In Files

  • re.c

Regexp

A Regexp holds a regular expression, used to match a pattern against strings. Regexps are created using the /.../ and %r{...} literals, and by the Regexp::new constructor.

Public Class Methods

compile(*args) click to toggle source

Synonym for Regexp.new

escape(str) => a_str click to toggle source

Escapes any characters that would have special meaning in a regular expression. Returns a new escaped string, or self if no characters are escaped. For any string, Regexp.escape(str)=~str will be true.

Regexp.escape('\\*?{}.')   #=> \\\\\*\?\{\}\.
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_s_quote(argc, argv)
    int argc;
    VALUE *argv;
{
    VALUE str, kcode;
    int kcode_saved = reg_kcode;

    rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "11", &str, &kcode);
    if (!NIL_P(kcode)) {
        rb_set_kcode(StringValuePtr(kcode));
        curr_kcode = reg_kcode;
        reg_kcode = kcode_saved;
    }
    StringValue(str);
    str = rb_reg_quote(str);
    rb_kcode_reset_option();
    return str;
}
            
last_match => matchdata click to toggle source
last_match(fixnum) => str

The first form returns the MatchData object generated by the last successful pattern match. Equivalent to reading the global variable $~. The second form returns the nth field in this MatchData object.

/c(.)t/ =~ 'cat'       #=> 0
Regexp.last_match      #=> #<MatchData:0x401b3d30>
Regexp.last_match(0)   #=> "cat"
Regexp.last_match(1)   #=> "a"
Regexp.last_match(2)   #=> nil
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_s_last_match(argc, argv)
    int argc;
    VALUE *argv;
{
    VALUE nth;

    if (rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "01", &nth) == 1) {
        return rb_reg_nth_match(NUM2INT(nth), rb_backref_get());
    }
    return match_getter();
}
            
new(string [, options [, lang]]) => regexp click to toggle source
new(regexp) => regexp
compile(string [, options [, lang]]) => regexp
compile(regexp) => regexp

Constructs a new regular expression from pattern, which can be either a String or a Regexp (in which case that regexp's options are propagated, and new options may not be specified (a change as of Ruby 1.8). If options is a Fixnum, it should be one or more of the constants Regexp::EXTENDED, Regexp::IGNORECASE, and Regexp::MULTILINE, or-ed together. Otherwise, if options is not nil, the regexp will be case insensitive. The lang parameter enables multibyte support for the regexp: `n', `N' = none, `e', `E' = EUC, `s', `S' = SJIS, `u', `U' = UTF-8.

r1 = Regexp.new('^a-z+:\\s+\w+')           #=> /^a-z+:\s+\w+/
r2 = Regexp.new('cat', true)               #=> /cat/i
r3 = Regexp.new('dog', Regexp::EXTENDED)   #=> /dog/x
r4 = Regexp.new(r2)                        #=> /cat/i
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_initialize_m(argc, argv, self)
    int argc;
    VALUE *argv;
    VALUE self;
{
    const char *s;
    long len;
    int flags = 0;

    if (argc == 0 || argc > 3) {
        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "wrong number of arguments");
    }
    if (TYPE(argv[0]) == T_REGEXP) {
        if (argc > 1) {
            rb_warn("flags%s ignored", (argc == 3) ? " and encoding": "");
        }
        rb_reg_check(argv[0]);
        flags = RREGEXP(argv[0])->ptr->options & 0xf;
        if (FL_TEST(argv[0], KCODE_FIXED)) {
            switch (RBASIC(argv[0])->flags & KCODE_MASK) {
              case KCODE_NONE:
                flags |= 16;
                break;
              case KCODE_EUC:
                flags |= 32;
                break;
              case KCODE_SJIS:
                flags |= 48;
                break;
              case KCODE_UTF8:
                flags |= 64;
                break;
              default:
                break;
            }
        }
        s = RREGEXP(argv[0])->str;
        len = RREGEXP(argv[0])->len;
    }
    else {
        if (argc >= 2) {
            if (FIXNUM_P(argv[1])) flags = FIX2INT(argv[1]);
            else if (RTEST(argv[1])) flags = RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE;
        }
        if (argc == 3 && !NIL_P(argv[2])) {
            char *kcode = StringValuePtr(argv[2]);

            flags &= ~0x70;
            switch (kcode[0]) {
              case 'n': case 'N':
                flags |= 16;
                break;
              case 'e': case 'E':
                flags |= 32;
                break;
              case 's': case 'S':
                flags |= 48;
                break;
              case 'u': case 'U':
                flags |= 64;
                break;
              default:
                break;
            }
        }
        s = StringValuePtr(argv[0]);
        len = RSTRING(argv[0])->len;
    }
    rb_reg_initialize(self, s, len, flags);
    return self;
}
            
quote(str) => a_str click to toggle source

Escapes any characters that would have special meaning in a regular expression. Returns a new escaped string, or self if no characters are escaped. For any string, Regexp.escape(str)=~str will be true.

