REGEX Library Documentation

written by Reuben Thomas & Shmuel Zeigerman, taken from https://luarocks.org/modules/rrt/lrexlib-pcre2.


Licence of Lrexlib release
--------------------------

Copyright (C) Reuben Thomas 2000-2020
Copyright (C) Shmuel Zeigerman 2004-2020

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated
documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the
Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS
OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR
OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.


Lrexlib Reference Manual
========================

.. contents:: Table of Contents

------------------------------------------------------------

**Lrexlib** builds into shared libraries called by default *rex_posix.so*,
*rex_pcre.so*, *rex_pcre2.so*, *rex_gnu.so*, *rex_tre.so* and *rex_onig.so*,
which can be used with *require*.

------------------------------------------------------------

Notes
~~~~~

1. Most functions and methods in Lrexlib have mandatory and optional arguments.
   There are no dependencies between arguments in Lrexlib's functions and
   methods. Any optional argument can be supplied as ``nil`` (or omitted if it
   is a trailing argument), the library will then use the default value for that
   argument.

2. This document uses the following syntax for optional arguments: they are
   bracketed separately, and commas are left outside brackets, e.g.::

    MyFunc (arg1, arg2, [arg3], [arg4])

3. Throughout this document (unless it causes ambiguity), the identifier **rex**
   is used in place of either *rex_posix*, *rex_pcre*, *rex_pcre2*, *rex_gnu*,
   *rex_onig* or *rex_tre*, which are the default namespaces for the corresponding
   libraries.

4. All functions that take a regular expression pattern as an argument will
   generate an error if that pattern is found invalid by the regex library.

5. All functions that take a string-type regex argument accept a compiled regex
   too. In this case, the cf_ and larg_ arguments are ignored (should
   be either supplied as nils or omitted).

6. All functions that take a string-type subject accept a table or userdata that
   has a ``topointer`` method and ``__len`` metamethod, and take the subject to
   be a block of memory starting at the address returned by
   ``subject:topointer()`` and of length ``#subject``. This works with buffers
   objects from the alien library (https://github.com/mascarenhas/alien). Note
   that special attention is needed with POSIX regex libraries that do not
   support ``REG_STARTEND``, and hence need NUL-terminated subjects: the NUL is
   not included in the string length, so alien buffers must be wrapped to report
   a length that excludes the NUL.

.. _cf:

7. The default value for *compilation flags* (*cf*) that Lrexlib uses when
   the parameter is not supplied or ``nil`` is:

     * ``REG_EXTENDED`` for POSIX and TRE
     * ``0`` for PCRE and PCRE2
     * ``ONIG_OPTION_NONE`` for Oniguruma
     * ``SYNTAX_POSIX_EXTENDED`` for GNU

   **PCRE**, **PCRE2**, **Oniguruma**: *cf* may also be supplied as a string,
   whose characters stand for compilation flags. Combinations of the following
   characters (case sensitive) are supported:

      ===============   ==================   ==================   ==============================
       **Character**      **PCRE flag**       **PCRE2 flag**        **Oniguruma flag**
      ===============   ==================   ==================   ==============================
       **i**              PCRE_CASELESS        PCRE2_CASELESS      ONIG_OPTION_IGNORECASE
       **m**              PCRE_MULTILINE       PCRE2_MULTILINE     ONIG_OPTION_NEGATE_SINGLELINE
       **s**              PCRE_DOTALL          PCRE2_DOTALL        ONIG_OPTION_MULTILINE
       **x**              PCRE_EXTENDED        PCRE2_EXTENDED      ONIG_OPTION_EXTEND
       **U**              PCRE_UNGREEDY        PCRE2_UNGREEDY      n/a
       **X**              PCRE_EXTRA           n/a                 n/a
      ===============   ==================   ==================   ==============================

.. _ef:

8. The default value for *execution flags* (*ef*) that Lrexlib uses when
   the parameter is not supplied or ``nil``, is:

     * ``0`` for standard POSIX regex library
     * ``REG_STARTEND`` for those POSIX regex libraries that support it, e.g. Spencer's
     * ``0`` for PCRE, PCRE2, Oniguruma and TRE

.. _larg:

9. The notation *larg...* is used to indicate optional library-specific
   arguments, which are documented in the ``new`` method of each library.

