regex(3)regex(3)Name
re_comp, re_exec - regular expression handler
Syntax
char *re_comp(s)
char *s;
re_exec(s)
char *s;
Description
The subroutine compiles a string into an internal form suitable for
pattern matching. The subroutine checks the argument string against
the last string passed to
The subroutine returns 0 if the string s was compiled successfully;
otherwise a string containing an error message is returned. If is
passed 0 or a null string, it returns without changing the currently
compiled regular expression.
The subroutine returns 1 if the string s matches the last compiled reg‐
ular expression, 0 if the string s failed to match the last compiled
regular expression, and -1 if the compiled regular expression was
invalid (indicating an internal error).
The strings passed to both and may have trailing or embedded newline
characters; they are terminated by nulls. The regular expressions rec‐
ognized are described in the manual entry for given the above differ‐
ence.
Diagnostics
The subroutine returns -1 for an internal error.
The subroutine returns one of the following strings if an error occurs:
No previous regular expression
Regular expression too long
unmatched \(
missing ]
too many \(\) pairs
unmatched \)
See Alsoed(1), ex(1), egrep(1), fgrep(1), grep(1)regex(3)
