp{\W} in regexp
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parents: 7735
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596 matches any character that is not a word constituent.
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parents:
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597
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parents:
diff changeset
598 @item \s@var{code}
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parents:
diff changeset
599 @cindex @samp{\s} in regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
600 matches any character whose syntax is @var{code}. Here @var{code} is a
8427
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parents: 7735
diff changeset
601 character that represents a syntax code: thus, @samp{w} for word
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diff changeset
602 constituent, @samp{-} for whitespace, @samp{(} for open parenthesis,
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
603 etc. To represent whitespace syntax, use either @samp{-} or a space
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
604 character. @xref{Syntax Class Table}, for a list of syntax codes and
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
605 the characters that stand for them.
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parents:
diff changeset
606
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
607 @item \S@var{code}
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parents:
diff changeset
608 @cindex @samp{\S} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
609 matches any character whose syntax is not @var{code}.
35796
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
610
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
611 @item \c@var{c}
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
612 matches any character whose category is @var{c}. Here @var{c} is a
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
613 character that represents a category: thus, @samp{c} for Chinese
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
614 characters or @samp{g} for Greek characters in the standard category
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
615 table.
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
616
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
617 @item \C@var{c}
d3872b19023d (Regexp Backslash): categories.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 32464
diff changeset
618 matches any character whose category is not @var{c}.
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diff changeset
619 @end table
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parents:
diff changeset
620
8427
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parents: 7735
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621 The following regular expression constructs match the empty string---that is,
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622 they don't use up any characters---but whether they match depends on the
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
623 context. For all, the beginning and end of the accessible portion of
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
624 the buffer are treated as if they were the actual beginning and end of
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
625 the buffer.
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parents:
diff changeset
626
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diff changeset
627 @table @samp
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628 @item \`
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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629 @cindex @samp{\`} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
630 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
631 of the buffer or string being matched against.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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632
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diff changeset
633 @item \'
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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diff changeset
634 @cindex @samp{\'} in regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
635 matches the empty string, but only at the end of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
636 the buffer or string being matched against.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
637
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diff changeset
638 @item \=
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parents:
diff changeset
639 @cindex @samp{\=} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
640 matches the empty string, but only at point.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
641 (This construct is not defined when matching against a string.)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
642
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
643 @item \b
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
644 @cindex @samp{\b} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
645 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
646 end of a word. Thus, @samp{\bfoo\b} matches any occurrence of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
647 @samp{foo} as a separate word. @samp{\bballs?\b} matches
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
648 @samp{ball} or @samp{balls} as a separate word.@refill
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
649
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a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
650 @samp{\b} matches at the beginning or end of the buffer (or string)
17884
aa0b21b54684 Update regexp syntax from Emacs manual.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
651 regardless of what text appears next to it.
aa0b21b54684 Update regexp syntax from Emacs manual.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
652
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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diff changeset
653 @item \B
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
654 @cindex @samp{\B} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
655 matches the empty string, but @emph{not} at the beginning or
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
656 end of a word, nor at the beginning or end of the buffer (or string).
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parents:
diff changeset
657
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
658 @item \<
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
659 @cindex @samp{\<} in regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
660 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of a word.
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a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
661 @samp{\<} matches at the beginning of the buffer (or string) only if a
17884
aa0b21b54684 Update regexp syntax from Emacs manual.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
662 word-constituent character follows.
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
663
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
664 @item \>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
665 @cindex @samp{\>} in regexp
17884
aa0b21b54684 Update regexp syntax from Emacs manual.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 16736
diff changeset
666 matches the empty string, but only at the end of a word. @samp{\>}
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
667 matches at the end of the buffer (or string) only if the contents end
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
668 with a word-constituent character.
56439
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
669
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
670 @item \_<
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
671 @cindex @samp{\_<} in regexp
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
672 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of a symbol. A
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
673 symbol is a sequence of one or more word or symbol constituent
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
674 characters. @samp{\_<} matches at the beginning of the buffer (or
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
675 string) only if a symbol-constituent character follows.
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
676
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
677 @item \_>
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
678 @cindex @samp{\_>} in regexp
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
679 matches the empty string, but only at the end of a symbol. @samp{\_>}
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
680 matches at the end of the buffer (or string) only if the contents end
7cc505680b75 (Regexp Backslash): Document new \_< and \_> operators.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 56313
diff changeset
681 with a symbol-constituent character.
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diff changeset
682 @end table
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
683
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
684 @kindex invalid-regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
685 Not every string is a valid regular expression. For example, a string
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
686 with unbalanced square brackets is invalid (with a few exceptions, such
8427
bc548090f760 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 7735
diff changeset
687 as @samp{[]]}), and so is a string that ends with a single @samp{\}. If
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
688 an invalid regular expression is passed to any of the search functions,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
689 an @code{invalid-regexp} error is signaled.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
690
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
691 @node Regexp Example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
692 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
693 @subsection Complex Regexp Example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
694
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
695 Here is a complicated regexp which was formerly used by Emacs to
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
696 recognize the end of a sentence together with any whitespace that
57403
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
697 follows. (Nowadays Emacs uses a similar but more complex default
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
698 regexp constructed by the function @code{sentence-end}.
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
699 @xref{Standard Regexps}.)
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
700
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
701 First, we show the regexp as a string in Lisp syntax to distinguish
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
702 spaces from tab characters. The string constant begins and ends with a
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
703 double-quote. @samp{\"} stands for a double-quote as part of the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
704 string, @samp{\\} for a backslash as part of the string, @samp{\t} for a
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
705 tab and @samp{\n} for a newline.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
706
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
707 @example
53568
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Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
708 "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\|\t\\|@ @ \\)[ \t\n]*"
6552
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diff changeset
709 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
710
21682
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
711 @noindent
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
712 In contrast, if you evaluate this string, you will see the following:
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
713
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
714 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
715 @group
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
716 "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\|\t\\|@ @ \\)[ \t\n]*"
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
717 @result{} "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\| \\|@ @ \\)[
6552
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diff changeset
718 ]*"
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
719 @end group
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parents:
diff changeset
720 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
721
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diff changeset
722 @noindent
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
723 In this output, tab and newline appear as themselves.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
724
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
725 This regular expression contains four parts in succession and can be
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
726 deciphered as follows:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
727
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parents:
diff changeset
728 @table @code
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
729 @item [.?!]
