annotate lispref/searching.texi @ 23953:c8cdb4e487cb

(Fsingle_key_description): Handle (control ?x) etc. (Fkey_description): Handle lists like vectors.
author Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
date Tue, 29 Dec 1998 22:53:25 +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 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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4 @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
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5 @setfilename ../info/searching
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6 @node Searching and Matching, Syntax Tables, Non-ASCII Characters, Top
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7 @chapter Searching and Matching
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8 @cindex searching
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9
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10 GNU Emacs provides two ways to search through a buffer for specified
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11 text: exact string searches and regular expression searches. After a
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12 regular expression search, you can examine the @dfn{match data} to
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13 determine which text matched the whole regular expression or various
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14 portions of it.
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15
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16 @menu
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17 * String Search:: Search for an exact match.
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18 * Regular Expressions:: Describing classes of strings.
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19 * Regexp Search:: Searching for a match for a regexp.
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20 * POSIX Regexps:: Searching POSIX-style for the longest match.
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21 * Search and Replace:: Internals of @code{query-replace}.
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22 * Match Data:: Finding out which part of the text matched
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23 various parts of a regexp, after regexp search.
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24 * Searching and Case:: Case-independent or case-significant searching.
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25 * Standard Regexps:: Useful regexps for finding sentences, pages,...
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26 @end menu
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27
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28 The @samp{skip-chars@dots{}} functions also perform a kind of searching.
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29 @xref{Skipping Characters}.
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30
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31 @node String Search
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32 @section Searching for Strings
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33 @cindex string search
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34
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35 These are the primitive functions for searching through the text in a
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36 buffer. They are meant for use in programs, but you may call them
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37 interactively. If you do so, they prompt for the search string;
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38 @var{limit} and @var{noerror} are set to @code{nil}, and @var{repeat}
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39 is set to 1.
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40
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41 These search functions convert the search string to multibyte if the
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42 buffer is multibyte; they convert the search string to unibyte if the
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43 buffer is unibyte. @xref{Text Representations}.
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44
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45 @deffn Command search-forward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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46 This function searches forward from point for an exact match for
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47 @var{string}. If successful, it sets point to the end of the occurrence
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48 found, and returns the new value of point. If no match is found, the
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49 value and side effects depend on @var{noerror} (see below).
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50 @c Emacs 19 feature
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51
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52 In the following example, point is initially at the beginning of the
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53 line. Then @code{(search-forward "fox")} moves point after the last
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54 letter of @samp{fox}:
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55
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56 @example
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57 @group
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58 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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59 @point{}The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
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60 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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61 @end group
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62
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63 @group
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64 (search-forward "fox")
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65 @result{} 20
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66
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67 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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68 The quick brown fox@point{} jumped over the lazy dog.
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69 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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70 @end group
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71 @end example
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72
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73 The argument @var{limit} specifies the upper bound to the search. (It
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74 must be a position in the current buffer.) No match extending after
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75 that position is accepted. If @var{limit} is omitted or @code{nil}, it
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76 defaults to the end of the accessible portion of the buffer.
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77
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78 @kindex search-failed
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79 What happens when the search fails depends on the value of
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80 @var{noerror}. If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, a @code{search-failed}
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81 error is signaled. If @var{noerror} is @code{t}, @code{search-forward}
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82 returns @code{nil} and does nothing. If @var{noerror} is neither
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83 @code{nil} nor @code{t}, then @code{search-forward} moves point to the
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84 upper bound and returns @code{nil}. (It would be more consistent now to
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85 return the new position of point in that case, but some existing
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86 programs may depend on a value of @code{nil}.)
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87
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88 If @var{repeat} is supplied (it must be a positive number), then the
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89 search is repeated that many times (each time starting at the end of the
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90 previous time's match). If these successive searches succeed, the
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91 function succeeds, moving point and returning its new value. Otherwise
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92 the search fails.
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93 @end deffn
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94
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95 @deffn Command search-backward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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96 This function searches backward from point for @var{string}. It is
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97 just like @code{search-forward} except that it searches backwards and
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98 leaves point at the beginning of the match.
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99 @end deffn
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100
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101 @deffn Command word-search-forward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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102 @cindex word search
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103 This function searches forward from point for a ``word'' match for
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104 @var{string}. If it finds a match, it sets point to the end of the
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105 match found, and returns the new value of point.
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106 @c Emacs 19 feature
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107
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108 Word matching regards @var{string} as a sequence of words, disregarding
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109 punctuation that separates them. It searches the buffer for the same
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110 sequence of words. Each word must be distinct in the buffer (searching
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111 for the word @samp{ball} does not match the word @samp{balls}), but the
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112 details of punctuation and spacing are ignored (searching for @samp{ball
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113 boy} does match @samp{ball. Boy!}).
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114
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115 In this example, point is initially at the beginning of the buffer; the
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116 search leaves it between the @samp{y} and the @samp{!}.
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117
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118 @example
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119 @group
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120 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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121 @point{}He said "Please! Find
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122 the ball boy!"
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123 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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124 @end group
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125
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126 @group
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127 (word-search-forward "Please find the ball, boy.")
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128 @result{} 35
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129
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130 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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131 He said "Please! Find
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132 the ball boy@point{}!"
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133 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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134 @end group
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135 @end example
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136
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137 If @var{limit} is non-@code{nil} (it must be a position in the current
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138 buffer), then it is the upper bound to the search. The match found must
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139 not extend after that position.
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140
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141 If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, then @code{word-search-forward} signals
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142 an error if the search fails. If @var{noerror} is @code{t}, then it
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143 returns @code{nil} instead of signaling an error. If @var{noerror} is
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144 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, it moves point to @var{limit} (or the
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145 end of the buffer) and returns @code{nil}.
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146
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147 If @var{repeat} is non-@code{nil}, then the search is repeated that many
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148 times. Point is positioned at the end of the last match.
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149 @end deffn
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150
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151 @deffn Command word-search-backward string &optional limit noerror repeat
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152 This function searches backward from point for a word match to
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153 @var{string}. This function is just like @code{word-search-forward}
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154 except that it searches backward and normally leaves point at the
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155 beginning of the match.
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156 @end deffn
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157
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158 @node Regular Expressions
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159 @section Regular Expressions
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160 @cindex regular expression
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161 @cindex regexp
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162
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163 A @dfn{regular expression} (@dfn{regexp}, for short) is a pattern that
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164 denotes a (possibly infinite) set of strings. Searching for matches for
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165 a regexp is a very powerful operation. This section explains how to write
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166 regexps; the following section says how to search for them.
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167
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168 @menu
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169 * Syntax of Regexps:: Rules for writing regular expressions.
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170 * Regexp Example:: Illustrates regular expression syntax.
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171 @end menu
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172
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173 @node Syntax of Regexps
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174 @subsection Syntax of Regular Expressions
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175
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176 Regular expressions have a syntax in which a few characters are
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177 special constructs and the rest are @dfn{ordinary}. An ordinary
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178 character is a simple regular expression that matches that character and
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179 nothing else. The special characters are @samp{.}, @samp{*}, @samp{+},
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180 @samp{?}, @samp{[}, @samp{]}, @samp{^}, @samp{$}, and @samp{\}; no new
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181 special characters will be defined in the future. Any other character
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182 appearing in a regular expression is ordinary, unless a @samp{\}
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183 precedes it.
