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NAME

       PCRE2 - Perl-compatible regular expressions (revised API)

INTRODUCTION


       PCRE2  is  the  name  used  for  a  revised  API  for  the PCRE library, which is a set of
       functions, written in C, that implement regular expression pattern matching using the same
       syntax  and  semantics as Perl, with just a few differences. After nearly two decades, the
       limitations of the original API were making development increasingly  difficult.  The  new
       API  is  more  extensible,  and  it  was  simplified  by  abolishing  the separate "study"
       optimizing function; in PCRE2, patterns are automatically optimized where possible.  Since
       forking  from PCRE1, the code has been extensively refactored and new features introduced.
       The old library is now obsolete and is no longer maintained.

       As well as Perl-style regular expression patterns, some features that appeared  in  Python
       and  the original PCRE before they appeared in Perl are available using the Python syntax.
       There is also some support for one or two .NET and Oniguruma syntax items, and  there  are
       options  for  requesting  some  minor changes that give better ECMAScript (aka JavaScript)
       compatibility.

       The source code for PCRE2 can be compiled to support strings of 8-bit, 16-bit,  or  32-bit
       code units, which means that up to three separate libraries may be installed, one for each
       code unit size. The size of code unit is not related to the bit  size  of  the  underlying
       hardware.  In  a  64-bit  environment  that also supports 32-bit applications, versions of
       PCRE2 that are compiled in both 64-bit and 32-bit modes may be needed.

       The original work to extend PCRE to 16-bit and  32-bit  code  units  was  done  by  Zoltan
       Herczeg and Christian Persch, respectively. In all three cases, strings can be interpreted
       either as one character per code unit, or as UTF-encoded Unicode, with support for Unicode
       general  category  properties.  Unicode  support  is  optional  at  build time (but is the
       default). However, processing strings as UTF code units must be enabled explicitly at  run
       time. The version of Unicode in use can be discovered by running

         pcre2test -C

       The  three libraries contain identical sets of functions, with names ending in _8, _16, or
       _32,   respectively   (for   example,    pcre2_compile_8()).    However,    by    defining
       PCRE2_CODE_UNIT_WIDTH to be 8, 16, or 32, a program that uses just one code unit width can
       be written using generic names such as pcre2_compile(), and the documentation  is  written
       assuming that this is the case.

       In  addition  to  the  Perl-compatible  matching  function,  PCRE2 contains an alternative
       function that  matches  the  same  compiled  patterns  in  a  different  way.  In  certain
       circumstances,  the alternative function has some advantages.  For a discussion of the two
       matching algorithms, see the pcre2matching page.

       Details of exactly which Perl regular expression features are and  are  not  supported  by
       PCRE2  are  given in separate documents. See the pcre2pattern and pcre2compat pages. There
       is a syntax summary in the pcre2syntax page.

       Some features of PCRE2 can be included, excluded, or changed when the  library  is  built.
       The  pcre2_config() function makes it possible for a client to discover which features are
       available. The features themselves are described in  the  pcre2build  page.  Documentation
       about  building  PCRE2  for  various operating systems can be found in the README and NON-
       AUTOTOOLS_BUILD files in the source distribution.

       The libraries contains a number of undocumented internal functions and  data  tables  that
       are  used  by more than one of the exported external functions, but which are not intended
       for use by external callers. Their names all begin with "_pcre2", which hopefully will not
       provoke  any  name clashes. In some environments, it is possible to control which external
       symbols are exported when a shared library is built, and in these cases  the  undocumented
       symbols are not exported.

SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS


       If  you  are  using  PCRE2 in a non-UTF application that permits users to supply arbitrary
       patterns for compilation, you should be aware of a feature that allows users  to  turn  on
       UTF support from within a pattern. For example, an 8-bit pattern that begins with "(*UTF)"
       turns on UTF-8 mode, which interprets patterns and subjects as strings of UTF-8 code units
       instead  of individual 8-bit characters. This causes both the pattern and any data against
       which it is matched to be checked for UTF-8 validity. If the data  string  is  very  long,
       such  a  check  might use sufficiently many resources as to cause your application to lose
       performance.