21682
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diff changeset
730 The first part of the pattern is a character alternative that matches
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
731 any one of three characters: period, question mark, and exclamation
53568
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Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
732 mark. The match must begin with one of these three characters. (This
57403
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
733 is one point where the new default regexp used by Emacs differs from
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
734 the old. The new value also allows some non-@acronym{ASCII}
5353c1a56ee3 (Regexp Example): Update description of how Emacs currently recognizes
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 57252
diff changeset
735 characters that end a sentence without any following whitespace.)
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
736
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
737 @item []\"')@}]*
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
738 The second part of the pattern matches any closing braces and quotation
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
739 marks, zero or more of them, that may follow the period, question mark
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
740 or exclamation mark. The @code{\"} is Lisp syntax for a double-quote in
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
741 a string. The @samp{*} at the end indicates that the immediately
21682
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
742 preceding regular expression (a character alternative, in this case) may be
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3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
743 repeated zero or more times.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
744
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
745 @item \\($\\|@ $\\|\t\\|@ @ \\)
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
746 The third part of the pattern matches the whitespace that follows the
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
747 end of a sentence: the end of a line (optionally with a space), or a
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
748 tab, or two spaces. The double backslashes mark the parentheses and
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
749 vertical bars as regular expression syntax; the parentheses delimit a
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
750 group and the vertical bars separate alternatives. The dollar sign is
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
751 used to match the end of a line.
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3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
752
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
753 @item [ \t\n]*
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
754 Finally, the last part of the pattern matches any additional whitespace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
755 beyond the minimum needed to end a sentence.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
756 @end table
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
757
25751
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
758 @node Regexp Functions
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
759 @subsection Regular Expression Functions
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
760
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
761 These functions operate on regular expressions.
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
762
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
763 @defun regexp-quote string
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
764 This function returns a regular expression whose only exact match is
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
765 @var{string}. Using this regular expression in @code{looking-at} will
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
766 succeed only if the next characters in the buffer are @var{string};
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
767 using it in a search function will succeed if the text being searched
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
768 contains @var{string}.
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
769
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
770 This allows you to request an exact string match or search when calling
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
771 a function that wants a regular expression.
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
772
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
773 @example
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
774 @group
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
775 (regexp-quote "^The cat$")
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
776 @result{} "\\^The cat\\$"
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
777 @end group
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
778 @end example
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
779
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
780 One use of @code{regexp-quote} is to combine an exact string match with
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
781 context described as a regular expression. For example, this searches
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
782 for the string that is the value of @var{string}, surrounded by
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
783 whitespace:
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
784
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
785 @example
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
786 @group
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
787 (re-search-forward
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
788 (concat "\\s-" (regexp-quote string) "\\s-"))
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
789 @end group
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
790 @end example
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
791 @end defun
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
792
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
793 @defun regexp-opt strings &optional paren
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
794 This function returns an efficient regular expression that will match
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
795 any of the strings in the list @var{strings}. This is useful when you
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
796 need to make matching or searching as fast as possible---for example,
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
797 for Font Lock mode.
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
798
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
799 If the optional argument @var{paren} is non-@code{nil}, then the
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
800 returned regular expression is always enclosed by at least one
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
801 parentheses-grouping construct. If @var{paren} is @code{words}, then
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
802 that construct is additionally surrounded by @samp{\<} and @samp{\>}.
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
803
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
804 This simplified definition of @code{regexp-opt} produces a
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
805 regular expression which is equivalent to the actual value
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
806 (but not as efficient):
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
807
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
808 @example
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
809 (defun regexp-opt (strings paren)
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
810 (let ((open-paren (if paren "\\(" ""))
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
811 (close-paren (if paren "\\)" "")))
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
812 (concat open-paren
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
813 (mapconcat 'regexp-quote strings "\\|")
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
814 close-paren)))
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
815 @end example
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
816 @end defun
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
817
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
818 @defun regexp-opt-depth regexp
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
819 This function returns the total number of grouping constructs
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
820 (parenthesized expressions) in @var{regexp}. (This does not include
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
821 shy groups.)
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
822 @end defun
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parents: 25089
diff changeset
823
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3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
824 @node Regexp Search
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parents:
diff changeset
825 @section Regular Expression Searching
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
826 @cindex regular expression searching
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
827 @cindex regexp searching
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
828 @cindex searching for regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
829
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
830 In GNU Emacs, you can search for the next match for a regular
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
831 expression either incrementally or not. For incremental search
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
832 commands, see @ref{Regexp Search, , Regular Expression Search, emacs,
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
833 The GNU Emacs Manual}. Here we describe only the search functions
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
834 useful in programs. The principal one is @code{re-search-forward}.
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3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
835
21007
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
836 These search functions convert the regular expression to multibyte if
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
837 the buffer is multibyte; they convert the regular expression to unibyte
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
838 if the buffer is unibyte. @xref{Text Representations}.
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
839
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
840 @deffn Command re-search-forward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
841 This function searches forward in the current buffer for a string of
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
842 text that is matched by the regular expression @var{regexp}. The
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
843 function skips over any amount of text that is not matched by
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
844 @var{regexp}, and leaves point at the end of the first match found.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
845 It returns the new value of point.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
846
60678
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
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parents: 60453
diff changeset
847 If @var{limit} is non-@code{nil}, it must be a position in the current
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
848 buffer. It specifies the upper bound to the search. No match
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
849 extending after that position is accepted.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
850
60678
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
851 If @var{repeat} is supplied, it must be a positive number; the search
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
852 is repeated that many times; each repetition starts at the end of the
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
853 previous match. If all these successive searches succeed, the
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
854 function succeeds, moving point and returning its new value.
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
855 Otherwise the function fails.
21007
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
856
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
857 What happens when the function fails depends on the value of
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
858 @var{noerror}. If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, a @code{search-failed}
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parents:
diff changeset
859 error is signaled. If @var{noerror} is @code{t},
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parents:
diff changeset
860 @code{re-search-forward} does nothing and returns @code{nil}. If
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
861 @var{noerror} is neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, then
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
862 @code{re-search-forward} moves point to @var{limit} (or the end of the
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
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parents: 52978
diff changeset
863 accessible portion of the buffer) and returns @code{nil}.
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
864
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
865 In the following example, point is initially before the @samp{T}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
866 Evaluating the search call moves point to the end of that line (between
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
867 the @samp{t} of @samp{hat} and the newline).