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184
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185 For example, @samp{f} is not a special character, so it is ordinary, and
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186 therefore @samp{f} is a regular expression that matches the string
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187 @samp{f} and no other string. (It does @emph{not} match the string
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188 @samp{ff}.) Likewise, @samp{o} is a regular expression that matches
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189 only @samp{o}.@refill
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190
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191 Any two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b} can be concatenated. The
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192 result is a regular expression that matches a string if @var{a} matches
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193 some amount of the beginning of that string and @var{b} matches the rest of
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194 the string.@refill
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195
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196 As a simple example, we can concatenate the regular expressions @samp{f}
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197 and @samp{o} to get the regular expression @samp{fo}, which matches only
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198 the string @samp{fo}. Still trivial. To do something more powerful, you
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199 need to use one of the special characters. Here is a list of them:
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200
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201 @need 800
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202 @table @asis
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203 @item @samp{.}@: @r{(Period)}
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204 @cindex @samp{.} in regexp
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205 is a special character that matches any single character except a newline.
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206 Using concatenation, we can make regular expressions like @samp{a.b}, which
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207 matches any three-character string that begins with @samp{a} and ends with
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208 @samp{b}.@refill
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209
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210 @item @samp{*}
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211 @cindex @samp{*} in regexp
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212 is not a construct by itself; it is a postfix operator that means to
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213 match the preceding regular expression repetitively as many times as
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214 possible. Thus, @samp{o*} matches any number of @samp{o}s (including no
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215 @samp{o}s).
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216
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217 @samp{*} always applies to the @emph{smallest} possible preceding
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218 expression. Thus, @samp{fo*} has a repeating @samp{o}, not a repeating
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219 @samp{fo}. It matches @samp{f}, @samp{fo}, @samp{foo}, and so on.
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220
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221 The matcher processes a @samp{*} construct by matching, immediately, as
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222 many repetitions as can be found. Then it continues with the rest of
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223 the pattern. If that fails, backtracking occurs, discarding some of the
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224 matches of the @samp{*}-modified construct in the hope that that will
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225 make it possible to match the rest of the pattern. For example, in
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226 matching @samp{ca*ar} against the string @samp{caaar}, the @samp{a*}
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227 first tries to match all three @samp{a}s; but the rest of the pattern is
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228 @samp{ar} and there is only @samp{r} left to match, so this try fails.
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229 The next alternative is for @samp{a*} to match only two @samp{a}s. With
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230 this choice, the rest of the regexp matches successfully.@refill
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231
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232 Nested repetition operators can be extremely slow if they specify
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233 backtracking loops. For example, it could take hours for the regular
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234 expression @samp{\(x+y*\)*a} to try to match the sequence
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235 @samp{xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxz}, before it ultimately fails.
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236 The slowness is because Emacs must try each imaginable way of grouping
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237 the 35 @samp{x}s before concluding that none of them can work. To make
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238 sure your regular expressions run fast, check nested repetitions
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239 carefully.
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240
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241 @item @samp{+}
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242 @cindex @samp{+} in regexp
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243 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it must match
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244 the preceding expression at least once. So, for example, @samp{ca+r}
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245 matches the strings @samp{car} and @samp{caaaar} but not the string
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246 @samp{cr}, whereas @samp{ca*r} matches all three strings.
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247
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248 @item @samp{?}
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249 @cindex @samp{?} in regexp
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250 is a postfix operator, similar to @samp{*} except that it must match the
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251 preceding expression either once or not at all. For example,
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252 @samp{ca?r} matches @samp{car} or @samp{cr}; nothing else.
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253
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254 @item @samp{[ @dots{} ]}
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255 @cindex character alternative (in regexp)
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256 @cindex @samp{[} in regexp
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257 @cindex @samp{]} in regexp
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258 is a @dfn{character alternative}, which begins with @samp{[} and is
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259 terminated by @samp{]}. In the simplest case, the characters between
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260 the two brackets are what this character alternative can match.
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261
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262 Thus, @samp{[ad]} matches either one @samp{a} or one @samp{d}, and
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263 @samp{[ad]*} matches any string composed of just @samp{a}s and @samp{d}s
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264 (including the empty string), from which it follows that @samp{c[ad]*r}
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265 matches @samp{cr}, @samp{car}, @samp{cdr}, @samp{caddaar}, etc.
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266
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267 You can also include character ranges in a character alternative, by
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268 writing the starting and ending characters with a @samp{-} between them.
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269 Thus, @samp{[a-z]} matches any lower-case @sc{ASCII} letter. Ranges may be
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270 intermixed freely with individual characters, as in @samp{[a-z$%.]},
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271 which matches any lower case @sc{ASCII} letter or @samp{$}, @samp{%} or
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272 period.
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273
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274 You cannot always match all non-@sc{ASCII} characters with the regular
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275 expression @samp{[\200-\377]}. This works when searching a unibyte
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276 buffer or string (@pxref{Text Representations}), but not in a multibyte
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277 buffer or string, because many non-@sc{ASCII} characters have codes
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278 above octal 0377. However, the regular expression @samp{[^\000-\177]}
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279 does match all non-@sc{ASCII} characters, in both multibyte and unibyte
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280 representations, because only the @sc{ASCII} characters are excluded.
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281
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282 The beginning and end of a range must be in the same character set
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283 (@pxref{Character Sets}). Thus, @samp{[a-\x8e0]} is invalid because
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284 @samp{a} is in the @sc{ASCII} character set but the character 0x8e0
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285 (@samp{a} with grave accent) is in the Emacs character set for Latin-1.
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286
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287 Note that the usual regexp special characters are not special inside a
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288 character alternative. A completely different set of characters are
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289 special inside character alternatives: @samp{]}, @samp{-} and @samp{^}.
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290
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291 To include a @samp{]} in a character alternative, you must make it the
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292 first character. For example, @samp{[]a]} matches @samp{]} or @samp{a}.
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293 To include a @samp{-}, write @samp{-} as the first or last character of
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294 the character alternative, or put it after a range. Thus, @samp{[]-]}
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295 matches both @samp{]} and @samp{-}.
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296
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297 To include @samp{^} in a character alternative, put it anywhere but at
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298 the beginning.
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299
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300 @item @samp{[^ @dots{} ]}
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301 @cindex @samp{^} in regexp
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302 @samp{[^} begins a @dfn{complemented character alternative}, which matches any
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303 character except the ones specified. Thus, @samp{[^a-z0-9A-Z]} matches
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304 all characters @emph{except} letters and digits.
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305
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306 @samp{^} is not special in a character alternative unless it is the first
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307 character. The character following the @samp{^} is treated as if it
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308 were first (in other words, @samp{-} and @samp{]} are not special there).
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309
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310 A complemented character alternative can match a newline, unless newline is
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311 mentioned as one of the characters not to match. This is in contrast to
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312 the handling of regexps in programs such as @code{grep}.
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313
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314 @item @samp{^}
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315 @cindex beginning of line in regexp
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316 is a special character that matches the empty string, but only at the
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317 beginning of a line in the text being matched. Otherwise it fails to
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318 match anything. Thus, @samp{^foo} matches a @samp{foo} that occurs at
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319 the beginning of a line.
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320
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321 When matching a string instead of a buffer, @samp{^} matches at the
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322 beginning of the string or after a newline character @samp{\n}.
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323
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324 @item @samp{$}
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325 @cindex @samp{$} in regexp
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326 is similar to @samp{^} but matches only at the end of a line. Thus,
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327 @samp{x+$} matches a string of one @samp{x} or more at the end of a line.
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328
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329 When matching a string instead of a buffer, @samp{$} matches at the end
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330 of the string or before a newline character @samp{\n}.
