Regular expressions - Revision history

Jsimlo at 22:03, 25 November 2021

2021-11-25T22:03:41Z

Jsimlo at 20:18, 10 October 2021

2021-10-10T20:18:22Z

Jsimlo at 21:49, 6 October 2021

2021-10-06T21:49:26Z

Jsimlo at 21:35, 6 October 2021

2021-10-06T21:35:54Z

Jsimlo at 23:33, 5 October 2021

2021-10-05T23:33:55Z

Jsimlo at 23:28, 5 October 2021

2021-10-05T23:28:56Z

Jsimlo at 19:37, 7 March 2021

2021-03-07T19:37:04Z

Jsimlo: /* More escape sequences */

2014-02-20T14:59:03Z

More escape sequences

Jsimlo: /* Character classes */

2014-02-20T14:44:38Z

Character classes

Jsimlo: /* Character classes */

2014-02-20T14:31:50Z

Character classes

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<noinclude>{{manversion|6.0.0.17|feature}}__NOTOC__</noinclude>
+<noinclude>{{manversion|6.3.0.8|feature}}__NOTOC__</noinclude>
 * '''[[#Basic syntax and priciples|RegExps Patterns]]'''
 ** [[#Special-purpose characters|Special-purpose characters]]

@@ Line 106: / Line 106: @@
 ::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|abc{3<nowiki>}</nowiki>}} matches {{string|abccc}}.
 :; {{string|<nowiki>{,n}</nowiki>}}
-:: Match the quantified construct upto {{string|n}} times, matching as much as possible.
+:: Match the quantified construct up to {{string|n}} times, matching as much as possible.
 ::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|c{,3<nowiki>}</nowiki>}} matches an ''empty string'' or single {{string|c}} or double {{string|cc}} or {{string|ccc}}.
 ::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|abc{,3<nowiki>}</nowiki>}} matches {{string|ab}} or {{string|abc}} or {{string|abcc}} or {{string|abccc}}.

@@ Line 454: / Line 454: @@
-{{todo|
+:; {{string|\#d}}
-    + Added: Replace pattern \#d to add decimal number of the current replacement.
+:: Inserts the number of the current replacement as a decimal number.
-    + Added: Replace pattern \#x to add lowercase hexadecimal number of the current replacement.
+:: Note: This replace pattern only make sense during {{button|Replace|Replace All}} or in the {{feature|Extended Replace}} tool.
-    + Added: Replace pattern \#X to add uppercase hexadecimal number of the current replacement.
+:: When using {{button|Replace|Replace}} on individual replacements, the replacement number is always 1.
-    + Added: Replace pattern \#b to add binary number of the current replacement.
+:; {{string|\#x}}
-    + Added: Replace pattern \#o to add octal number of the current replacement.
+:: Inserts the number of the current replacement as a lowercase hexadecimal number.
-    	(these only make sense in Replace All; they always return 1 when replacing finds individually)
+:; {{string|\#X}}
-    + Added: Replace pattern \*d to add a random decimal number.
-    + Added: Replace pattern \*x to add a random lowercase hexadecimal number.
+:; {{string|\*d}}
-    + Added: Replace pattern \*X to add a random uppercase hexadecimal number.
+:: Inserts a random decimal number.
-    + Added: Replace pattern \*b to add a random binary number.
+:; {{string|\*x}}
-    + Added: Replace pattern \*o to add a random octal number.
+:: Inserts a random lowercase hexadecimal number.
-}}
+:; {{string|\*X}}
 =====Expression examples=====

@@ Line 444: / Line 444: @@
 :: Back-reference to the last successfull captured group. Consider having several alternations, each with a group inside it. Only one of the alternations will match, thus only one of those groups will be valid upon replacing. This back-reference allows referencing the correct one of those groups, based on which of the alternations matched.
 ::* Note: This can also be achieved by using branch reset cluster groups.
 {{todo|
      + Added: Replace pattern \#d to add decimal number of the current replacement.
      + Added: Replace pattern \#x to add lowercase hexadecimal number of the current replacement.