10. In the functions searching for multiple matches (``gmatch``, ``gsub``,
    ``split``, ``count``) every empty match adjacent to the previous match
    is discarded, e.g. ``rex.count("abc",".*")`` will return 1.

------------------------------------------------------------

Functions and methods common to all bindings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

match
-----

:funcdef:`rex.match (subj, patt, [init], [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

or

:funcdef:`r:match (subj, [init], [ef])`

The function searches for the first match of the regexp *patt* in the string
*subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to flags *cf* and *ef*.

  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description            |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===============================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new   |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |          subject              | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern     |string  |     n/a     |
  |         |                               |or      |             |
  |         |                               |userdata|             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject    | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)              |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR) | number |     cf_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)   | number |     ef_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments     |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
  1. All substring matches ("captures"), in the order they appear in the
     pattern. ``false`` is returned for sub-patterns that did not participate in
     the match. If the pattern specified no captures then the whole matched
     substring is returned.

**Returns on failure:**
  1. ``nil``

------------------------------------------------------------

find
----

:funcdef:`rex.find (subj, patt, [init], [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

or

:funcdef:`r:find (subj, [init], [ef])`

The function searches for the first match of the regexp *patt* in the string
*subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to flags *cf* and *ef*.

  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description            |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===============================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new   |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |subject                        | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern     |string  |     n/a     |
  |         |                               |or      |             |
  |         |                               |userdata|             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject    | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)              |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR) | number |      cf_    |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)   | number |      ef_    |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments     |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
  1. The start point of the match (a number).
  2. The end point of the match (a number).
  3. All substring matches ("captures"), in the order they appear in the
     pattern. ``false`` is returned for sub-patterns that did not participate in
     the match.

**Returns on failure:**
  1. ``nil``

------------------------------------------------------------

gmatch
------

:funcdef:`rex.gmatch (subj, patt, [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

The function is intended for use in the *generic for* Lua construct.
It returns an iterator for repeated matching of the pattern *patt* in
the string *subj*, subject to flags *cf* and *ef*.

  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|      Description              | Type   |Default Value|
  +=========+===============================+========+=============+
  |  subj   |subject                        |string  |     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern     |string  |     n/a     |
  |         |                               |or      |             |
  |         |                               |userdata|             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR) |number  |     cf_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)   |number  |     ef_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments     |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+

The iterator function is called by Lua. On every iteration (that is, on every
match), it returns all captures in the order they appear in the pattern (or the
entire match if the pattern specified no captures). The iteration will continue
till the subject fails to match.

------------------------------------------------------------

gsub
----

:funcdef:`rex.gsub (subj, patt, repl, [n], [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

This function searches for all matches of the pattern *patt* in the string
*subj* and replaces them according to the parameters *repl* and *n* (see details
below).

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |Parameter|       Description                 |          Type            |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+==========================+=============+
  |  subj   |subject                            |         string           |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern         |string or userdata        |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  repl   |substitution source                |string, function or table |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |   [n]   |maximum number of matches to search| number or function       |   ``nil``   |
  |         |for, or control function, or nil   |                          |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR)     |         number           |     cf_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       |         number           |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments         |                          |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+

**Returns:**
  1. The subject string with the substitutions made.
  2. Number of matches found.
  3. Number of substitutions made.

**Details:**
  The parameter *repl* can be either a string, a function or a table.
  On each match made, it is converted into a value *repl_out* that may be used
  for the replacement.

  *repl_out* is generated differently depending on the type of *repl*:

  1. If *repl* is a *string* then it is treated as a template for substitution,
     where the %X occurences in *repl* are handled in a special way, depending
     on the value of the character X:

    * if X represents a digit, then each %X occurence is substituted by the
      value of the X-th submatch (capture), with the following cases handled
      specially:

      * each %0 is substituted by the entire match
      * if the pattern contains no captures, then each %1 is substituted by the
        entire match
      * any other %X where X is greater than the number of captures in the
        pattern will generate an error ("invalid capture index")
      * if the pattern does contain a capture with number X but that capture
        didn't participate in the match, then %X is substituted by an empty
        string

    * if X is any non-digit character then %X is substituted by X

    All parts of *repl* other than %X are copied to *repl_out* verbatim.