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331
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332 @item @samp{\}
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333 @cindex @samp{\} in regexp
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334 has two functions: it quotes the special characters (including
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335 @samp{\}), and it introduces additional special constructs.
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336
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337 Because @samp{\} quotes special characters, @samp{\$} is a regular
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338 expression that matches only @samp{$}, and @samp{\[} is a regular
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339 expression that matches only @samp{[}, and so on.
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340
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341 Note that @samp{\} also has special meaning in the read syntax of Lisp
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342 strings (@pxref{String Type}), and must be quoted with @samp{\}. For
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343 example, the regular expression that matches the @samp{\} character is
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344 @samp{\\}. To write a Lisp string that contains the characters
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345 @samp{\\}, Lisp syntax requires you to quote each @samp{\} with another
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346 @samp{\}. Therefore, the read syntax for a regular expression matching
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347 @samp{\} is @code{"\\\\"}.@refill
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348 @end table
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349
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350 @strong{Please note:} For historical compatibility, special characters
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351 are treated as ordinary ones if they are in contexts where their special
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352 meanings make no sense. For example, @samp{*foo} treats @samp{*} as
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353 ordinary since there is no preceding expression on which the @samp{*}
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354 can act. It is poor practice to depend on this behavior; quote the
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355 special character anyway, regardless of where it appears.@refill
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356
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357 For the most part, @samp{\} followed by any character matches only that
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358 character. However, there are several exceptions: two-character
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359 sequences starting with @samp{\} which have special meanings. (The
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360 second character in such a sequence is always ordinary when used on its
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361 own.) Here is a table of @samp{\} constructs.
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362
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363 @table @samp
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364 @item \|
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365 @cindex @samp{|} in regexp
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366 @cindex regexp alternative
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367 specifies an alternative.
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368 Two regular expressions @var{a} and @var{b} with @samp{\|} in
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369 between form an expression that matches anything that either @var{a} or
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370 @var{b} matches.@refill
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371
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372 Thus, @samp{foo\|bar} matches either @samp{foo} or @samp{bar}
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373 but no other string.@refill
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374
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375 @samp{\|} applies to the largest possible surrounding expressions. Only a
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376 surrounding @samp{\( @dots{} \)} grouping can limit the grouping power of
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377 @samp{\|}.@refill
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378
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379 Full backtracking capability exists to handle multiple uses of @samp{\|}.
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380
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381 @item \( @dots{} \)
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382 @cindex @samp{(} in regexp
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383 @cindex @samp{)} in regexp
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384 @cindex regexp grouping
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385 is a grouping construct that serves three purposes:
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386
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387 @enumerate
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388 @item
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389 To enclose a set of @samp{\|} alternatives for other operations. Thus,
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390 the regular expression @samp{\(foo\|bar\)x} matches either @samp{foox}
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391 or @samp{barx}.
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392
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393 @item
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394 To enclose a complicated expression for the postfix operators @samp{*},
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395 @samp{+} and @samp{?} to operate on. Thus, @samp{ba\(na\)*} matches
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396 @samp{ba}, @samp{bana}, @samp{banana}, @samp{bananana}, etc., with any
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397 number (zero or more) of @samp{na} strings.
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398
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399 @item
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400 To record a matched substring for future reference.
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401 @end enumerate
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402
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403 This last application is not a consequence of the idea of a
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404 parenthetical grouping; it is a separate feature that happens to be
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405 assigned as a second meaning to the same @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct
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406 because there is no conflict in practice between the two meanings.
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407 Here is an explanation of this feature:
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408
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409 @item \@var{digit}
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410 matches the same text that matched the @var{digit}th occurrence of a
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411 @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct.
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412
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413 In other words, after the end of a @samp{\( @dots{} \)} construct, the
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414 matcher remembers the beginning and end of the text matched by that
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415 construct. Then, later on in the regular expression, you can use
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416 @samp{\} followed by @var{digit} to match that same text, whatever it
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417 may have been.
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418
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419 The strings matching the first nine @samp{\( @dots{} \)} constructs
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420 appearing in a regular expression are assigned numbers 1 through 9 in
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421 the order that the open parentheses appear in the regular expression.
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422 So you can use @samp{\1} through @samp{\9} to refer to the text matched
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423 by the corresponding @samp{\( @dots{} \)} constructs.
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424
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425 For example, @samp{\(.*\)\1} matches any newline-free string that is
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426 composed of two identical halves. The @samp{\(.*\)} matches the first
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427 half, which may be anything, but the @samp{\1} that follows must match
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428 the same exact text.
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429
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430 @item \w
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431 @cindex @samp{\w} in regexp
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432 matches any word-constituent character. The editor syntax table
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433 determines which characters these are. @xref{Syntax Tables}.
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434
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435 @item \W
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436 @cindex @samp{\W} in regexp
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437 matches any character that is not a word constituent.
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438
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439 @item \s@var{code}
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440 @cindex @samp{\s} in regexp
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441 matches any character whose syntax is @var{code}. Here @var{code} is a
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442 character that represents a syntax code: thus, @samp{w} for word
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443 constituent, @samp{-} for whitespace, @samp{(} for open parenthesis,
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444 etc. To represent whitespace syntax, use either @samp{-} or a space
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445 character. @xref{Syntax Class Table}, for a list of syntax codes and
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446 the characters that stand for them.
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447
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448 @item \S@var{code}
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449 @cindex @samp{\S} in regexp
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450 matches any character whose syntax is not @var{code}.
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451 @end table
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452
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453 The following regular expression constructs match the empty string---that is,
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454 they don't use up any characters---but whether they match depends on the
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455 context.
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456
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457 @table @samp
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458 @item \`
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459 @cindex @samp{\`} in regexp
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460 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning
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461 of the buffer or string being matched against.
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462
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463 @item \'
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464 @cindex @samp{\'} in regexp
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465 matches the empty string, but only at the end of
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466 the buffer or string being matched against.
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467
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468 @item \=
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469 @cindex @samp{\=} in regexp
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470 matches the empty string, but only at point.
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471 (This construct is not defined when matching against a string.)
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472
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473 @item \b
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474 @cindex @samp{\b} in regexp
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475 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning or
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476 end of a word. Thus, @samp{\bfoo\b} matches any occurrence of
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477 @samp{foo} as a separate word. @samp{\bballs?\b} matches
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478 @samp{ball} or @samp{balls} as a separate word.@refill
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479
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480 @samp{\b} matches at the beginning or end of the buffer
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481 regardless of what text appears next to it.
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482
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483 @item \B
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484 @cindex @samp{\B} in regexp
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485 matches the empty string, but @emph{not} at the beginning or
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486 end of a word.
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487
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488 @item \<
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489 @cindex @samp{\<} in regexp
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490 matches the empty string, but only at the beginning of a word.
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491 @samp{\<} matches at the beginning of the buffer only if a
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492 word-constituent character follows.
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493
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494 @item \>
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495 @cindex @samp{\>} in regexp
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496 matches the empty string, but only at the end of a word. @samp{\>}
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497 matches at the end of the buffer only if the contents end with a
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498 word-constituent character.
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499 @end table
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500
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501 @kindex invalid-regexp
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502 Not every string is a valid regular expression. For example, a string
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503 with unbalanced square brackets is invalid (with a few exceptions, such
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504 as @samp{[]]}), and so is a string that ends with a single @samp{\}. If
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505 an invalid regular expression is passed to any of the search functions,
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506 an @code{invalid-regexp} error is signaled.