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
868
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
869 @example
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parents:
diff changeset
870 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
871 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
872 I read "@point{}The cat in the hat
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
873 comes back" twice.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
874 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
875 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
876
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
877 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
878 (re-search-forward "[a-z]+" nil t 5)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
879 @result{} 27
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
880
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
881 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
882 I read "The cat in the hat@point{}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
883 comes back" twice.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
884 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
885 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
886 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
887 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
888
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
889 @deffn Command re-search-backward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
890 This function searches backward in the current buffer for a string of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
891 text that is matched by the regular expression @var{regexp}, leaving
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
892 point at the beginning of the first text found.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
893
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
894 This function is analogous to @code{re-search-forward}, but they are not
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
895 simple mirror images. @code{re-search-forward} finds the match whose
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
896 beginning is as close as possible to the starting point. If
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
897 @code{re-search-backward} were a perfect mirror image, it would find the
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
898 match whose end is as close as possible. However, in fact it finds the
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
899 match whose beginning is as close as possible (and yet ends before the
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
900 starting point). The reason for this is that matching a regular
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
901 expression at a given spot always works from beginning to end, and
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
902 starts at a specified beginning position.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
903
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
904 A true mirror-image of @code{re-search-forward} would require a special
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
905 feature for matching regular expressions from end to beginning. It's
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
906 not worth the trouble of implementing that.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
907 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
908
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
909 @defun string-match regexp string &optional start
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
910 This function returns the index of the start of the first match for
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
911 the regular expression @var{regexp} in @var{string}, or @code{nil} if
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
912 there is no match. If @var{start} is non-@code{nil}, the search starts
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
913 at that index in @var{string}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
914
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
915 For example,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
916
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
917 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
918 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
919 (string-match
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
920 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly.")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
921 @result{} 4
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
922 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
923 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
924 (string-match
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
925 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly." 8)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
926 @result{} 27
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
927 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
928 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
929
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
930 @noindent
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
931 The index of the first character of the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
932 string is 0, the index of the second character is 1, and so on.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
933
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
934 After this function returns, the index of the first character beyond
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
935 the match is available as @code{(match-end 0)}. @xref{Match Data}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
936
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
937 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
938 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
939 (string-match
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
940 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly." 8)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
941 @result{} 27
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
942 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
943
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
944 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
945 (match-end 0)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
946 @result{} 32
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
947 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
948 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
949 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
950
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
951 @defun looking-at regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
952 This function determines whether the text in the current buffer directly
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
953 following point matches the regular expression @var{regexp}. ``Directly
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
954 following'' means precisely that: the search is ``anchored'' and it can
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
955 succeed only starting with the first character following point. The
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
956 result is @code{t} if so, @code{nil} otherwise.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
957
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
958 This function does not move point, but it updates the match data, which
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
959 you can access using @code{match-beginning} and @code{match-end}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
960 @xref{Match Data}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
961
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
962 In this example, point is located directly before the @samp{T}. If it
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
963 were anywhere else, the result would be @code{nil}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
964
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
965 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
966 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
967 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
968 I read "@point{}The cat in the hat
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
969 comes back" twice.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
970 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
971
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
972 (looking-at "The cat in the hat$")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
973 @result{} t
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
974 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
975 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
976 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
977
57252
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
978 @defun looking-back regexp &optional limit
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
979 This function returns @code{t} if @var{regexp} matches text before
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
980 point, ending at point, and @code{nil} otherwise.
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
981
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
982 Because regular expression matching works only going forward, this is
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
983 implemented by searching backwards from point for a match that ends at
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
984 point. That can be quite slow if it has to search a long distance.
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
985 You can bound the time required by specifying @var{limit}, which says
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
986 not to search before @var{limit}. In this case, the match that is
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
987 found must begin at or after @var{limit}.
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
988
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
989 @example
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
990 @group
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
991 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
992 I read "@point{}The cat in the hat
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
993 comes back" twice.
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
994 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
995
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
996 (looking-back "read \"" 3)
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
997 @result{} t
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
998 (looking-back "read \"" 4)
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
999 @result{} nil
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
1000 @end group
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
1001 @end example
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
1002 @end defun
a325c378e9bb (Regexp Search): Add looking-back.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 56439
diff changeset
1003
58349
e497e4d0b665 (Regexp Search): Rename that to search-spaces-regexp.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 58329
diff changeset
1004 @defvar search-spaces-regexp
58329
30f22485a11e (Regexp Search): Add search-whitespace-regexp.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 57403
diff changeset
1005 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
30f22485a11e (Regexp Search): Add search-whitespace-regexp.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 57403
diff changeset
1006 that says how to search for whitespace. In that case, any group of
60678
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1007 spaces in a regular expression being searched for stands for use of
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1008 this regular expression. However, spaces inside of constructs such as
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1009 @samp{[@dots{}]} and @samp{*}, @samp{+}, @samp{?} are not affected by
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1010 @code{search-spaces-regexp}.
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1011
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1012 Since this variable affects all regular expression search and match
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1013 constructs, you should bind it temporarily for as small as possible
b41b3abcbecf (String Search, Regexp Search, Regexp Search): Cleanups.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 60453
diff changeset
1014 a part of the code.
58329
30f22485a11e (Regexp Search): Add search-whitespace-regexp.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 57403
diff changeset
1015 @end defvar
30f22485a11e (Regexp Search): Add search-whitespace-regexp.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 57403
diff changeset
1016
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1017 @node POSIX Regexps
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1018 @section POSIX Regular Expression Searching
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1019
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1020 The usual regular expression functions do backtracking when necessary
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1021 to handle the @samp{\|} and repetition constructs, but they continue
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1022 this only until they find @emph{some} match. Then they succeed and
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1023 report the first match found.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1024
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1025 This section describes alternative search functions which perform the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1026 full backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1027 matching. They continue backtracking until they have tried all
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1028 possibilities and found all matches, so they can report the longest
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1029 match, as required by POSIX. This is much slower, so use these
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1030 functions only when you really need the longest match.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1031
49959
264cc4bc5c57 Clarify about POSIX functions and non-greedy repetition operators.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49809
diff changeset
1032 The POSIX search and match functions do not properly support the
264cc4bc5c57 Clarify about POSIX functions and non-greedy repetition operators.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49809
diff changeset
1033 non-greedy repetition operators. This is because POSIX backtracking
264cc4bc5c57 Clarify about POSIX functions and non-greedy repetition operators.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49809
diff changeset
1034 conflicts with the semantics of non-greedy repetition.