  2. If *repl* is a *function* then it is called on each match with the
     submatches passed as parameters (if there are no submatches then the entire
     match is passed as the only parameter). *repl_out* is the return value of
     the *repl* call, and is interpreted as follows:

    * if it is a string or a number (coerced to a string), then the replacement
      value is that string;
    * if it is a ``nil`` or a ``false``, then no replacement is to be done;

  3. If *repl* is a table then *repl_out* is *repl* [m1], where m1 is the first
     submatch (or the entire match if there are no submatches), following the
     same rules as for the return value of *repl* call, described in the above
     paragraph.

  Note: Under some circumstances, the value of *repl_out* may be ignored; see
  below_.

  gsub behaves differently depending on the type of *n*:

  1. If *n* is a *number* then it is treated as the maximum number of matches
     to search for (an omitted or ``nil`` value means an unlimited number of
     matches). On each match, the replacement value is the *repl_out* string
     (see above).

.. _below:

  2. If *n* is a function, then it is called on each match, after *repl_out* is
     produced (so if *repl* is a function, it will be called prior to the *n*
     call).

     *n* receives 3 arguments and returns 2 values. Its arguments are:

       1. The start offset of the match (a number)
       2. The end offset of the match (a number)
       3. *repl_out*

     The type of its first return controls the replacement produced by gsub for
     the current match:

       * ``true`` -- replace/don't replace, according to *repl_out*;
       * ``nil``/``false`` -- don't replace;
       * a string (or a number coerced to a string) -- replace by that string;

     The type of its second return controls gsub behavior after the current
     match is handled:

       * ``nil``/``false`` -- no changes: *n* will be called on the next match;
       * ``true`` -- search for an unlimited number of matches; *n* will not be
         called again;
       * a number -- maximum number of matches to search for, beginning from the
         next match; *n* will not be called again;

------------------------------------------------------------

split
-----

:funcdef:`rex.split (subj, sep, [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

The function is intended for use in the *generic for* Lua construct.
It is used for splitting a subject string *subj* into parts (*sections*).
The *sep* parameter is a regular expression pattern representing
**separators** between the sections.

The function returns an iterator for repeated matching of the pattern *sep* in
the string *subj*, subject to flags *cf* and *ef*.

  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|      Description              | Type   |Default Value|
  +=========+===============================+========+=============+
  |  subj   |subject                        |string  |     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |   sep   |separator (regular expression  |string  |     n/a     |
  |         |pattern)                       |or      |             |
  |         |                               |userdata|             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR) |number  |     cf_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)   |number  |     ef_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments     |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**On every iteration pass, the iterator returns:**

  1. A subject section (can be an empty string), followed by
  2. All captures in the order they appear in the *sep* pattern (or the entire
     match if the *sep* pattern specified no captures). If there is no match
     (this can occur only in the last iteration), then nothing is returned after
     the subject section.

The iteration will continue till the end of the subject. Unlike gmatch_, there
will always be at least one iteration pass, even if there are no matches in the
subject.

------------------------------------------------------------

count
-----

:funcdef:`rex.count (subj, patt, [cf], [ef], [larg...])`

This function counts matches of the pattern *patt* in the string *subj*.

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |Parameter|       Description                 |          Type            |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+==========================+=============+
  |  subj   |subject                            |         string           |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern         |string or userdata        |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR)     |         number           |     cf_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       |         number           |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments         |                          |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------------------------+-------------+

**Returns:**
  1. Number of matches found.

------------------------------------------------------------

flags
-----

:funcdef:`rex.flags ([tb])`

This function returns a table containing the numeric values of the constants
defined by the used regex library, with the keys being the (string) names of the
constants. If the table argument *tb* is supplied then it is used as the output
table, otherwise a new table is created.

The constants contained in the returned table can then be used in most functions
and methods where *compilation flags* or *execution flags* can be specified.
They can also be used for comparing with return codes of some functions and
methods for determining the reason of failure. For details, see the relevant
regex library's documentation.

  +---------+--------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description             |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+================================+========+=============+
  |  [tb]   |a table for placing results into| table  |  ``nil``    |
  +---------+--------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns:**
 1. A table filled with the results.

**Notes:**
The keys in the `tb` table are formed from the names of the corresponding
constants in the used library. They are formed as follows:

* **POSIX**, **TRE**: prefix REG\_ is omitted, e.g. REG_ICASE becomes ``"ICASE"``.
* **PCRE:** prefix PCRE\_ is omitted, e.g. PCRE_CASELESS becomes ``"CASELESS"``.