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507
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508 @defun regexp-quote string
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509 This function returns a regular expression string that matches exactly
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510 @var{string} and nothing else. This allows you to request an exact
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511 string match when calling a function that wants a regular expression.
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512
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513 @example
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514 @group
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515 (regexp-quote "^The cat$")
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516 @result{} "\\^The cat\\$"
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517 @end group
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518 @end example
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519
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520 One use of @code{regexp-quote} is to combine an exact string match with
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521 context described as a regular expression. For example, this searches
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522 for the string that is the value of @var{string}, surrounded by
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523 whitespace:
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524
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525 @example
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526 @group
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527 (re-search-forward
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528 (concat "\\s-" (regexp-quote string) "\\s-"))
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529 @end group
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530 @end example
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531 @end defun
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532
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533 @defun regexp-opt strings &optional paren
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534 @tindex regexp-opt
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535 This function returns an efficient regular expression that will match
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536 any of the strings @var{strings}. This is useful when you need to make
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537 matching or searching as fast as possible---for example, for Font Lock
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538 mode.
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539
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540 If the optional argument @var{paren} is non-@code{nil}, then the
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541 returned regular expression is always enclosed by at least one
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542 parentheses-grouping construct.
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543
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544 This simplified definition of @code{regexp-opt} produces a
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545 regular expression which is equivalent to the actual value
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546 (but not as efficient):
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547
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548 @example
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549 (defun regexp-opt (strings paren)
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550 (let ((open-paren (if paren "\\(" ""))
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551 (close-paren (if paren "\\)" "")))
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552 (concat open-paren
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553 (mapconcat 'regexp-quote strings "\\|")
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554 close-paren)))
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555 @end example
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556 @end defun
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557
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diff changeset
558 @defun regexp-opt-depth regexp
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559 @tindex regexp-opt-depth
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560 This function returns the total number of grouping constructs
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561 (parenthesized expressions) in @var{regexp}.
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562 @end defun
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563
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564 @node Regexp Example
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565 @comment node-name, next, previous, up
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566 @subsection Complex Regexp Example
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567
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568 Here is a complicated regexp, used by Emacs to recognize the end of a
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diff changeset
569 sentence together with any whitespace that follows. It is the value of
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570 the variable @code{sentence-end}.
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571
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572 First, we show the regexp as a string in Lisp syntax to distinguish
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573 spaces from tab characters. The string constant begins and ends with a
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574 double-quote. @samp{\"} stands for a double-quote as part of the
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575 string, @samp{\\} for a backslash as part of the string, @samp{\t} for a
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diff changeset
576 tab and @samp{\n} for a newline.
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577
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578 @example
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579 "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\|\t\\| \\)[ \t\n]*"
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580 @end example
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581
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582 @noindent
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583 In contrast, if you evaluate the variable @code{sentence-end}, you
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diff changeset
584 will see the following:
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585
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586 @example
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587 @group
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588 sentence-end
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589 @result{} "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\| \\| \\)[
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590 ]*"
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591 @end group
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592 @end example
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593
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594 @noindent
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diff changeset
595 In this output, tab and newline appear as themselves.
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parents:
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596
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diff changeset
597 This regular expression contains four parts in succession and can be
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parents:
diff changeset
598 deciphered as follows:
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599
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diff changeset
600 @table @code
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diff changeset
601 @item [.?!]
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602 The first part of the pattern is a character alternative that matches
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diff changeset
603 any one of three characters: period, question mark, and exclamation
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diff changeset
604 mark. The match must begin with one of these three characters.
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605
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diff changeset
606 @item []\"')@}]*
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parents:
diff changeset
607 The second part of the pattern matches any closing braces and quotation
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parents:
diff changeset
608 marks, zero or more of them, that may follow the period, question mark
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parents:
diff changeset
609 or exclamation mark. The @code{\"} is Lisp syntax for a double-quote in
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parents:
diff changeset
610 a string. The @samp{*} at the end indicates that the immediately
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diff changeset
611 preceding regular expression (a character alternative, in this case) may be
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612 repeated zero or more times.
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diff changeset
613
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614 @item \\($\\|@ $\\|\t\\|@ @ \\)
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615 The third part of the pattern matches the whitespace that follows the
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616 end of a sentence: the end of a line (optionally with a space), or a
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617 tab, or two spaces. The double backslashes mark the parentheses and
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618 vertical bars as regular expression syntax; the parentheses delimit a
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619 group and the vertical bars separate alternatives. The dollar sign is
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620 used to match the end of a line.
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621
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622 @item [ \t\n]*
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623 Finally, the last part of the pattern matches any additional whitespace
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624 beyond the minimum needed to end a sentence.
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625 @end table
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626
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627 @node Regexp Search
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628 @section Regular Expression Searching
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629 @cindex regular expression searching
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630 @cindex regexp searching
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631 @cindex searching for regexp
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632
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633 In GNU Emacs, you can search for the next match for a regular
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634 expression either incrementally or not. For incremental search
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635 commands, see @ref{Regexp Search, , Regular Expression Search, emacs,
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636 The GNU Emacs Manual}. Here we describe only the search functions
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637 useful in programs. The principal one is @code{re-search-forward}.
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638
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639 These search functions convert the regular expression to multibyte if
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640 the buffer is multibyte; they convert the regular expression to unibyte
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641 if the buffer is unibyte. @xref{Text Representations}.
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642
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643 @deffn Command re-search-forward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
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644 This function searches forward in the current buffer for a string of
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645 text that is matched by the regular expression @var{regexp}. The
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646 function skips over any amount of text that is not matched by
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647 @var{regexp}, and leaves point at the end of the first match found.
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648 It returns the new value of point.
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649
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650 If @var{limit} is non-@code{nil} (it must be a position in the current
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651 buffer), then it is the upper bound to the search. No match extending
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652 after that position is accepted.
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653
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654 If @var{repeat} is supplied (it must be a positive number), then the
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655 search is repeated that many times (each time starting at the end of the
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656 previous time's match). If all these successive searches succeed, the
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657 function succeeds, moving point and returning its new value. Otherwise
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658 the function fails.
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659
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660 What happens when the function fails depends on the value of
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661 @var{noerror}. If @var{noerror} is @code{nil}, a @code{search-failed}
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662 error is signaled. If @var{noerror} is @code{t},
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663 @code{re-search-forward} does nothing and returns @code{nil}. If
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664 @var{noerror} is neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, then
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665 @code{re-search-forward} moves point to @var{limit} (or the end of the
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666 buffer) and returns @code{nil}.
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667
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668 In the following example, point is initially before the @samp{T}.
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669 Evaluating the search call moves point to the end of that line (between
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670 the @samp{t} of @samp{hat} and the newline).
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671
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672 @example
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673 @group
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674 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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675 I read "@point{}The cat in the hat
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parents:
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676 comes back" twice.
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diff changeset
677 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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678 @end group
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679
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680 @group
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681 (re-search-forward "[a-z]+" nil t 5)
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682 @result{} 27
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683
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diff changeset
684 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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diff changeset
685 I read "The cat in the hat@point{}
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parents:
diff changeset
686 comes back" twice.
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687 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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688 @end group
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689 @end example
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690 @end deffn
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parents:
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691
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parents:
diff changeset
692 @deffn Command re-search-backward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
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parents:
diff changeset
693 This function searches backward in the current buffer for a string of
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parents:
diff changeset
694 text that is matched by the regular expression @var{regexp}, leaving
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parents:
diff changeset
695 point at the beginning of the first text found.
