REGEX(3B)							     REGEX(3B)

NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

     re_comp, re_exec -	regular	expression handler

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

     #include unistd.h

     char *re_comp(const char *s);

     int re_exec(const char *s);

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

     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 0 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 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 nulls.	 The regular
     expressions recognized are	described in the manual	entry for ed(1), given
     the above difference.  However, re_comp does not handle range regular
     expressions (\{m,n\}) supported by	ed(1) and regcmp(3G).

DIAGNOSTICS    [Toc]    [Back]

     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    [Toc]    [Back]

     ed(1), ex(1), egrep(1), fgrep(1), grep(1),	regcmp(3G).


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