* **PCRE2:** prefix PCRE2\_ is omitted, e.g. PCRE2_CASELESS becomes ``"CASELESS"``.
* **Oniguruma:** names of constants are converted to strings with no alteration,
  but for ONIG_OPTION_xxx constants, alias strings are created additionally,
  e.g., the value of ONIG_OPTION_IGNORECASE constant becomes accessible via
  either of two keys: ``"ONIG_OPTION_IGNORECASE"`` and ``"IGNORECASE"``.
* **GNU**: the GNU library provides the flags ``not_bol``, which stops a
  beginning-of-line anchor from matching at the start of a string, ``not_eol``,
  which stops an end-of-line anchor from matching at the end of a string, and
  ``backward`` which causes the search to be performed backwards (that is, the
  pattern is matched from positions starting at the end of the string; however,
  the matches themselves are still made forwards), as well as the RE_xxx syntax
  specifiers (as defined in regex.h), omitting the RE\_ prefix. For example,
  RE_SYNTAX_GREP becomes ``SYNTAX_GREP`` in Lua.

------------------------------------------------------------

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf], [larg...])`

The function compiles regular expression *patt* into a regular expression object
whose internal representation is corresponding to the library used. The returned
result then can be used by the methods, e.g. `tfind`_, `exec`_, etc. Regular
expression objects are automatically garbage collected. See the library-specific
documentation below for details of the library-specific arguments *larg...*, if
any.

  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description            |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===============================+========+=============+
  |  patt   |regular expression pattern     | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [cf]   |compilation flags (bitwise OR) | number |     cf_     |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[larg...]|library-specific arguments     |        |             |
  +---------+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns:**
 1. Compiled regular expression (a userdata).

------------------------------------------------------------

tfind
-----

:funcdef:`r:tfind (subj, [init], [ef])`

The method searches for the first match of the compiled regexp *r* in the
string *subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to execution flags *ef*.

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description                |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new       |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |subject                            | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject        | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)                  |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       | number |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
 1. The start point of the match (a number).
 2. The end point of the match (a number).
 3. Substring matches ("captures" in Lua terminology) are returned as a third
    result, in a table. This table contains ``false`` in the positions where the
    corresponding sub-pattern did not participate in the match.

    1. **PCRE**, **PCRE2**, **Oniguruma**: if *named subpatterns* are used then
       the table also contains substring matches keyed by their correspondent
       subpattern names (strings).

**Returns on failure:**
 1. ``nil``

------------------------------------------------------------

exec
----

:funcdef:`r:exec (subj, [init], [ef])`

The method searches for the first match of the compiled regexp *r* in the
string *subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to execution flags *ef*.

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description                |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new       |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |subject                            | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject        | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)                  |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       | number |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
 1. The start point of the first match (a number).
 2. The end point of the first match (a number).
 3. The offsets of substring matches ("captures" in Lua terminology) are
    returned as a third result, in a table. This table contains ``false`` in the
    positions where the corresponding sub-pattern did not participate in the
    match.

    1. **PCRE**, **PCRE2**, **Oniguruma**: if *named subpatterns* are used then
       the table also contains substring matches keyed by their correspondent
       subpattern names (strings).

**Returns on failure:**
 1. ``nil``

**Example:**
 If the whole match is at offsets 10,20 and substring matches are at offsets
 12,14 and 16,19 then the function returns the following: 10, 20,
 { 12,14,16,19 }.

------------------------------------------------------------

PCRE-only functions and methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf], [lo])`

The locale (*lo*) can be either a string (e.g., "French_France.1252"), or a
userdata obtained from a call to maketables__. The default value, used when
the parameter is not supplied or ``nil``, is the built-in PCRE set of character
tables.

__ maketables_pcre_

------------------------------------------------------------

fullinfo
--------

[See *pcre_fullinfo* in the PCRE docs.]

:funcdef:`r:fullinfo ()`

This function returns a table containing information about the compiled pattern.
The keys are strings formed in the following way:
``PCRE_INFO_CAPTURECOUNT`` -> ``"CAPTURECOUNT"``. The values are numbers.

------------------------------------------------------------

.. _dfa_exec_pcre:

dfa_exec
--------

[PCRE 6.0 and later. See *pcre_dfa_exec* in the PCRE docs.]

