regex(3)               C LIBRARY FUNCTIONS               regex(3)



NAME
     regex, re_comp, re_exec - regular expression handler

SYNOPSIS
     cc [ flag... ] file ... -lucb
     char *re_comp(s)
     char *s;
     re_exec(s)
     char *s;

DESCRIPTION
     re_comp compiles a string into an internal form suitable for
     pattern   matching.   re_exec  checks  the  argument  string
     against the last string passed to re_comp.  re_comp  returns
     a  NULL  pointer  if the string s was compiled successfully;
     otherwise a string containing an error message is  returned.
     If  re_comp is passed 0 or a NULL string, it returns without
     changing the currently compiled regular expression.  re_exec
     returns  1 if the string s matches the last compiled regular
     expression, 0 if the string s failed to match the last  com-
     piled  regular  expression,  and  -1 if the compiled regular
     expression was invalid (indicating an internal error).   The
     strings passed to both re_comp and re_exec may have trailing
     or embedded NEWLINE characters; they are terminated by  NULL
     characters.    The   regular   expressions   recognized  are
     described in the manual entry for  ed(1),  given  the  above
     difference.

SEE ALSO
     ed(1), ex(1), grep(1) in the User's Reference Manual.
     regcmp(1),  regexpr(3G),  regcmp(3X),  regexpr(5)   in   the
     Programmer's Reference Manual.

RETURN VALUE
     re_exec returns -1 for an internal error.   re_comp  returns
     one of the following strings if an error occurs:
          No previous regular expression
          Regular expression too long
          unmatched \(
          missing ]
          too many \(\) pairs
          unmatched \)













             Last change: BSD Compatibility Package             1