       One way of guarding against this possibility is to use the  pcre2_pattern_info()  function
       to  check  the  compiled  pattern's  options for PCRE2_UTF. Alternatively, you can set the
       PCRE2_NEVER_UTF option when calling pcre2_compile(). This causes a compile time  error  if
       the pattern contains a UTF-setting sequence.

       The  use  of  Unicode  properties  for character types such as \d can also be enabled from
       within the pattern, by specifying "(*UCP)". This feature can be disallowed by setting  the
       PCRE2_NEVER_UCP option.

       If  your  application  is  one that supports UTF, be aware that validity checking can take
       time.  If  the  same  data  string  is  to  be  matched  many  times,  you  can  use   the
       PCRE2_NO_UTF_CHECK option for the second and subsequent matches to avoid running redundant
       checks.

       The use of the \C escape sequence in a UTF-8 or  UTF-16  pattern  can  lead  to  problems,
       because  it  may  leave  the  current  matching  point  in the middle of a multi-code-unit
       character. The PCRE2_NEVER_BACKSLASH_C option can be used by an application  to  lock  out
       the  use  of \C, causing a compile-time error if it is encountered. It is also possible to
       build PCRE2 with the use of \C permanently disabled.

       Another way that performance can be hit is by running a pattern  that  has  a  very  large
       search  tree against a string that will never match. Nested unlimited repeats in a pattern
       are  a  common  example.  PCRE2  provides  some   protection   against   this:   see   the
       pcre2_set_match_limit()  function in the pcre2api page. There is a similar function called
       pcre2_set_depth_limit() that can be used to restrict the amount of memory that is used.

USER DOCUMENTATION


       The user documentation for PCRE2 comprises a number of different sections.  In  the  "man"
       format,  each  of  these  is a separate "man page". In the HTML format, each is a separate
       page, linked from the index page. In the  plain  text  format,  the  descriptions  of  the
       pcre2grep  and  pcre2test  programs  are  in files called pcre2grep.txt and pcre2test.txt,
       respectively. The remaining sections, except for the pcre2demo section (which is a program
       listing), and the short pages for individual functions, are concatenated in pcre2.txt, for
       ease of searching. The sections are as follows:

         pcre2              this document
         pcre2-config       show PCRE2 installation configuration information
         pcre2api           details of PCRE2's native C API
         pcre2build         building PCRE2
         pcre2callout       details of the pattern callout feature
         pcre2compat        discussion of Perl compatibility
         pcre2convert       details of pattern conversion functions
         pcre2demo          a demonstration C program that uses PCRE2
         pcre2grep          description of the pcre2grep command (8-bit only)
         pcre2jit           discussion of just-in-time optimization support
         pcre2limits        details of size and other limits
         pcre2matching      discussion of the two matching algorithms
         pcre2partial       details of the partial matching facility
         pcre2pattern       syntax and semantics of supported regular
                              expression patterns
         pcre2perform       discussion of performance issues
         pcre2posix         the POSIX-compatible C API for the 8-bit library
         pcre2sample        discussion of the pcre2demo program
         pcre2serialize     details of pattern serialization
         pcre2syntax        quick syntax reference
         pcre2test          description of the pcre2test command
         pcre2unicode       discussion of Unicode and UTF support

       In the "man" and HTML formats, there is also a short page for  each  C  library  function,
       listing its arguments and results.

AUTHOR


       Philip Hazel
       Retired from University Computing Service
       Cambridge, England.

       Putting an actual email address here is a spam magnet. If you want to email me, use my two
       names separated by a dot at gmail.com.

REVISION


       Last updated: 27 August 2021
       Copyright (c) 1997-2021 University of Cambridge.