Regexp.escape('\\*?{}.')   #=> \\\\\*\?\{\}\.
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_s_quote(argc, argv)
    int argc;
    VALUE *argv;
{
    VALUE str, kcode;
    int kcode_saved = reg_kcode;

    rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "11", &str, &kcode);
    if (!NIL_P(kcode)) {
        rb_set_kcode(StringValuePtr(kcode));
        curr_kcode = reg_kcode;
        reg_kcode = kcode_saved;
    }
    StringValue(str);
    str = rb_reg_quote(str);
    rb_kcode_reset_option();
    return str;
}
            
union([pattern]*) => new_str click to toggle source

Return a Regexp object that is the union of the given patterns, i.e., will match any of its parts. The patterns can be Regexp objects, in which case their options will be preserved, or Strings. If no arguments are given, returns /(?!)/.

Regexp.union                         #=> /(?!)/
Regexp.union("penzance")             #=> /penzance/
Regexp.union("skiing", "sledding")   #=> /skiing|sledding/
Regexp.union(/dogs/, /cats/i)        #=> /(?-mix:dogs)|(?i-mx:cats)/
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_s_union(argc, argv)
    int argc;
    VALUE *argv;
{
    if (argc == 0) {
        VALUE args[1];
        args[0] = rb_str_new2("(?!)");
        return rb_class_new_instance(1, args, rb_cRegexp);
    }
    else if (argc == 1) {
        VALUE v;
        v = rb_check_convert_type(argv[0], T_REGEXP, "Regexp", "to_regexp");
        if (!NIL_P(v))
            return v;
        else {
            VALUE args[1];
            args[0] = rb_reg_s_quote(argc, argv);
            return rb_class_new_instance(1, args, rb_cRegexp);
        }
    }
    else {
        int i, kcode = -1;
        VALUE kcode_re = Qnil;
        VALUE source = rb_str_buf_new(0);
        VALUE args[3];
        for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
            volatile VALUE v;
            if (0 < i)
                rb_str_buf_cat2(source, "|");
            v = rb_check_convert_type(argv[i], T_REGEXP, "Regexp", "to_regexp");
            if (!NIL_P(v)) {
                if (FL_TEST(v, KCODE_FIXED)) {
                    if (kcode == -1) {
                        kcode_re = v;
                        kcode = RBASIC(v)->flags & KCODE_MASK;
                    }
                    else if ((RBASIC(v)->flags & KCODE_MASK) != kcode) {
                        volatile VALUE str1, str2;
                        str1 = rb_inspect(kcode_re);
                        str2 = rb_inspect(v);
                        rb_raise(rb_eArgError, "mixed kcode: %s and %s",
                            RSTRING(str1)->ptr, RSTRING(str2)->ptr);
                    }
                }
                v = rb_reg_to_s(v);
            }
            else {
                args[0] = argv[i];
                v = rb_reg_s_quote(1, args);
            }
            rb_str_buf_append(source, v);
        }
        args[0] = source;
        args[1] = Qnil;
        switch (kcode) {
          case -1:
            args[2] = Qnil;
            break;
          case KCODE_NONE:
            args[2] = rb_str_new2("n");
            break;
          case KCODE_EUC:
            args[2] = rb_str_new2("e");
            break;
          case KCODE_SJIS:
            args[2] = rb_str_new2("s");
            break;
          case KCODE_UTF8:
            args[2] = rb_str_new2("u");
            break;
        }
        return rb_class_new_instance(3, args, rb_cRegexp);
    }
}
            

Public Instance Methods

rxp == other_rxp => true or false click to toggle source

Equality—Two regexps are equal if their patterns are identical, they have the same character set code, and their casefold? values are the same.

/abc/  == /abc/x   #=> false
/abc/  == /abc/i   #=> false
/abc/u == /abc/n   #=> false
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_equal(re1, re2)
    VALUE re1, re2;
{
    if (re1 == re2) return Qtrue;
    if (TYPE(re2) != T_REGEXP) return Qfalse;
    rb_reg_check(re1); rb_reg_check(re2);
    if (RREGEXP(re1)->len != RREGEXP(re2)->len) return Qfalse;
    if (memcmp(RREGEXP(re1)->str, RREGEXP(re2)->str, RREGEXP(re1)->len) == 0 &&
        rb_reg_cur_kcode(re1) == rb_reg_cur_kcode(re2) &&
        RREGEXP(re1)->ptr->options == RREGEXP(re2)->ptr->options) {
        return Qtrue;
    }
    return Qfalse;
}
            
rxp === str => true or false click to toggle source

Case Equality—Synonym for Regexp#=~ used in case statements.