264cc4bc5c57 Clarify about POSIX functions and non-greedy repetition operators.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49809
diff changeset
1035
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1036 @defun posix-search-forward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1037 This is like @code{re-search-forward} except that it performs the full
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1038 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1039 matching.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1040 @end defun
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1041
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1042 @defun posix-search-backward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1043 This is like @code{re-search-backward} except that it performs the full
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1044 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1045 matching.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1046 @end defun
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1047
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1048 @defun posix-looking-at regexp
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1049 This is like @code{looking-at} except that it performs the full
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1050 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1051 matching.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1052 @end defun
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1053
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1054 @defun posix-string-match regexp string &optional start
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1055 This is like @code{string-match} except that it performs the full
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1056 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1057 matching.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1058 @end defun
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1059
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1060 @ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1061 @deffn Command delete-matching-lines regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1062 This function is identical to @code{delete-non-matching-lines}, save
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1063 that it deletes what @code{delete-non-matching-lines} keeps.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1064
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1065 In the example below, point is located on the first line of text.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1066
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1067 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1068 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1069 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1070 We hold these truths
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1071 to be self-evident,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1072 that all men are created
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1073 equal, and that they are
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1074 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1075 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1076
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1077 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1078 (delete-matching-lines "the")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1079 @result{} nil
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1080
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1081 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1082 to be self-evident,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1083 that all men are created
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1084 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1085 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1086 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1087 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1088
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1089 @deffn Command flush-lines regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1090 This function is the same as @code{delete-matching-lines}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1091 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1092
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1093 @defun delete-non-matching-lines regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1094 This function deletes all lines following point which don't
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1095 contain a match for the regular expression @var{regexp}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1096 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1097
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1098 @deffn Command keep-lines regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1099 This function is the same as @code{delete-non-matching-lines}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1100 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1101
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1102 @deffn Command how-many regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1103 This function counts the number of matches for @var{regexp} there are in
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1104 the current buffer following point. It prints this number in
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1105 the echo area, returning the string printed.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1106 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1107
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1108 @deffn Command count-matches regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1109 This function is a synonym of @code{how-many}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1110 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1111
26288
6119687f6888 Patch from rms.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 25751
diff changeset
1112 @deffn Command list-matching-lines regexp &optional nlines
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1113 This function is a synonym of @code{occur}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1114 Show all lines following point containing a match for @var{regexp}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1115 Display each line with @var{nlines} lines before and after,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1116 or @code{-}@var{nlines} before if @var{nlines} is negative.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1117 @var{nlines} defaults to @code{list-matching-lines-default-context-lines}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1118 Interactively it is the prefix arg.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1119
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1120 The lines are shown in a buffer named @samp{*Occur*}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1121 It serves as a menu to find any of the occurrences in this buffer.
24934
f5e3b4ecd255 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 22274
diff changeset
1122 @kbd{C-h m} (@code{describe-mode}) in that buffer gives help.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1123 @end deffn
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1124
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1125 @defopt list-matching-lines-default-context-lines
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1126 Default value is 0.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1127 Default number of context lines to include around a @code{list-matching-lines}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1128 match. A negative number means to include that many lines before the match.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1129 A positive number means to include that many lines both before and after.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1130 @end defopt
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1131 @end ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1132
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1133 @node Search and Replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1134 @section Search and Replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1135 @cindex replacement
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1136
47435
9b2bd1816871 (Search and Replace): Fix arg order for perform-replace.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 45104
diff changeset
1137 @defun perform-replace from-string replacements query-flag regexp-flag delimited-flag &optional repeat-count map start end
38927
53166863c34a (Search and Replace): Add description of
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37842
diff changeset
1138 This function is the guts of @code{query-replace} and related
53166863c34a (Search and Replace): Add description of
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37842
diff changeset
1139 commands. It searches for occurrences of @var{from-string} in the
53166863c34a (Search and Replace): Add description of
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37842
diff changeset
1140 text between positions @var{start} and @var{end} and replaces some or
47435
9b2bd1816871 (Search and Replace): Fix arg order for perform-replace.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 45104
diff changeset
1141 all of them. If @var{start} is @code{nil} (or omitted), point is used
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1142 instead, and the end of the buffer's accessible portion is used for
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1143 @var{end}.
38927
53166863c34a (Search and Replace): Add description of
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37842
diff changeset
1144
53166863c34a (Search and Replace): Add description of
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 37842
diff changeset
1145 If @var{query-flag} is @code{nil}, it replaces all
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1146 occurrences; otherwise, it asks the user what to do about each one.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1147
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1148 If @var{regexp-flag} is non-@code{nil}, then @var{from-string} is
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1149 considered a regular expression; otherwise, it must match literally. If
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1150 @var{delimited-flag} is non-@code{nil}, then only replacements
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1151 surrounded by word boundaries are considered.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1152
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1153 The argument @var{replacements} specifies what to replace occurrences
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1154 with. If it is a string, that string is used. It can also be a list of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1155 strings, to be used in cyclic order.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1156
26783
626ae4bb4994 Fix makeinfo complaints.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents: 26288
diff changeset
1157 If @var{replacements} is a cons cell, @code{(@var{function}
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1158 . @var{data})}, this means to call @var{function} after each match to
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1159 get the replacement text. This function is called with two arguments:
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1160 @var{data}, and the number of replacements already made.
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1161
12282
586e3ea81792 updates for version 19.29 made by melissa; also needed to check out files
Melissa Weisshaus <melissa@gnu.org>
parents: 12125
diff changeset
1162 If @var{repeat-count} is non-@code{nil}, it should be an integer. Then
586e3ea81792 updates for version 19.29 made by melissa; also needed to check out files
Melissa Weisshaus <melissa@gnu.org>
parents: 12125
diff changeset
1163 it specifies how many times to use each of the strings in the
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1164 @var{replacements} list before advancing cyclically to the next one.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1165
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1166 If @var{from-string} contains upper-case letters, then
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1167 @code{perform-replace} binds @code{case-fold-search} to @code{nil}, and
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1168 it uses the @code{replacements} without altering the case of them.
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1169
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1170 Normally, the keymap @code{query-replace-map} defines the possible user
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1171 responses for queries. The argument @var{map}, if non-@code{nil}, is a
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1172 keymap to use instead of @code{query-replace-map}.