:funcdef:`r:dfa_exec (subj, [init], [ef], [ovecsize], [wscount])`

The method matches a compiled regular expression *r* against a given subject
string *subj*, using a DFA matching algorithm.

  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter |                 Description         |  Type  |Default Value|
  +==========+=====================================+========+=============+
  |    r     |regex object produced by new         |userdata|     n/a     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj    |subject                              | string |     n/a     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]   |start offset in the subject          | number |      1      |
  |          |(can be negative)                    |        |             |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |   [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)         | number |     ef_     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[ovecsize]|size of the array for result offsets | number |     100     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[wscount] |number of elements in the working    | number |     50      |
  |          |space array                          |        |             |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success (either full or partial match):**
 1. The start point of the matches found (a number).
 2. A table containing the end points of the matches found, the longer matches
    first.
 3. The return value of the underlying *pcre_dfa_exec* call (a number).

**Returns on failure (no match):**
 1. ``nil``

**Example:**
 If there are 3 matches found starting at offset 10 and ending at offsets 15, 20
 and 25 then the function returns the following: 10, { 25,20,15 }, 3.

------------------------------------------------------------

.. _maketables_pcre:

maketables
----------

[See *pcre_maketables* in the PCRE docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre.maketables ()`

Creates a set of character tables corresponding to the current locale and
returns it as a userdata. The returned value can be passed to any Lrexlib
function accepting the *locale* parameter.

------------------------------------------------------------

config
------

[PCRE 4.0 and later. See *pcre_config* in the PCRE docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre.config ([tb])`

This function returns a table containing the values of the configuration
parameters used at PCRE library build-time. Those parameters (numbers) are
keyed by their names (strings). If the table argument *tb* is supplied then it
is used as the output table, else a new table is created.

------------------------------------------------------------

.. _version:

version
-------

[See *pcre_version* in the PCRE docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre.version ()`

This function returns a string containing the version of the used PCRE library
and its release date.

------------------------------------------------------------

PCRE2-only functions and methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf], [lo])`

The locale (*lo*) can be either a string (e.g., "French_France.1252"), or a
userdata obtained from a call to maketables__. The default value, used when
the parameter is not supplied or ``nil``, is the built-in PCRE2 set of character
tables.

__ maketables_pcre2_

------------------------------------------------------------

patterninfo
-----------

[See *pcre2_patterninfo* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`r:patterninfo ()`

This function returns a table containing information about the compiled pattern.
The keys are strings formed in the following way:
``PCRE2_INFO_CAPTURECOUNT`` -> ``"CAPTURECOUNT"``. The values are numbers.

------------------------------------------------------------

dfa_exec
--------

[See *pcre2_dfa_exec* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`r:dfa_exec (subj, [init], [ef], [ovecsize], [wscount])`

The method matches a compiled regular expression *r* against a given subject
string *subj*, using a DFA matching algorithm.

  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter |                 Description         |  Type  |Default Value|
  +==========+=====================================+========+=============+
  |    r     |regex object produced by new         |userdata|     n/a     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj    |subject                              | string |     n/a     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]   |start offset in the subject          | number |      1      |
  |          |(can be negative)                    |        |             |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |   [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)         | number |     ef_     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[ovecsize]|size of the array for result offsets | number |     100     |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |[wscount] |number of elements in the working    | number |     50      |
  |          |space array                          |        |             |
  +----------+-------------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success (either full or partial match):**
 1. The start point of the matches found (a number).
 2. A table containing the end points of the matches found, the longer matches
    first.
 3. The return value of the underlying *pcre_dfa_exec* call (a number).

**Returns on failure (no match):**
 1. ``nil``

**Example:**
 If there are 3 matches found starting at offset 10 and ending at offsets 15, 20
 and 25 then the function returns the following: 10, { 25,20,15 }, 3.

------------------------------------------------------------

jit_compile
-----------

[See *pcre2_jit_compile* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`r:jit_compile ([options])`

Parameter *options* is a number (a bitwise OR of separate options;
it defaults to ``PCRE2_JIT_COMPLETE``).

The method returns ``true`` on success or ``false`` + error message string on failure.

------------------------------------------------------------

.. _maketables_pcre2:

maketables
----------

[See *pcre2_maketables* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre2.maketables ()`

Creates a set of character tables corresponding to the current locale and
returns it as a userdata. The returned value can be passed to any Lrexlib
function accepting the *locale* parameter.