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696
8469
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diff changeset
697 This function is analogous to @code{re-search-forward}, but they are not
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
698 simple mirror images. @code{re-search-forward} finds the match whose
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
699 beginning is as close as possible to the starting point. If
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700 @code{re-search-backward} were a perfect mirror image, it would find the
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
701 match whose end is as close as possible. However, in fact it finds the
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
702 match whose beginning is as close as possible. The reason is that
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
703 matching a regular expression at a given spot always works from
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
704 beginning to end, and starts at a specified beginning position.
6552
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parents:
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705
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diff changeset
706 A true mirror-image of @code{re-search-forward} would require a special
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diff changeset
707 feature for matching regular expressions from end to beginning. It's
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708 not worth the trouble of implementing that.
6552
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diff changeset
709 @end deffn
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diff changeset
710
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711 @defun string-match regexp string &optional start
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diff changeset
712 This function returns the index of the start of the first match for
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diff changeset
713 the regular expression @var{regexp} in @var{string}, or @code{nil} if
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parents:
diff changeset
714 there is no match. If @var{start} is non-@code{nil}, the search starts
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diff changeset
715 at that index in @var{string}.
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diff changeset
716
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diff changeset
717 For example,
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diff changeset
718
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diff changeset
719 @example
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diff changeset
720 @group
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diff changeset
721 (string-match
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722 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly.")
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diff changeset
723 @result{} 4
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diff changeset
724 @end group
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diff changeset
725 @group
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diff changeset
726 (string-match
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diff changeset
727 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly." 8)
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diff changeset
728 @result{} 27
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diff changeset
729 @end group
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diff changeset
730 @end example
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parents:
diff changeset
731
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diff changeset
732 @noindent
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diff changeset
733 The index of the first character of the
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diff changeset
734 string is 0, the index of the second character is 1, and so on.
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diff changeset
735
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diff changeset
736 After this function returns, the index of the first character beyond
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diff changeset
737 the match is available as @code{(match-end 0)}. @xref{Match Data}.
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diff changeset
738
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diff changeset
739 @example
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diff changeset
740 @group
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parents:
diff changeset
741 (string-match
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parents:
diff changeset
742 "quick" "The quick brown fox jumped quickly." 8)
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parents:
diff changeset
743 @result{} 27
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744 @end group
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diff changeset
745
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diff changeset
746 @group
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diff changeset
747 (match-end 0)
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748 @result{} 32
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749 @end group
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750 @end example
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diff changeset
751 @end defun
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diff changeset
752
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753 @defun looking-at regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
754 This function determines whether the text in the current buffer directly
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diff changeset
755 following point matches the regular expression @var{regexp}. ``Directly
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diff changeset
756 following'' means precisely that: the search is ``anchored'' and it can
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diff changeset
757 succeed only starting with the first character following point. The
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diff changeset
758 result is @code{t} if so, @code{nil} otherwise.
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diff changeset
759
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diff changeset
760 This function does not move point, but it updates the match data, which
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diff changeset
761 you can access using @code{match-beginning} and @code{match-end}.
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diff changeset
762 @xref{Match Data}.
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diff changeset
763
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diff changeset
764 In this example, point is located directly before the @samp{T}. If it
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diff changeset
765 were anywhere else, the result would be @code{nil}.
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diff changeset
766
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767 @example
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diff changeset
768 @group
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diff changeset
769 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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diff changeset
770 I read "@point{}The cat in the hat
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parents:
diff changeset
771 comes back" twice.
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diff changeset
772 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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diff changeset
773
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diff changeset
774 (looking-at "The cat in the hat$")
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diff changeset
775 @result{} t
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diff changeset
776 @end group
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777 @end example
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diff changeset
778 @end defun
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parents:
diff changeset
779
12067
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diff changeset
780 @node POSIX Regexps
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diff changeset
781 @section POSIX Regular Expression Searching
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
782
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
783 The usual regular expression functions do backtracking when necessary
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
784 to handle the @samp{\|} and repetition constructs, but they continue
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
785 this only until they find @emph{some} match. Then they succeed and
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
786 report the first match found.
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
787
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
788 This section describes alternative search functions which perform the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
789 full backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
790 matching. They continue backtracking until they have tried all
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
791 possibilities and found all matches, so they can report the longest
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
792 match, as required by POSIX. This is much slower, so use these
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
793 functions only when you really need the longest match.
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
794
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
795 @defun posix-search-forward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
796 This is like @code{re-search-forward} except that it performs the full
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
797 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
798 matching.
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diff changeset
799 @end defun
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
800
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diff changeset
801 @defun posix-search-backward regexp &optional limit noerror repeat
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
802 This is like @code{re-search-backward} except that it performs the full
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
803 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
804 matching.
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parents: 11651
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805 @end defun
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
806
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diff changeset
807 @defun posix-looking-at regexp
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
808 This is like @code{looking-at} except that it performs the full
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
809 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
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diff changeset
810 matching.
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811 @end defun
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812
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diff changeset
813 @defun posix-string-match regexp string &optional start
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diff changeset
814 This is like @code{string-match} except that it performs the full
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diff changeset
815 backtracking specified by the POSIX standard for regular expression
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816 matching.
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817 @end defun
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diff changeset
818
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819 @ignore
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820 @deffn Command delete-matching-lines regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
821 This function is identical to @code{delete-non-matching-lines}, save
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parents:
diff changeset
822 that it deletes what @code{delete-non-matching-lines} keeps.
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parents:
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823
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parents:
diff changeset
824 In the example below, point is located on the first line of text.
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parents:
diff changeset
825
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parents:
diff changeset
826 @example
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parents:
diff changeset
827 @group
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parents:
diff changeset
828 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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parents:
diff changeset
829 We hold these truths
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
830 to be self-evident,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
831 that all men are created
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parents:
diff changeset
832 equal, and that they are
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
833 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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diff changeset
834 @end group
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parents:
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835
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diff changeset
836 @group
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parents:
diff changeset
837 (delete-matching-lines "the")
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parents:
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838 @result{} nil
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parents:
diff changeset
839
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parents:
diff changeset
840 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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parents:
diff changeset
841 to be self-evident,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
842 that all men are created
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
843 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
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diff changeset
844 @end group
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parents:
diff changeset
845 @end example
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parents:
diff changeset
846 @end deffn
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parents:
diff changeset
847
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parents:
diff changeset
848 @deffn Command flush-lines regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
849 This function is the same as @code{delete-matching-lines}.
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parents:
diff changeset
850 @end deffn
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parents:
diff changeset
851
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parents:
diff changeset
852 @defun delete-non-matching-lines regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
853 This function deletes all lines following point which don't
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parents:
diff changeset
854 contain a match for the regular expression @var{regexp}.