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1173
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1174 @strong{Usage note:} Do not use this function in your own programs
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1175 unless you want to do something very similar to what
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1176 @code{query-replace} does, including setting the mark and possibly
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1177 querying the user. For most purposes a simple loop like, for
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1178 instance:
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1179
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1180 @example
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1181 (while (re-search-forward "foo[ \t]+bar" nil t)
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1182 (replace-match "foobar"))
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1183 @end example
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1184
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1185 @noindent
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1186 is preferable. It runs faster and avoids side effects, such as
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1187 setting the mark. @xref{Replacing Match,, Replacing the Text that
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1188 Matched}, for a description of @code{replace-match}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1189 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1190
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1191 @defvar query-replace-map
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1192 This variable holds a special keymap that defines the valid user
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1193 responses for @code{query-replace} and related functions, as well as
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1194 @code{y-or-n-p} and @code{map-y-or-n-p}. It is unusual in two ways:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1195
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1196 @itemize @bullet
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1197 @item
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1198 The ``key bindings'' are not commands, just symbols that are meaningful
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1199 to the functions that use this map.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1200
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1201 @item
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1202 Prefix keys are not supported; each key binding must be for a
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1203 single-event key sequence. This is because the functions don't use
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1204 @code{read-key-sequence} to get the input; instead, they read a single
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1205 event and look it up ``by hand.''
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1206 @end itemize
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1207 @end defvar
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1208
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1209 Here are the meaningful ``bindings'' for @code{query-replace-map}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1210 Several of them are meaningful only for @code{query-replace} and
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1211 friends.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1212
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1213 @table @code
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1214 @item act
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1215 Do take the action being considered---in other words, ``yes.''
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1216
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1217 @item skip
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1218 Do not take action for this question---in other words, ``no.''
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1219
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1220 @item exit
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1221 Answer this question ``no,'' and give up on the entire series of
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1222 questions, assuming that the answers will be ``no.''
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1223
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1224 @item act-and-exit
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1225 Answer this question ``yes,'' and give up on the entire series of
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1226 questions, assuming that subsequent answers will be ``no.''
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1227
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1228 @item act-and-show
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1229 Answer this question ``yes,'' but show the results---don't advance yet
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1230 to the next question.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1231
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1232 @item automatic
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1233 Answer this question and all subsequent questions in the series with
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1234 ``yes,'' without further user interaction.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1235
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1236 @item backup
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1237 Move back to the previous place that a question was asked about.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1238
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1239 @item edit
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1240 Enter a recursive edit to deal with this question---instead of any
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1241 other action that would normally be taken.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1242
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1243 @item delete-and-edit
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1244 Delete the text being considered, then enter a recursive edit to replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1245 it.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1246
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1247 @item recenter
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1248 Redisplay and center the window, then ask the same question again.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1249
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1250 @item quit
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1251 Perform a quit right away. Only @code{y-or-n-p} and related functions
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1252 use this answer.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1253
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1254 @item help
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1255 Display some help, then ask again.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1256 @end table
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1257
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1258 @node Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1259 @section The Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1260 @cindex match data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1261
25089
309fe4eb6522 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 24934
diff changeset
1262 Emacs keeps track of the start and end positions of the segments of
54041
bb6e41200945 Minor fixes.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 53568
diff changeset
1263 text found during a search. This means, for example, that you can
bb6e41200945 Minor fixes.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 53568
diff changeset
1264 search for a complex pattern, such as a date in an Rmail message, and
bb6e41200945 Minor fixes.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 53568
diff changeset
1265 then extract parts of the match under control of the pattern.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1266
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1267 Because the match data normally describe the most recent search only,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1268 you must be careful not to do another search inadvertently between the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1269 search you wish to refer back to and the use of the match data. If you
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1270 can't avoid another intervening search, you must save and restore the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1271 match data around it, to prevent it from being overwritten.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1272
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1273 @menu
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1274 * Replacing Match:: Replacing a substring that was matched.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1275 * Simple Match Data:: Accessing single items of match data,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1276 such as where a particular subexpression started.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1277 * Entire Match Data:: Accessing the entire match data at once, as a list.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1278 * Saving Match Data:: Saving and restoring the match data.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1279 @end menu
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1280
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1281 @node Replacing Match
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1282 @subsection Replacing the Text that Matched
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1283
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1284 This function replaces the text matched by the last search with
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1285 @var{replacement}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1286
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1287 @cindex case in replacements
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1288 @defun replace-match replacement &optional fixedcase literal string subexp
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1289 This function replaces the text in the buffer (or in @var{string}) that
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1290 was matched by the last search. It replaces that text with
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1291 @var{replacement}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1292
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1293 If you did the last search in a buffer, you should specify @code{nil}
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1294 for @var{string} and make sure that the current buffer when you call
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1295 @code{replace-match} is the one in which you did the searching or
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1296 matching. Then @code{replace-match} does the replacement by editing
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1297 the buffer; it leaves point at the end of the replacement text, and
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1298 returns @code{t}.
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1299
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1300 If you did the search in a string, pass the same string as @var{string}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1301 Then @code{replace-match} does the replacement by constructing and
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1302 returning a new string.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1303
45104
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1304 If @var{fixedcase} is non-@code{nil}, then @code{replace-match} uses
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1305 the replacement text without case conversion; otherwise, it converts
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1306 the replacement text depending upon the capitalization of the text to
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1307 be replaced. If the original text is all upper case, this converts
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1308 the replacement text to upper case. If all words of the original text
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1309 are capitalized, this capitalizes all the words of the replacement
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1310 text. If all the words are one-letter and they are all upper case,
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1311 they are treated as capitalized words rather than all-upper-case
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1312 words.
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1313
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1314 If @var{literal} is non-@code{nil}, then @var{replacement} is inserted
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1315 exactly as it is, the only alterations being case changes as needed.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1316 If it is @code{nil} (the default), then the character @samp{\} is treated
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1317 specially. If a @samp{\} appears in @var{replacement}, then it must be
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1318 part of one of the following sequences:
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1319
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1320 @table @asis
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1321 @item @samp{\&}
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1322 @cindex @samp{&} in replacement
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1323 @samp{\&} stands for the entire text being replaced.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1324
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1325 @item @samp{\@var{n}}
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1326 @cindex @samp{\@var{n}} in replacement
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1327 @samp{\@var{n}}, where @var{n} is a digit, stands for the text that
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1328 matched the @var{n}th subexpression in the original regexp.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1329 Subexpressions are those expressions grouped inside @samp{\(@dots{}\)}.