------------------------------------------------------------

config
------

[See *pcre2_config* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre2.config ([tb])`

This function returns a table containing the values of the configuration
parameters used at PCRE2 library build-time. Those parameters (numbers) are
keyed by their names (strings). If the table argument *tb* is supplied then it
is used as the output table, else a new table is created.

------------------------------------------------------------

version
-------

[See *pcre2_config(PCRE2_CONFIG_VERSION)* in the PCRE2 docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_pcre2.version ()`

This function returns a string containing the version of the used PCRE2 library
and its release date.

------------------------------------------------------------

GNU-only functions and methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf], [tr])`

If the compilation flags (*cf*) are not supplied or ``nil``, the default syntax
is ``SYNTAX_POSIX_EXTENDED``. Note that this is not the same as passing a value
of zero, which is the same as ``SYNTAX_EMACS``.

The *translation* parameter (*tr*) is a map of eight-bit character codes (0 to
255 inclusive) to 8-bit characters (strings). If this parameter is given, the
pattern is translated at compilation time, and each string to be matched is
translated when it is being matched.


Oniguruma-only functions and methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf], [enc], [syn])`

The *encoding* parameter (*enc*) must be one of the predefined strings that are
formed from the ONIG_ENCODING_xxx identifiers defined in oniguruma.h, by means
of omitting the ONIG_ENCODING\_ part. For example, ONIG_ENCODING_UTF8 becomes
``"UTF8"`` on the Lua side. The default value, used when the parameter is not
supplied or ``nil``, is ``"ASCII"``.

If the caller-supplied value of this parameter is not one of the predefined
"encoding" string set, an error is raised.

The *syntax* parameter (*syn*) must be one of the predefined strings that are
formed from the ONIG_SYNTAX_xxx identifiers defined in oniguruma.h, by means of
omitting the ONIG_SYNTAX\_ part. For example, ONIG_SYNTAX_JAVA becomes
``"JAVA"`` on the Lua side. The default value, used when the parameter is not
supplied or ``nil``, is either ``"RUBY"`` (at start-up), or the value set by the
last setdefaultsyntax_ call.

If the caller-supplied value of `syntax` parameter is not one of the predefined
"syntax" string set, an error is raised.

setdefaultsyntax
----------------

:funcdef:`rex_onig.setdefaultsyntax (syntax)`

This function sets the default syntax for the Oniguruma library, according to the
value of the string syntax. The specified syntax will be further used for
interpreting string regex patterns by all relevant functions, unless the *syntax*
argument is passed to those functions explicitly.

**Returns:** nothing

**Examples:**

  1. ``rex_onig.setdefaultsyntax ("ASIS") -- use plain text syntax as the default``
  2. ``rex_onig.setdefaultsyntax ("PERL") -- use PERL regex syntax as the default``

------------------------------------------------------------

version
-------

[See *onig_version* in the Oniguruma docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_onig.version ()`

This function returns a string containing the version of the used Oniguruma
library.

------------------------------------------------------------

capturecount
------------

[See *onig_number_of_captures* in the Oniguruma docs.]

:funcdef:`r:capturecount ()`

Returns the number of captures in the pattern.

------------------------------------------------------------

TRE-only functions and methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

new
---

:funcdef:`rex.new (patt, [cf])`

atfind
-------

:funcdef:`r:atfind (subj, params, [init], [ef])`

The method searches for the first match of the compiled regexp *r* in the
string *subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to execution flags *ef*.

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description                |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new       |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |subject                            | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | params  |Approximate matching parameters.   | table  |n/a          |
  |         |The values are integers.           |        |             |
  |         |The valid string key values are:   |        |(Default     |
  |         |``cost_ins``, ``cost_del``,        |        |value for    |
  |         |``cost_subst``, ``max_cost``,      |        |a missing    |
  |         |``max_ins``, ``max_del``,          |        |field is 0)  |
  |         |``max_subst``, ``max_err``         |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject        | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)                  |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       | number |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
 1. The start point of the match (a number).
 2. The end point of the match (a number).
 3. Substring matches ("captures" in Lua terminology) are returned as a third
    result, in the array part of a table. Positions where the corresponding
    sub-pattern did not participate in the match contain ``false``.