@@ Line 446: / Line 446: @@
 {{todo|
-     +added: Replace pattern \L& to add length of the whole match.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \L& to add the length of the whole match.
-     +added: Replace pattern \L1..9 to add length of the given captured group.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \L1..9 to add the length of the given captured group.
-     +added: Replace pattern \L+ to add length of the last successfull captured group.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \L+ to add the length of the last successfull captured group.
-     +added: Replace pattern \#d to add decimal number of the replacement.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \#d to add decimal number of the current replacement.
-     +added: Replace pattern \#x to add lowercase hexadecimal number of the replacement.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \#x to add lowercase hexadecimal number of the current replacement.
-     +added: Replace pattern \#X to add uppercase hexadecimal number of the replacement.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \#X to add uppercase hexadecimal number of the current replacement.
-     +added: Replace pattern \#b to add binary number of the replacement.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \#b to add binary number of the current replacement.
-     +added: Replace pattern \#o to add octal number of the replacement.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \#o to add octal number of the current replacement.
      	(these only make sense in Replace All; they always return 1 when replacing finds individually)
-     +added: Replace pattern \*d to add random decimal number.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \*d to add a random decimal number.
-     +added: Replace pattern \*x to add random lowercase hexadecimal number.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \*x to add a random lowercase hexadecimal number.
-     +added: Replace pattern \*X to add random uppercase hexadecimal number.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \*X to add a random uppercase hexadecimal number.
-     +added: Replace pattern \*b to add random binary number.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \*b to add a random binary number.
-     +added: Replace pattern \*o to add random octal number.
+     + Added: Replace pattern \*o to add a random octal number.
 }}

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 =====Basic syntax and priciples=====
-Regular expressions intend to offer a standardized way to enrich plain-text search patterns with an ability to use wildcards, repetitions, multiple alternatives, etc. While a plain-text search for {{string|abc}} will always yield an occurence of {{string|abc}}, a regular expression search pattern like {{regexp|<nowiki>abc|xy</nowiki>}} can search for both {{string|abc}} and {{string|xy}} at the same time and report which one was found first. And this is just the beginning. Regular expressions can be used to find any e-mail address in the document, locate every html tag, find every word that ends with {{string|ing}} and much much more.
+Regular expressions (also called RegExp, RegExps; or RegEx, RegExes, RegExen) intend to offer a standardized way to enrich plain-text search patterns with an ability to use wildcards, repetitions, multiple alternatives, etc. While a plain-text search for {{string|abc}} will always yield an occurence of {{string|abc}}, a regular expression search pattern like {{regexp|<nowiki>abc|xy</nowiki>}} can search for both {{string|abc}} and {{string|xy}} at the same time and report which one was found first. And this is just the beginning. Regular expressions can be used to find any e-mail address in the document, locate every html tag, find every word that ends with {{string|ing}} and much much more.
 :; {{string|a}}, {{string|b}}, {{string|c}}, ..., {{string|z}}

@@ Line 367: / Line 367: @@
 :; {{string|\\}}
-:: Matches character {{string|\}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|\}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|\}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|\}} has a special meaning of introducing escapes.
 :; {{string|\^}}
-:: Matches character {{string|^}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|^}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|^}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|^}} has a special meaning of matching at line beginnings.
 :; {{string|\$}}
-:: Matches character {{string|$}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|$}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|$}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|$}} has a special meaning of matching at line ends.
 :; {{string|\.}}
-:: Matches character {{string|.}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|.}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|.}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|.}} has a special meaning of matching almost anything.
 :; {{string|\<nowiki>|</nowiki>}}
-:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>|</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>|</nowiki>}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>|</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>|</nowiki>}} has a special meaning of dividing alternations or starting a branching cluster group.
 :; {{string|\(}}
-:: Matches character {{string|(}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|(}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|(}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|(}} has a special meaning of starting a capture group.
 :; {{string|\)}}
-:: Matches character {{string|)}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|)}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|)}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|)}} has a special meaning of ending a capture group.
 :; {{string|\[}}
-:: Matches character {{string|[}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|[}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|[}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|[}} has a special meaning of starting a character class.
 :; {{string|\]}}
-:: Matches character {{string|]}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|]}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|]}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|]}} has a special meaning of ending a character class.
 :; {{string|\*}}
-:: Matches character {{string|*}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|*}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|*}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|*}} has a special meaning of repetition quantifier.
 :; {{string|\+}}
-:: Matches character {{string|+}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|+}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|+}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|+}} has a special meaning of repetition quantifier.
 :; {{string|\?}}
-:: Matches character {{string|?}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|?}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|?}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|?}} has a special meaning of repetition quantifier or starting a cluster group.
 :; {{string|\<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}
-:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>{</nowiki>}} has a special meaning of starting a repetition quantifier.
 :; {{string|\<nowiki>}</nowiki>}}
-:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>}</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>}</nowiki>}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|<nowiki>}</nowiki>}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>}</nowiki>}} has a special meaning of ending a repetition quantifier.
 :; {{string|\&lt;}}
-:: Matches character {{string|&lt;}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|&lt;}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|&lt;}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|&lt;}} might have a special meaning in the future.
 :; {{string|\&gt;}}
-:: Matches character {{string|&gt;}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|&gt;}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|&gt;}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|&gt;}} has a special meaning of starting a possesive cluster group.
 :; {{string|\:}}
-:: Matches character {{string|:}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|:}} has a special meaning.
+:: Matches character {{string|:}}. Note: Unescaped single {{string|:}} has a special meaning of starting a simple cluster group.
 =====Replace patterns=====