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1330 If the @var{n}th subexpression never matched, an empty string is substituted.
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1331
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1332 @item @samp{\\}
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1333 @cindex @samp{\} in replacement
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1334 @samp{\\} stands for a single @samp{\} in the replacement text.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1335 @end table
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1336
45104
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1337 These substitutions occur after case conversion, if any,
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1338 so the strings they substitute are never case-converted.
441493d3bba0 Clarify how replace-match does case conversion.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 41939
diff changeset
1339
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1340 If @var{subexp} is non-@code{nil}, that says to replace just
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1341 subexpression number @var{subexp} of the regexp that was matched, not
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1342 the entire match. For example, after matching @samp{foo \(ba*r\)},
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1343 calling @code{replace-match} with 1 as @var{subexp} means to replace
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1344 just the text that matched @samp{\(ba*r\)}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1345 @end defun
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1346
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1347 @node Simple Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1348 @subsection Simple Match Data Access
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1349
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1350 This section explains how to use the match data to find out what was
49809
4556482b5d22 Clarify that match data is unpredictable after failing searches.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49600
diff changeset
1351 matched by the last search or match operation, if it succeeded.
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1352
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1353 You can ask about the entire matching text, or about a particular
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1354 parenthetical subexpression of a regular expression. The @var{count}
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1355 argument in the functions below specifies which. If @var{count} is
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1356 zero, you are asking about the entire match. If @var{count} is
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1357 positive, it specifies which subexpression you want.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1358
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1359 Recall that the subexpressions of a regular expression are those
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1360 expressions grouped with escaped parentheses, @samp{\(@dots{}\)}. The
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1361 @var{count}th subexpression is found by counting occurrences of
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1362 @samp{\(} from the beginning of the whole regular expression. The first
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1363 subexpression is numbered 1, the second 2, and so on. Only regular
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1364 expressions can have subexpressions---after a simple string search, the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1365 only information available is about the entire match.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1366
22138
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1367 A search which fails may or may not alter the match data. In the
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1368 past, a failing search did not do this, but we may change it in the
49809
4556482b5d22 Clarify that match data is unpredictable after failing searches.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49600
diff changeset
1369 future. So don't try to rely on the value of the match data after
4556482b5d22 Clarify that match data is unpredictable after failing searches.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 49600
diff changeset
1370 a failing search.
22138
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1371
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1372 @defun match-string count &optional in-string
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1373 This function returns, as a string, the text matched in the last search
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1374 or match operation. It returns the entire text if @var{count} is zero,
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1375 or just the portion corresponding to the @var{count}th parenthetical
39166
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1376 subexpression, if @var{count} is positive.
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1377
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1378 If the last such operation was done against a string with
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1379 @code{string-match}, then you should pass the same string as the
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1380 argument @var{in-string}. After a buffer search or match,
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1381 you should omit @var{in-string} or pass @code{nil} for it; but you
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1382 should make sure that the current buffer when you call
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1383 @code{match-string} is the one in which you did the searching or
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1384 matching.
39166
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1385
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1386 The value is @code{nil} if @var{count} is out of range, or for a
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1387 subexpression inside a @samp{\|} alternative that wasn't used or a
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1388 repetition that repeated zero times.
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1389 @end defun
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1390
26288
6119687f6888 Patch from rms.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 25751
diff changeset
1391 @defun match-string-no-properties count &optional in-string
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1392 This function is like @code{match-string} except that the result
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1393 has no text properties.
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1394 @end defun
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1395
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1396 @defun match-beginning count
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1397 This function returns the position of the start of text matched by the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1398 last regular expression searched for, or a subexpression of it.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1399
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1400 If @var{count} is zero, then the value is the position of the start of
12125
995be67f3fd1 updates for version 19.29.
Melissa Weisshaus <melissa@gnu.org>
parents: 12098
diff changeset
1401 the entire match. Otherwise, @var{count} specifies a subexpression in
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1402 the regular expression, and the value of the function is the starting
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1403 position of the match for that subexpression.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1404
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1405 The value is @code{nil} for a subexpression inside a @samp{\|}
39166
f0bfa8a7d472 Explain clearly what \digit does when that grouping
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 38927
diff changeset
1406 alternative that wasn't used or a repetition that repeated zero times.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1407 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1408
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1409 @defun match-end count
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1410 This function is like @code{match-beginning} except that it returns the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1411 position of the end of the match, rather than the position of the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1412 beginning.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1413 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1414
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1415 Here is an example of using the match data, with a comment showing the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1416 positions within the text:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1417
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1418 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1419 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1420 (string-match "\\(qu\\)\\(ick\\)"
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1421 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
49600
23a1cea22d13 Trailing whitespace deleted.
Juanma Barranquero <lekktu@gmail.com>
parents: 48701
diff changeset
1422 ;0123456789
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1423 @result{} 4
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1424 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1425
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1426 @group
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1427 (match-string 0 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1428 @result{} "quick"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1429 (match-string 1 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1430 @result{} "qu"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1431 (match-string 2 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1432 @result{} "ick"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1433 @end group
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1434
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1435 @group
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1436 (match-beginning 1) ; @r{The beginning of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1437 @result{} 4 ; @r{with @samp{qu} is at index 4.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1438 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1439
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1440 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1441 (match-beginning 2) ; @r{The beginning of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1442 @result{} 6 ; @r{with @samp{ick} is at index 6.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1443 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1444
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1445 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1446 (match-end 1) ; @r{The end of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1447 @result{} 6 ; @r{with @samp{qu} is at index 6.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1448
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1449 (match-end 2) ; @r{The end of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1450 @result{} 9 ; @r{with @samp{ick} is at index 9.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1451 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1452 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1453
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1454 Here is another example. Point is initially located at the beginning
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1455 of the line. Searching moves point to between the space and the word
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1456 @samp{in}. The beginning of the entire match is at the 9th character of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1457 the buffer (@samp{T}), and the beginning of the match for the first
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1458 subexpression is at the 13th character (@samp{c}).