    The hash part of the table contains additional information on the match,
    in the following fields: ``cost``, ``num_ins``, ``num_del`` and ``num_subst``.

**Returns on failure:**
 1. ``nil``

------------------------------------------------------------

aexec
------

:funcdef:`r:aexec (subj, params, [init], [ef])`

The method searches for the first match of the compiled regexp *r* in the
string *subj*, starting from offset *init*, subject to execution flags *ef*.

  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |Parameter|        Description                |  Type  |Default Value|
  +=========+===================================+========+=============+
  |    r    |regex object produced by new       |userdata|     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  subj   |subject                            | string |     n/a     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | params  |Approximate matching parameters.   | table  |n/a          |
  |         |The values are integers.           |        |             |
  |         |The valid string key values are:   |        |(Default     |
  |         |``cost_ins``, ``cost_del``,        |        |value for    |
  |         |``cost_subst``, ``max_cost``,      |        |a missing    |
  |         |``max_ins``, ``max_del``,          |        |field is 0)  |
  |         |``max_subst``, ``max_err``         |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  | [init]  |start offset in the subject        | number |      1      |
  |         |(can be negative)                  |        |             |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+
  |  [ef]   |execution flags (bitwise OR)       | number |     ef_     |
  +---------+-----------------------------------+--------+-------------+

**Returns on success:**
 1. The start point of the first match (a number).
 2. The end point of the first match (a number).
 3. The offsets of substring matches ("captures" in Lua terminology) are
    returned as a third result, in the array part of a table. Positions where
    the corresponding sub-pattern did not participate in the match contain
    ``false``. The hash part of the table contains additional information on
    the match, in the following fields: ``cost``, ``num_ins``, ``num_del`` and
    ``num_subst``.

**Returns on failure:**
 1. ``nil``

------------------------------------------------------------

have_approx
------------

:funcdef:`r:have_approx ()`

The method returns ``true`` if the compiled pattern uses approximate matching,
and ``false`` if not.

------------------------------------------------------------

have_backrefs
--------------

:funcdef:`r:have_backrefs ()`

The method returns ``true`` if the compiled pattern has back references,
and ``false`` if not.

------------------------------------------------------------

config
------

[See *tre_config* in the TRE docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_tre.config ([tb])`

This function returns a table containing the values of the configuration
parameters used at TRE library build-time. Those parameters are
keyed by their names. If the table argument *tb* is supplied then it
is used as the output table, else a new table is created.

------------------------------------------------------------

rex_tre.version
---------------

[See *tre_version* in the TRE docs.]

:funcdef:`rex_tre.version ()`

This function returns a string containing the version of the used TRE library.

------------------------------------------------------------

Incompatibilities with previous versions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Incompatibilities between versions 2.8 and 2.7:**

  1. In the functions searching for multiple matches every empty match adjacent
     to the previous match is discarded.

**Incompatibilities between versions 2.6 and 2.5:**

  1. Removed function ``plainfind``.
  #. Global variables (e.g. *rex_posix*, *rex_pcre*, etc.) are not created
     by default. This can be changed at the stage of compilation by adding
     ``-DREX_CREATEGLOBALVAR`` to ``CFLAGS``.

**Incompatibilities between versions 2.2 and 2.1:**

  1. gsub_: a special "break" return of *repl* function is deprecated.
  #. (PCRE) gsub_, gmatch_: after finding an empty match at the current
     position, the functions try to find a non-empty match anchored to the same
     position.

**Incompatibilities between versions 2.1 and 2.0:**

  1. match_, find_, tfind_, exec_, dfa_exec__: only one value (a ``nil``) is
     returned when the subject does not match the pattern. Any other failure
     generates an error.

__ dfa_exec_pcre_

**Incompatibilities between versions 2.0 and 1.19:**

  1. Lua 5.1 is required
  #. Functions ``newPCRE`` and ``newPOSIX`` renamed to new
  #. Functions ``flagsPCRE`` and ``flagsPOSIX`` renamed to flags_
  #. Function ``versionPCRE`` renamed to version_
  #. Method ``match`` renamed to tfind_
  #. Method ``gmatch`` removed (similar functionality is provided by function
     gmatch_)
  #. Methods tfind_ and exec_: 2 values are returned on failure
  #. (PCRE) exec_: the returned table may additionally contain *named
     subpatterns*