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diff changeset
855 @end defun
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parents:
diff changeset
856
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parents:
diff changeset
857 @deffn Command keep-lines regexp
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parents:
diff changeset
858 This function is the same as @code{delete-non-matching-lines}.
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parents:
diff changeset
859 @end deffn
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parents:
diff changeset
860
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parents:
diff changeset
861 @deffn Command how-many regexp
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
862 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
863 the current buffer following point. It prints this number in
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parents:
diff changeset
864 the echo area, returning the string printed.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
865 @end deffn
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parents:
diff changeset
866
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
867 @deffn Command count-matches regexp
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
868 This function is a synonym of @code{how-many}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
869 @end deffn
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parents:
diff changeset
870
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
871 @deffn Command list-matching-lines regexp nlines
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
872 This function is a synonym of @code{occur}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
873 Show all lines following point containing a match for @var{regexp}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
874 Display each line with @var{nlines} lines before and after,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
875 or @code{-}@var{nlines} before if @var{nlines} is negative.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
876 @var{nlines} defaults to @code{list-matching-lines-default-context-lines}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
877 Interactively it is the prefix arg.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
878
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
879 The lines are shown in a buffer named @samp{*Occur*}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
880 It serves as a menu to find any of the occurrences in this buffer.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
881 @kbd{C-h m} (@code{describe-mode} in that buffer gives help.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
882 @end deffn
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
883
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
884 @defopt list-matching-lines-default-context-lines
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
885 Default value is 0.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
886 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
887 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
888 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
889 @end defopt
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
890 @end ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
891
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
892 @node Search and Replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
893 @section Search and Replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
894 @cindex replacement
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
895
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
896 @defun perform-replace from-string replacements query-flag regexp-flag delimited-flag &optional repeat-count map
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
897 This function is the guts of @code{query-replace} and related commands.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
898 It searches for occurrences of @var{from-string} and replaces some or
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
899 all of them. If @var{query-flag} is @code{nil}, it replaces all
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
900 occurrences; otherwise, it asks the user what to do about each one.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
901
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parents:
diff changeset
902 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
903 considered a regular expression; otherwise, it must match literally. If
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
904 @var{delimited-flag} is non-@code{nil}, then only replacements
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
905 surrounded by word boundaries are considered.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
906
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
907 The argument @var{replacements} specifies what to replace occurrences
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
908 with. If it is a string, that string is used. It can also be a list of
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
909 strings, to be used in cyclic order.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
910
12282
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Melissa Weisshaus <melissa@gnu.org>
parents: 12125
diff changeset
911 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
912 it specifies how many times to use each of the strings in the
586e3ea81792 updates for version 19.29 made by melissa; also needed to check out files
Melissa Weisshaus <melissa@gnu.org>
parents: 12125
diff changeset
913 @var{replacements} list before advancing cyclicly to the next one.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
914
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
915 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
916 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
917 keymap to use instead of @code{query-replace-map}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
918 @end defun
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parents:
diff changeset
919
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parents:
diff changeset
920 @defvar query-replace-map
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parents:
diff changeset
921 This variable holds a special keymap that defines the valid user
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
922 responses for @code{query-replace} and related functions, as well as
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
923 @code{y-or-n-p} and @code{map-y-or-n-p}. It is unusual in two ways:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
924
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parents:
diff changeset
925 @itemize @bullet
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parents:
diff changeset
926 @item
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
927 The ``key bindings'' are not commands, just symbols that are meaningful
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
928 to the functions that use this map.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
929
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
930 @item
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
931 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
932 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
933 @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
934 event and look it up ``by hand.''
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
935 @end itemize
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
936 @end defvar
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
937
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
938 Here are the meaningful ``bindings'' for @code{query-replace-map}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
939 Several of them are meaningful only for @code{query-replace} and
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
940 friends.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
941
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parents:
diff changeset
942 @table @code
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parents:
diff changeset
943 @item act
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parents:
diff changeset
944 Do take the action being considered---in other words, ``yes.''
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parents:
diff changeset
945
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parents:
diff changeset
946 @item skip
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parents:
diff changeset
947 Do not take action for this question---in other words, ``no.''
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parents:
diff changeset
948
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parents:
diff changeset
949 @item exit
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
950 Answer this question ``no,'' and give up on the entire series of
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
951 questions, assuming that the answers will be ``no.''
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
952
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parents:
diff changeset
953 @item act-and-exit
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
954 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
955 questions, assuming that subsequent answers will be ``no.''
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
956
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parents:
diff changeset
957 @item act-and-show
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parents:
diff changeset
958 Answer this question ``yes,'' but show the results---don't advance yet
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
959 to the next question.
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parents:
diff changeset
960
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parents:
diff changeset
961 @item automatic
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parents:
diff changeset
962 Answer this question and all subsequent questions in the series with
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
963 ``yes,'' without further user interaction.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
964
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parents:
diff changeset
965 @item backup
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parents:
diff changeset
966 Move back to the previous place that a question was asked about.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
967
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
968 @item edit
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parents:
diff changeset
969 Enter a recursive edit to deal with this question---instead of any
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
970 other action that would normally be taken.
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parents:
diff changeset
971
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parents:
diff changeset
972 @item delete-and-edit
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
973 Delete the text being considered, then enter a recursive edit to replace
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
974 it.
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parents:
diff changeset
975
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parents:
diff changeset
976 @item recenter
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
977 Redisplay and center the window, then ask the same question again.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
978
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
979 @item quit
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
980 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
981 use this answer.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
982
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parents:
diff changeset
983 @item help
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
984 Display some help, then ask again.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
985 @end table
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parents:
diff changeset
986
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
987 @node Match Data
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
988 @section The Match Data
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
989 @cindex match data
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
990
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
991 Emacs keeps track of the positions of the start and end of segments of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
992 text found during a regular expression search. This means, for example,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
993 that you can search for a complex pattern, such as a date in an Rmail
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
994 message, and then extract parts of the match under control of the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
995 pattern.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
996
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
997 Because the match data normally describe the most recent search only,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
998 you must be careful not to do another search inadvertently between the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
999 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
1000 can't avoid another intervening search, you must save and restore the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1001 match data around it, to prevent it from being overwritten.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1002
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1003 @menu
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1004 * Replacing Match:: Replacing a substring that was matched.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1005 * Simple Match Data:: Accessing single items of match data,
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1006 such as where a particular subexpression started.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1007 * 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
1008 * Saving Match Data:: Saving and restoring the match data.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1009 @end menu
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1010
21682
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1011 @node Replacing Match
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1012 @subsection Replacing the Text That Matched
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1013
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1014 This function replaces the text matched by the last search with
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1015 @var{replacement}.
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1016
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1017 @cindex case in replacements
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1018 @defun replace-match replacement &optional fixedcase literal string subexp
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1019 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
1020 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
1021 @var{replacement}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1022
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1023 If you did the last search in a buffer, you should specify @code{nil}
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1024 for @var{string}. Then @code{replace-match} does the replacement by
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1025 editing the buffer; it leaves point at the end of the replacement text,
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1026 and returns @code{t}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1027
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1028 If you did the search in a string, pass the same string as @var{string}.
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1029 Then @code{replace-match} does the replacement by constructing and
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1030 returning a new string.
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1031
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1032 If @var{fixedcase} is non-@code{nil}, then the case of the replacement
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1033 text is not changed; otherwise, the replacement text is converted to a
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1034 different case depending upon the capitalization of the text to be
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1035 replaced. If the original text is all upper case, the replacement text
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1036 is converted to upper case. If the first word of the original text is
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1037 capitalized, then the first word of the replacement text is capitalized.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1038 If the original text contains just one word, and that word is a capital
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1039 letter, @code{replace-match} considers this a capitalized first word
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1040 rather than all upper case.
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1041
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1042 If @code{case-replace} is @code{nil}, then case conversion is not done,
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1043 regardless of the value of @var{fixed-case}. @xref{Searching and Case}.