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1459
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1460 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1461 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1462 (list
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1463 (re-search-forward "The \\(cat \\)")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1464 (match-beginning 0)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1465 (match-beginning 1))
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1466 @result{} (9 9 13)
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1467 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1468
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1469 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1470 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1471 I read "The cat @point{}in the hat comes back" twice.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1472 ^ ^
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1473 9 13
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1474 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1475 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1476 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1477
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1478 @noindent
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1479 (In this case, the index returned is a buffer position; the first
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1480 character of the buffer counts as 1.)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1481
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1482 @node Entire Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1483 @subsection Accessing the Entire Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1484
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1485 The functions @code{match-data} and @code{set-match-data} read or
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1486 write the entire match data, all at once.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1487
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1488 @defun match-data &optional integers reuse
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1489 This function returns a newly constructed list containing all the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1490 information on what text the last search matched. Element zero is the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1491 position of the beginning of the match for the whole expression; element
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1492 one is the position of the end of the match for the expression. The
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1493 next two elements are the positions of the beginning and end of the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1494 match for the first subexpression, and so on. In general, element
27193
89afca54a135 @ifinto -> @ifnottex.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 27189
diff changeset
1495 @ifnottex
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1496 number 2@var{n}
27193
89afca54a135 @ifinto -> @ifnottex.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 27189
diff changeset
1497 @end ifnottex
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1498 @tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1499 number {\mathsurround=0pt $2n$}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1500 @end tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1501 corresponds to @code{(match-beginning @var{n})}; and
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1502 element
27193
89afca54a135 @ifinto -> @ifnottex.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 27189
diff changeset
1503 @ifnottex
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1504 number 2@var{n} + 1
27193
89afca54a135 @ifinto -> @ifnottex.
Gerd Moellmann <gerd@gnu.org>
parents: 27189
diff changeset
1505 @end ifnottex
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1506 @tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1507 number {\mathsurround=0pt $2n+1$}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1508 @end tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1509 corresponds to @code{(match-end @var{n})}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1510
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1511 All the elements are markers or @code{nil} if matching was done on a
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1512 buffer and all are integers or @code{nil} if matching was done on a
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1513 string with @code{string-match}. If @var{integers} is
56313
a75eb408147c (Entire Match Data): Add explanation about new
David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
parents: 55736
diff changeset
1514 non-@code{nil}, then the elements are integers or @code{nil}, even if
a75eb408147c (Entire Match Data): Add explanation about new
David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
parents: 55736
diff changeset
1515 matching was done on a buffer. In that case, the buffer itself is
a75eb408147c (Entire Match Data): Add explanation about new
David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
parents: 55736
diff changeset
1516 appended as an additional element at the end of the list
a75eb408147c (Entire Match Data): Add explanation about new
David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
parents: 55736
diff changeset
1517 to facilitate complete restoration of the match data. Also,
a75eb408147c (Entire Match Data): Add explanation about new
David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>
parents: 55736
diff changeset
1518 @code{match-beginning} and
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1519 @code{match-end} always return integers or @code{nil}.
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1520
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1521 If @var{reuse} is non-@code{nil}, it should be a list. In that case,
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1522 @code{match-data} stores the match data in @var{reuse}. That is,
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1523 @var{reuse} is destructively modified. @var{reuse} does not need to
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1524 have the right length. If it is not long enough to contain the match
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1525 data, it is extended. If it is too long, the length of @var{reuse}
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1526 stays the same, but the elements that were not used are set to
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1527 @code{nil}. The purpose of this feature is to avoid producing too
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1528 much garbage, that would later have to be collected.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1529
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1530 As always, there must be no possibility of intervening searches between
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1531 the call to a search function and the call to @code{match-data} that is
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1532 intended to access the match data for that search.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1533
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1534 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1535 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1536 (match-data)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1537 @result{} (#<marker at 9 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1538 #<marker at 17 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1539 #<marker at 13 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1540 #<marker at 17 in foo>)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1541 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1542 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1543 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1544
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1545 @defun set-match-data match-list
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1546 This function sets the match data from the elements of @var{match-list},
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1547 which should be a list that was the value of a previous call to
41939
e9a4c1f03019 Minor clarifications for search-forward and set-match-data.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 39166
diff changeset
1548 @code{match-data}. (More precisely, anything that has the same format
e9a4c1f03019 Minor clarifications for search-forward and set-match-data.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 39166
diff changeset
1549 will work.)
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1550
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1551 If @var{match-list} refers to a buffer that doesn't exist, you don't get
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1552 an error; that sets the match data in a meaningless but harmless way.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1553
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1554 @findex store-match-data
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1555 @code{store-match-data} is a semi-obsolete alias for @code{set-match-data}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1556 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1557
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1558 @node Saving Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1559 @subsection Saving and Restoring the Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1560
10038
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1561 When you call a function that may do a search, you may need to save
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1562 and restore the match data around that call, if you want to preserve the
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1563 match data from an earlier search for later use. Here is an example
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1564 that shows the problem that arises if you fail to save the match data:
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1565
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1566 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1567 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1568 (re-search-forward "The \\(cat \\)")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1569 @result{} 48
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1570 (foo) ; @r{Perhaps @code{foo} does}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1571 ; @r{more searching.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1572 (match-end 0)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1573 @result{} 61 ; @r{Unexpected result---not 48!}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1574 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1575 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1576
10038
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1577 You can save and restore the match data with @code{save-match-data}:
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1578
12098
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 12067
diff changeset
1579 @defmac save-match-data body@dots{}
22252
40089afa2b1d *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 22138
diff changeset
1580 This macro executes @var{body}, saving and restoring the match
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1581 data around it. The return value is the value of the last form in
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1582 @var{body}.
12098
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 12067
diff changeset
1583 @end defmac
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1584
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1585 You could use @code{set-match-data} together with @code{match-data} to
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1586 imitate the effect of the special form @code{save-match-data}. Here is
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1587 how:
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1588
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1589 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1590 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1591 (let ((data (match-data)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1592 (unwind-protect
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1593 @dots{} ; @r{Ok to change the original match data.}
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1594 (set-match-data data)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1595 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1596 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1597
10038
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1598 Emacs automatically saves and restores the match data when it runs
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1599 process filter functions (@pxref{Filter Functions}) and process
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1600 sentinels (@pxref{Sentinels}).
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1601
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1602 @ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1603 Here is a function which restores the match data provided the buffer
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1604 associated with it still exists.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1605
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1606 @smallexample
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1607 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1608 (defun restore-match-data (data)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1609 @c It is incorrect to split the first line of a doc string.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1610 @c If there's a problem here, it should be solved in some other way.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1611 "Restore the match data DATA unless the buffer is missing."