a = "HELLO"
case a
when /^[a-z]*$/; print "Lower case\n"
when /^[A-Z]*$/; print "Upper case\n"
else;            print "Mixed case\n"
end

produces:

Upper case
 
               VALUE
rb_reg_eqq(re, str)
    VALUE re, str;
{
    long start;

    if (TYPE(str) != T_STRING) {
        str = rb_check_string_type(str);
        if (NIL_P(str)) {
            rb_backref_set(Qnil);
            return Qfalse;
        }
    }
    StringValue(str);
    start = rb_reg_search(re, str, 0, 0);
    if (start < 0) {
        return Qfalse;
    }
    return Qtrue;
}
            
match(str) => matchdata or nil click to toggle source

Returns a MatchData object describing the match, or nil if there was no match. This is equivalent to retrieving the value of the special variable $~ following a normal match.

/(.)(.)(.)/.match("abc")[2]   #=> "b"
 
               VALUE
rb_reg_match(re, str)
    VALUE re, str;
{
    long start;

    if (NIL_P(str)) {
        rb_backref_set(Qnil);
        return Qnil;
    }
    StringValue(str);
    start = rb_reg_search(re, str, 0, 0);
    if (start < 0) {
        return Qnil;
    }
    return LONG2FIX(start);
}
            
casefold? => true or false click to toggle source

Returns the value of the case-insensitive flag.

 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_casefold_p(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    rb_reg_check(re);
    if (RREGEXP(re)->ptr->options & RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE) return Qtrue;
    return Qfalse;
}
            
eql?(other_rxp) => true or false click to toggle source

Equality—Two regexps are equal if their patterns are identical, they have the same character set code, and their casefold? values are the same.

/abc/  == /abc/x   #=> false
/abc/  == /abc/i   #=> false
/abc/u == /abc/n   #=> false
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_equal(re1, re2)
    VALUE re1, re2;
{
    if (re1 == re2) return Qtrue;
    if (TYPE(re2) != T_REGEXP) return Qfalse;
    rb_reg_check(re1); rb_reg_check(re2);
    if (RREGEXP(re1)->len != RREGEXP(re2)->len) return Qfalse;
    if (memcmp(RREGEXP(re1)->str, RREGEXP(re2)->str, RREGEXP(re1)->len) == 0 &&
        rb_reg_cur_kcode(re1) == rb_reg_cur_kcode(re2) &&
        RREGEXP(re1)->ptr->options == RREGEXP(re2)->ptr->options) {
        return Qtrue;
    }
    return Qfalse;
}
            
hash => fixnum click to toggle source

Produce a hash based on the text and options of this regular expression.

 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_hash(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    int hashval, len;
    char *p;

    rb_reg_check(re);
    hashval = RREGEXP(re)->ptr->options;
    len = RREGEXP(re)->len;
    p  = RREGEXP(re)->str;
    while (len--) {
        hashval = hashval * 33 + *p++;
    }
    hashval = hashval + (hashval>>5);
    
    return INT2FIX(hashval);
}
            
inspect => string click to toggle source

Produce a nicely formatted string-version of rxp. Perhaps surprisingly, #inspect actually produces the more natural version of the string than #to_s.

/ab+c/ix.to_s         #=> /ab+c/ix
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_inspect(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    rb_reg_check(re);
    return rb_reg_desc(RREGEXP(re)->str, RREGEXP(re)->len, re);
}
            
kcode => str click to toggle source

Returns the character set code for the regexp.

 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_kcode_m(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    char *kcode;

    if (FL_TEST(re, KCODE_FIXED)) {
        switch (RBASIC(re)->flags & KCODE_MASK) {
          case KCODE_NONE:
            kcode = "none"; break;
          case KCODE_EUC:
            kcode = "euc"; break;
          case KCODE_SJIS:
            kcode = "sjis"; break;
          case KCODE_UTF8:
            kcode = "utf8"; break;
          default:
            rb_bug("unknown kcode - should not happen");
            break;
        }
        return rb_str_new2(kcode);
    }
    return Qnil;
}
            
match(str) => matchdata or nil click to toggle source

Returns a MatchData object describing the match, or nil if there was no match. This is equivalent to retrieving the value of the special variable $~ following a normal match.

/(.)(.)(.)/.match("abc")[2]   #=> "b"
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_match_m(re, str)
    VALUE re, str;
{
    VALUE result = rb_reg_match(re, str);

    if (NIL_P(result)) return Qnil;
    result = rb_backref_get();
    rb_match_busy(result);
    return result;
}
            
options => fixnum click to toggle source

Returns the set of bits corresponding to the options used when creating this Regexp (see Regexp::new for details. Note that additional bits may be set in the returned options: these are used internally by the regular expression code. These extra bits are ignored if the options are passed to Regexp::new.