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1044
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1045 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
1046 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
1047 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
1048 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
1049 part of one of the following sequences:
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1050
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1051 @table @asis
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1052 @item @samp{\&}
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1053 @cindex @samp{&} in replacement
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1054 @samp{\&} stands for the entire text being replaced.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1055
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1056 @item @samp{\@var{n}}
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1057 @cindex @samp{\@var{n}} in replacement
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1058 @samp{\@var{n}}, where @var{n} is a digit, stands for the text that
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1059 matched the @var{n}th subexpression in the original regexp.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1060 Subexpressions are those expressions grouped inside @samp{\(@dots{}\)}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1061
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1062 @item @samp{\\}
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1063 @cindex @samp{\} in replacement
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1064 @samp{\\} stands for a single @samp{\} in the replacement text.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1065 @end table
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1066
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1067 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
1068 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
1069 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
1070 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
1071 just the text that matched @samp{\(ba*r\)}.
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1072 @end defun
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1073
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1074 @node Simple Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1075 @subsection Simple Match Data Access
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1076
12067
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1077 This section explains how to use the match data to find out what was
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Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1078 matched by the last search or match operation.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1079
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1080 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
1081 parenthetical subexpression of a regular expression. The @var{count}
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1082 argument in the functions below specifies which. If @var{count} is
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1083 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
1084 positive, it specifies which subexpression you want.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1085
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1086 Recall that the subexpressions of a regular expression are those
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1087 expressions grouped with escaped parentheses, @samp{\(@dots{}\)}. The
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1088 @var{count}th subexpression is found by counting occurrences of
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1089 @samp{\(} from the beginning of the whole regular expression. The first
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1090 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
1091 expressions can have subexpressions---after a simple string search, the
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1092 only information available is about the entire match.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1093
22138
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1094 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
1095 past, a failing search did not do this, but we may change it in the
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1096 future.
d4ac295a98b3 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21682
diff changeset
1097
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1098 @defun match-string count &optional in-string
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1099 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
1100 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
1101 or just the portion corresponding to the @var{count}th parenthetical
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1102 subexpression, if @var{count} is positive. If @var{count} is out of
12098
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 12067
diff changeset
1103 range, or if that subexpression didn't match anything, the value is
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 12067
diff changeset
1104 @code{nil}.
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1105
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1106 If the last such operation was done against a string with
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1107 @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
1108 argument @var{in-string}. After a buffer search or match,
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1109 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
1110 should make sure that the current buffer when you call
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1111 @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
1112 matching.
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1113 @end defun
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1114
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1115 @defun match-string-no-properties count
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1116 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
1117 has no text properties.
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1118 @end defun
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 17886
diff changeset
1119
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1120 @defun match-beginning count
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1121 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
1122 last regular expression searched for, or a subexpression of it.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1123
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1124 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
1125 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
1126 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
1127 position of the match for that subexpression.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1128
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1129 The value is @code{nil} for a subexpression inside a @samp{\|}
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1130 alternative that wasn't used in the match.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1131 @end defun
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 @defun match-end count
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1134 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
1135 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
1136 beginning.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1137 @end defun
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1138
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1139 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
1140 positions within the text:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1141
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1142 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1143 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1144 (string-match "\\(qu\\)\\(ick\\)"
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1145 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1146 ;0123456789
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1147 @result{} 4
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1148 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1149
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1150 @group
12067
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1151 (match-string 0 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1152 @result{} "quick"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1153 (match-string 1 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1154 @result{} "qu"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1155 (match-string 2 "The quick fox jumped quickly.")
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1156 @result{} "ick"
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1157 @end group
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1158
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
Karl Heuer <kwzh@gnu.org>
parents: 11651
diff changeset
1159 @group
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1160 (match-beginning 1) ; @r{The beginning of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1161 @result{} 4 ; @r{with @samp{qu} is at index 4.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1162 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1163
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1164 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1165 (match-beginning 2) ; @r{The beginning of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1166 @result{} 6 ; @r{with @samp{ick} is at index 6.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1167 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1168
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1169 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1170 (match-end 1) ; @r{The end of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1171 @result{} 6 ; @r{with @samp{qu} is at index 6.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1172
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1173 (match-end 2) ; @r{The end of the match}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1174 @result{} 9 ; @r{with @samp{ick} is at index 9.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1175 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1176 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1177
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1178 Here is another example. Point is initially located at the beginning
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1179 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
1180 @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
1181 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
1182 subexpression is at the 13th character (@samp{c}).
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1183
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1184 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1185 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1186 (list
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1187 (re-search-forward "The \\(cat \\)")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1188 (match-beginning 0)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1189 (match-beginning 1))
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1190 @result{} (9 9 13)
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1191 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1192
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1193 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1194 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1195 I read "The cat @point{}in the hat comes back" twice.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1196 ^ ^
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1197 9 13
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1198 ---------- Buffer: foo ----------
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1199 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1200 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1201
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1202 @noindent
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1203 (In this case, the index returned is a buffer position; the first
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1204 character of the buffer counts as 1.)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1205
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1206 @node Entire Match Data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1207 @subsection Accessing the Entire Match Data
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 The functions @code{match-data} and @code{set-match-data} read or
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1210 write the entire match data, all at once.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1211
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1212 @defun match-data
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1213 This function returns a newly constructed list containing all the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1214 information on what text the last search matched. Element zero is the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1215 position of the beginning of the match for the whole expression; element
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1216 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
1217 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
1218 match for the first subexpression, and so on. In general, element
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1219 @ifinfo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1220 number 2@var{n}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1221 @end ifinfo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1222 @tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1223 number {\mathsurround=0pt $2n$}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1224 @end tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1225 corresponds to @code{(match-beginning @var{n})}; and
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1226 element
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1227 @ifinfo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1228 number 2@var{n} + 1
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1229 @end ifinfo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1230 @tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1231 number {\mathsurround=0pt $2n+1$}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1232 @end tex
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1233 corresponds to @code{(match-end @var{n})}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1234
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1235 All the elements are markers or @code{nil} if matching was done on a
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1236 buffer, and all are integers or @code{nil} if matching was done on a
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1237 string with @code{string-match}.
6552
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 As always, there must be no possibility of intervening searches between
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1240 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
1241 intended to access the match data for that search.
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 @example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1244 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1245 (match-data)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1246 @result{} (#<marker at 9 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1247 #<marker at 17 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1248 #<marker at 13 in foo>
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1249 #<marker at 17 in foo>)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1250 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1251 @end example
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1252 @end defun
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 @defun set-match-data match-list
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1255 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
1256 which should be a list that was the value of a previous call to
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1257 @code{match-data}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1258
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1259 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
1260 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
1261
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1262 @findex store-match-data
21682
90da2489c498 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1263 @code{store-match-data} is a semi-obsolete alias for @code{set-match-data}.
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parents:
diff changeset
1264 @end defun
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parents:
diff changeset
1265
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parents:
diff changeset
1266 @node Saving Match Data
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parents:
diff changeset
1267 @subsection Saving and Restoring the Match Data
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parents:
diff changeset
1268
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6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1269 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
1270 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
1271 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
1272 that shows the problem that arises if you fail to save the match data:
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parents:
diff changeset
1273
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parents:
diff changeset
1274 @example
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parents:
diff changeset
1275 @group
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parents:
diff changeset
1276 (re-search-forward "The \\(cat \\)")
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1277 @result{} 48
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1278 (foo) ; @r{Perhaps @code{foo} does}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1279 ; @r{more searching.}
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parents:
diff changeset
1280 (match-end 0)
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parents:
diff changeset
1281 @result{} 61 ; @r{Unexpected result---not 48!}
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parents:
diff changeset
1282 @end group
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1283 @end example
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1284
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6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1285 You can save and restore the match data with @code{save-match-data}:
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parents:
diff changeset
1286
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diff changeset
1287 @defmac save-match-data body@dots{}
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parents: 22138
diff changeset
1288 This macro executes @var{body}, saving and restoring the match
10038
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1289 data around it.