@@ Line 301: / Line 301: @@
 ::: Adds a {{string|^}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|^}} has a special meaning, though only at the very beginning of a class.
 ::; {{string|\[}}
-::: Adds a {{string|[}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|[}} has a special meaning, if followed by a {{string|:}} character.
+::: Adds a {{string|<nowiki>[</nowiki>}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|<nowiki>[</nowiki>}} has a special meaning, if followed by a {{string|:}} character.
 ::; {{string|\]}}
 ::: Adds a {{string|]}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|]}} has a special meaning, unless it is at the very beginning of a class.
@@ Line 307: / Line 307: @@
 ::: Adds a {{string|-}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|-}} might have a special meaning, unless it is at the very beginning or very end of a class.
 ::; {{string|\:}}
-::: Adds a {{string|:}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|:}} has a special meaning, if following a {{string|[}} character.
+::: Adds a {{string|:}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|:}} has a special meaning, if following a {{string|<nowiki>[</nowiki>}} character.
+::; {{string|<nowiki>[:</nowiki>}}posix{{string|<nowiki>:]</nowiki>}}
+::: Adds a standard POSIX character class to the class.
-{{todo|
+:::; {{string|<nowiki>[:alpha:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:alnum:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:blank:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:cntrl:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:digit:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:graph:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:lower:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:print:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:punct:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:space:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:upper:]</nowiki>}}, {{string|<nowiki>[:xdigi:]</nowiki>}}.
-  Any of these constructs may appear in the character class.
+:::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|<nowiki>[[:alnum:]]</nowiki>}} matches any single POSIX alphanumeric character.
+:::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|<nowiki>[[:alpha:][:digit:]]</nowiki>}} matches any single POSIX letter or digit.
-  [:alpha:]   class function: alphas
+:::* Example: Pattern {{regexp|<nowiki>[[:xdigi:]:-]+</nowiki>}} matches a sequence of hexadecimal numbers, colons and dashes.
 =====Capture groups=====

@@ Line 288: / Line 288: @@
-:::{{todo|
+::; {{string|\x}}''hh''
-  Any of these constructs may appear in the character class.
+::: Adds a character given in '''hh''' hex notation.
 ::; {{string|\\}}
-::: Adds a escape for \
+::: Adds a {{string|\}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|\}} has a special meaning of introducing escapes.
 ::; {{string|\^}}
-::: Adds a escape for ^
+::: Adds a {{string|^}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|^}} has a special meaning, though only at the very beginning of a class.
 ::; {{string|\[}}
-::: Adds a escape for [
+::: Adds a {{string|[}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|[}} has a special meaning, if followed by a {{string|:}} character.
 ::; {{string|\]}}
-::: Adds a escape for ]
+::: Adds a {{string|]}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|]}} has a special meaning, unless it is at the very beginning of a class.
 ::; {{string|\-}}
-::: Adds a escape for -
+::: Adds a {{string|-}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|-}} might have a special meaning, unless it is at the very beginning or very end of a class.
 ::; {{string|\:}}
-::: Adds a escape for :
+::: Adds a {{string|:}} to the class. Note: Unescaped single {{string|:}} has a special meaning, if following a {{string|[}} character.
    [:alpha:]   class function: alphas