Regexp::IGNORECASE                  #=> 1
Regexp::EXTENDED                    #=> 2
Regexp::MULTILINE                   #=> 4

/cat/.options                       #=> 128
/cat/ix.options                     #=> 131
Regexp.new('cat', true).options     #=> 129
Regexp.new('cat', 0, 's').options   #=> 384

r = /cat/ix
Regexp.new(r.source, r.options)     #=> /cat/ix
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_options_m(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    int options = rb_reg_options(re);
    return INT2NUM(options);
}
            
source => str click to toggle source

Returns the original string of the pattern.

/ab+c/ix.source   #=> "ab+c"
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_source(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    VALUE str;

    rb_reg_check(re);
    str = rb_str_new(RREGEXP(re)->str,RREGEXP(re)->len);
    if (OBJ_TAINTED(re)) OBJ_TAINT(str);
    return str;
}
            
to_s => str click to toggle source

Returns a string containing the regular expression and its options (using the (?xxx:yyy) notation. This string can be fed back in to Regexp::new to a regular expression with the same semantics as the original. (However, Regexp#== may not return true when comparing the two, as the source of the regular expression itself may differ, as the example shows). Regexp#inspect produces a generally more readable version of rxp.

r1 = /ab+c/ix         #=> /ab+c/ix
s1 = r1.to_s          #=> "(?ix-m:ab+c)"
r2 = Regexp.new(s1)   #=> /(?ix-m:ab+c)/
r1 == r2              #=> false
r1.source             #=> "ab+c"
r2.source             #=> "(?ix-m:ab+c)"
 
               static VALUE
rb_reg_to_s(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    int options;
    const int embeddable = RE_OPTION_MULTILINE|RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE|RE_OPTION_EXTENDED;
    long len;
    const char* ptr;
    VALUE str = rb_str_buf_new2("(?");

    rb_reg_check(re);

    options = RREGEXP(re)->ptr->options;
    ptr = RREGEXP(re)->str;
    len = RREGEXP(re)->len;
  again:
    if (len >= 4 && ptr[0] == '(' && ptr[1] == '?') {
        int err = 1;
        ptr += 2;
        if ((len -= 2) > 0) {
            do {
                if (*ptr == 'm') {
                    options |= RE_OPTION_MULTILINE;
                }
                else if (*ptr == 'i') {
                    options |= RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE;
                }
                else if (*ptr == 'x') {
                    options |= RE_OPTION_EXTENDED;
                }
                else break;
                ++ptr;
            } while (--len > 0);
        }
        if (len > 1 && *ptr == '-') {
            ++ptr;
            --len;
            do {
                if (*ptr == 'm') {
                    options &= ~RE_OPTION_MULTILINE;
                }
                else if (*ptr == 'i') {
                    options &= ~RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE;
                }
                else if (*ptr == 'x') {
                    options &= ~RE_OPTION_EXTENDED;
                }
                else break;
                ++ptr;
            } while (--len > 0);
        }
        if (*ptr == ')') {
            --len;
            ++ptr;
            goto again;
        }
        if (*ptr == ':' && ptr[len-1] == ')') {
            Regexp *rp;
            rb_kcode_set_option(re);
            rp = ALLOC(Regexp);
            MEMZERO((char *)rp, Regexp, 1);
            err = re_compile_pattern(++ptr, len -= 2, rp) != 0;
            rb_kcode_reset_option();
            re_free_pattern(rp);
        }
        if (err) {
            options = RREGEXP(re)->ptr->options;
            ptr = RREGEXP(re)->str;
            len = RREGEXP(re)->len;
        }
    }

    if (options & RE_OPTION_MULTILINE) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "m");
    if (options & RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "i");
    if (options & RE_OPTION_EXTENDED) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "x");

    if ((options & embeddable) != embeddable) {
        rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "-");
        if (!(options & RE_OPTION_MULTILINE)) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "m");
        if (!(options & RE_OPTION_IGNORECASE)) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "i");
        if (!(options & RE_OPTION_EXTENDED)) rb_str_buf_cat2(str, "x");
    }

    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ":");
    rb_reg_expr_str(str, ptr, len);
    rb_str_buf_cat2(str, ")");

    OBJ_INFECT(str, re);
    return str;
}
            
~ rxp => integer or nil click to toggle source

Match—Matches rxp against the contents of $_. Equivalent to rxp =~ $_.

$_ = "input data"
~ /at/   #=> 7
 
               VALUE
rb_reg_match2(re)
    VALUE re;
{
    long start;
    VALUE line = rb_lastline_get();

    if (TYPE(line) != T_STRING) {
        rb_backref_set(Qnil);
        return Qnil;
    }

    start = rb_reg_search(re, line, 0, 0);
    if (start < 0) {
        return Qnil;
    }
    return LONG2FIX(start);
}