NAME

regex, re_comp, re_exec − regular expression handler

SYNOPSIS

#include <re_comp.h>

char ∗re_comp(const char ∗sp);

int re_exec(const char ∗p1);

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 sp 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 p1 matches the last compiled regular expression, 0 if the string p1 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 re_comp() and re_exec() may have trailing or embedded NEWLINE characters; they are terminated by NULL characters.  The regular expressions are described on the regexp(5) manual page. 

RETURN VALUES

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 \)

SEE ALSO

grep(1), regcmp(1), regcmp(3G), regexpr(3G), regexp(5)

NOTES

The regular expressions of the form \{m\}, \{m,\}, or \{m,n\} are not supported. 
 

SunOS 5.5.1  —  Last change: 24 Mar 1994