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1612 (catch 'foo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1613 (let ((d data))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1614 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1615 (while d
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1616 (and (car d)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1617 (null (marker-buffer (car d)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1618 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1619 ;; @file{match-data} @r{buffer is deleted.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1620 (throw 'foo nil))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1621 (setq d (cdr d)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1622 (set-match-data data))))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1623 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1624 @end smallexample
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1625 @end ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1626
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1627 @node Searching and Case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1628 @section Searching and Case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1629 @cindex searching and case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1630
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1631 By default, searches in Emacs ignore the case of the text they are
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1632 searching through; if you specify searching for @samp{FOO}, then
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1633 @samp{Foo} or @samp{foo} is also considered a match. This applies to
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1634 regular expressions, too; thus, @samp{[aB]} would match @samp{a} or
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1635 @samp{A} or @samp{b} or @samp{B}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1636
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1637 If you do not want this feature, set the variable
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1638 @code{case-fold-search} to @code{nil}. Then all letters must match
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1639 exactly, including case. This is a buffer-local variable; altering the
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1640 variable affects only the current buffer. (@xref{Intro to
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1641 Buffer-Local}.) Alternatively, you may change the value of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1642 @code{default-case-fold-search}, which is the default value of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1643 @code{case-fold-search} for buffers that do not override it.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1644
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1645 Note that the user-level incremental search feature handles case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1646 distinctions differently. When given a lower case letter, it looks for
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1647 a match of either case, but when given an upper case letter, it looks
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1648 for an upper case letter only. But this has nothing to do with the
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1649 searching functions used in Lisp code.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1650
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1651 @defopt case-replace
53568
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1652 This variable determines whether the higher level replacement
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1653 functions should preserve case. If the variable is @code{nil}, that
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1654 means to use the replacement text verbatim. A non-@code{nil} value
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1655 means to convert the case of the replacement text according to the
a93ed629b104 Various small changes in addition to the following.
Luc Teirlinck <teirllm@auburn.edu>
parents: 52978
diff changeset
1656 text being replaced.
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1657
25751
467b88fab665 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 25089
diff changeset
1658 This variable is used by passing it as an argument to the function
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parents: 25089
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1659 @code{replace-match}. @xref{Replacing Match}.
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1660 @end defopt
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1661
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1662 @defopt case-fold-search
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1663 This buffer-local variable determines whether searches should ignore
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parents:
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1664 case. If the variable is @code{nil} they do not ignore case; otherwise
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1665 they do ignore case.
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1666 @end defopt
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1667
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1668 @defvar default-case-fold-search
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1669 The value of this variable is the default value for
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parents:
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1670 @code{case-fold-search} in buffers that do not override it. This is the
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parents:
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1671 same as @code{(default-value 'case-fold-search)}.
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1672 @end defvar
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1673
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1674 @node Standard Regexps
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1675 @section Standard Regular Expressions Used in Editing
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1676 @cindex regexps used standardly in editing
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1677 @cindex standard regexps used in editing
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1678
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1679 This section describes some variables that hold regular expressions
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1680 used for certain purposes in editing:
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1681
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1682 @defvar page-delimiter
21682
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1683 This is the regular expression describing line-beginnings that separate
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1684 pages. The default value is @code{"^\014"} (i.e., @code{"^^L"} or
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parents: 21007
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1685 @code{"^\C-l"}); this matches a line that starts with a formfeed
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parents: 21007
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1686 character.
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1687 @end defvar
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1688
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1689 The following two regular expressions should @emph{not} assume the
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parents: 11651
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1690 match always starts at the beginning of a line; they should not use
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parents: 11651
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1691 @samp{^} to anchor the match. Most often, the paragraph commands do
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parents: 11651
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1692 check for a match only at the beginning of a line, which means that
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parents: 12067
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1693 @samp{^} would be superfluous. When there is a nonzero left margin,
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parents: 12067
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1694 they accept matches that start after the left margin. In that case, a
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parents: 12067
diff changeset
1695 @samp{^} would be incorrect. However, a @samp{^} is harmless in modes
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parents: 12067
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1696 where a left margin is never used.
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1697
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1698 @defvar paragraph-separate
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1699 This is the regular expression for recognizing the beginning of a line
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1700 that separates paragraphs. (If you change this, you may have to
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parents: 8427
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1701 change @code{paragraph-start} also.) The default value is
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1702 @w{@code{"[@ \t\f]*$"}}, which matches a line that consists entirely of
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1703 spaces, tabs, and form feeds (after its left margin).
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1704 @end defvar
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1705
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1706 @defvar paragraph-start
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1707 This is the regular expression for recognizing the beginning of a line
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1708 that starts @emph{or} separates paragraphs. The default value is
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1709 @w{@code{"\f\\|[ \t]*$"}}, which matches a line containing only
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diff changeset
1710 whitespace or starting with a form feed (after its left margin).
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1711 @end defvar
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1712
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1713 @defvar sentence-end
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1714 If non-@code{nil}, the value should be a regular expression describing
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diff changeset
1715 the end of a sentence, including the whitespace following the
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diff changeset
1716 sentence. (All paragraph boundaries also end sentences, regardless.)
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1717
57403
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1718 If the value is @code{nil}, the default, then the function
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parents: 57252
diff changeset
1719 @code{sentence-end} has to construct the regexp. That is why you
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parents: 57252
diff changeset
1720 should always call the function @code{sentence-end} to obtain the
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1721 regexp to be used to recognize the end of a sentence.
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diff changeset
1722 @end defvar
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1723
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1724 @defun sentence-end
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diff changeset
1725 This function returns the value of the variable @code{sentence-end},
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diff changeset
1726 if non-@code{nil}. Otherwise it returns a default value based on the
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diff changeset
1727 values of the variables @code{sentence-end-double-space}
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parents: 57252
diff changeset
1728 (@pxref{Definition of sentence-end-double-space}),
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parents: 57252
diff changeset
1729 @code{sentence-end-without-period} and
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diff changeset
1730 @code{sentence-end-without-space}.
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diff changeset
1731 @end defun
52401
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1732
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1733 @ignore
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diff changeset
1734 arch-tag: c2573ca2-18aa-4839-93b8-924043ef831f
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1735 @end ignore