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parents: 12067
diff changeset
1290 @end defmac
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parents:
diff changeset
1291
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diff changeset
1292 You could use @code{set-match-data} together with @code{match-data} to
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1293 imitate the effect of the special form @code{save-match-data}. Here is
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 21007
diff changeset
1294 how:
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diff changeset
1295
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diff changeset
1296 @example
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parents:
diff changeset
1297 @group
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parents:
diff changeset
1298 (let ((data (match-data)))
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parents:
diff changeset
1299 (unwind-protect
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66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
1300 @dots{} ; @r{Ok to change the original match data.}
6552
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diff changeset
1301 (set-match-data data)))
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diff changeset
1302 @end group
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diff changeset
1303 @end example
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parents:
diff changeset
1304
10038
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1305 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
1306 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
1307 sentinels (@pxref{Sentinels}).
6b8e51b286c6 Filters and sentinels now save match data themselves.
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8469
diff changeset
1308
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1309 @ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1310 Here is a function which restores the match data provided the buffer
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1311 associated with it still exists.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1312
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parents:
diff changeset
1313 @smallexample
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parents:
diff changeset
1314 @group
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1315 (defun restore-match-data (data)
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1316 @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
1317 @c If there's a problem here, it should be solved in some other way.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1318 "Restore the match data DATA unless the buffer is missing."
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1319 (catch 'foo
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1320 (let ((d data))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1321 @end group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1322 (while d
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1323 (and (car d)
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1324 (null (marker-buffer (car d)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1325 @group
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1326 ;; @file{match-data} @r{buffer is deleted.}
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1327 (throw 'foo nil))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1328 (setq d (cdr d)))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1329 (set-match-data data))))
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1330 @end group
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1331 @end smallexample
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1332 @end ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1333
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parents:
diff changeset
1334 @node Searching and Case
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1335 @section Searching and Case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1336 @cindex searching and case
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parents:
diff changeset
1337
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1338 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
1339 searching through; if you specify searching for @samp{FOO}, then
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
1340 @samp{Foo} or @samp{foo} is also considered a match. This applies to
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
1341 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
1342 @samp{A} or @samp{b} or @samp{B}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1343
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1344 If you do not want this feature, set the variable
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1345 @code{case-fold-search} to @code{nil}. Then all letters must match
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
1346 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
1347 variable affects only the current buffer. (@xref{Intro to
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1348 Buffer-Local}.) Alternatively, you may change the value of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1349 @code{default-case-fold-search}, which is the default value of
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1350 @code{case-fold-search} for buffers that do not override it.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1351
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1352 Note that the user-level incremental search feature handles case
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1353 distinctions differently. When given a lower case letter, it looks for
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1354 a match of either case, but when given an upper case letter, it looks
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1355 for an upper case letter only. But this has nothing to do with the
21007
66d807bdc5b4 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 17886
diff changeset
1356 searching functions used in Lisp code.
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parents:
diff changeset
1357
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parents:
diff changeset
1358 @defopt case-replace
8469
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
1359 This variable determines whether the replacement functions should
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
1360 preserve case. If the variable is @code{nil}, that means to use the
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1361 replacement text verbatim. A non-@code{nil} value means to convert the
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1362 case of the replacement text according to the text being replaced.
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1363
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
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parents: 8427
diff changeset
1364 The function @code{replace-match} is where this variable actually has
9e44c96dd99d entered into RCS
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents: 8427
diff changeset
1365 its effect. @xref{Replacing Match}.
6552
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1366 @end defopt
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1367
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1368 @defopt case-fold-search
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1369 This buffer-local variable determines whether searches should ignore
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1370 case. If the variable is @code{nil} they do not ignore case; otherwise
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1371 they do ignore case.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1372 @end defopt
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1373
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1374 @defvar default-case-fold-search
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1375 The value of this variable is the default value for
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1376 @code{case-fold-search} in buffers that do not override it. This is the
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1377 same as @code{(default-value 'case-fold-search)}.
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1378 @end defvar
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parents:
diff changeset
1379
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parents:
diff changeset
1380 @node Standard Regexps
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Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1381 @section Standard Regular Expressions Used in Editing
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1382 @cindex regexps used standardly in editing
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1383 @cindex standard regexps used in editing
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1384
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1385 This section describes some variables that hold regular expressions
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
1386 used for certain purposes in editing:
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1387
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diff changeset
1388 @defvar page-delimiter
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1389 This is the regular expression describing line-beginnings that separate
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1390 pages. The default value is @code{"^\014"} (i.e., @code{"^^L"} or
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1391 @code{"^\C-l"}); this matches a line that starts with a formfeed
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parents: 21007
diff changeset
1392 character.
6552
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parents:
diff changeset
1393 @end defvar
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parents:
diff changeset
1394
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diff changeset
1395 The following two regular expressions should @emph{not} assume the
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
1396 match always starts at the beginning of a line; they should not use
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parents: 11651
diff changeset
1397 @samp{^} to anchor the match. Most often, the paragraph commands do
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diff changeset
1398 check for a match only at the beginning of a line, which means that
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diff changeset
1399 @samp{^} would be superfluous. When there is a nonzero left margin,
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 12067
diff changeset
1400 they accept matches that start after the left margin. In that case, a
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parents: 12067
diff changeset
1401 @samp{^} would be incorrect. However, a @samp{^} is harmless in modes
a6eb5f12b0f3 *** empty log message ***
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parents: 12067
diff changeset
1402 where a left margin is never used.
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diff changeset
1403
6552
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diff changeset
1404 @defvar paragraph-separate
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parents:
diff changeset
1405 This is the regular expression for recognizing the beginning of a line
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1406 that separates paragraphs. (If you change this, you may have to
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diff changeset
1407 change @code{paragraph-start} also.) The default value is
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diff changeset
1408 @w{@code{"[@ \t\f]*$"}}, which matches a line that consists entirely of
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diff changeset
1409 spaces, tabs, and form feeds (after its left margin).
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diff changeset
1410 @end defvar
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parents:
diff changeset
1411
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diff changeset
1412 @defvar paragraph-start
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parents:
diff changeset
1413 This is the regular expression for recognizing the beginning of a line
3b84ed22f747 Initial revision
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parents:
diff changeset
1414 that starts @emph{or} separates paragraphs. The default value is
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1415 @w{@code{"[@ \t\n\f]"}}, which matches a line starting with a space, tab,
73dc8205d259 *** empty log message ***
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diff changeset
1416 newline, or form feed (after its left margin).
6552
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diff changeset
1417 @end defvar
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1418
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1419 @defvar sentence-end
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1420 This is the regular expression describing the end of a sentence. (All
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1421 paragraph boundaries also end sentences, regardless.) The default value
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1422 is:
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1423
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1424 @example
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1425 "[.?!][]\"')@}]*\\($\\| $\\|\t\\| \\)[ \t\n]*"
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1426 @end example
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1427
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1428 This means a period, question mark or exclamation mark, followed
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1429 optionally by a closing parenthetical character, followed by tabs,
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1430 spaces or new lines.
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1431
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1432 For a detailed explanation of this regular expression, see @ref{Regexp
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1433 Example}.
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1434 @end defvar