DervishD <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> expr substr "x$string" $tmpindex 1
>
> If I need to translate this in a pattern matching expression, I
> must calculate the number of 'dots', because I'm not sure if the
> '{N}' syntax (to match exactly '{N}' times) is portable enough.
You're right to worry, I suspect it wouldn't be portable to
sufficiently-ancient hosts (e.g., 4.2BSD). However, it is standardized
by POSIX 1003.1-1992. You need backslashes in front of the braces,
though. E.g.:
expr "X$string" : 'X.\{3\}\(.\)'
outputs the 4th character in "$string" (origin-1).
> (I don't have access to a POSIX standard so I've chosen SUS
> as my standard base).
POSIX is available free of charge on the web, here:
http://www.unix.org/single_unix_specification/
You are supposed to register, but access is free after that.
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