> > I do not know. PCRE was not designed to work with multisegment strings. > In 2009 I propose 'hard' option exactly to work with multisegment strings. I don't know necessity of 'hard' option without this aim.
> [Idea: if you get a match and the match ends at the end of your segment, > add the next segment and try again?] > Thanx, i did so. >> Say, please, what appliance to 'hard' option kepped in mind if it can >> not >> operate with multisegment strings? > > "Hard" prefers a partial match to a later, complete match (as described > in the "pcrepartial" document. "Soft" prefers a later, complete match if > it can find one. > No. May be my English is poor, sorry. I don't ask about how it works. What practical tasks needs to use PCRE with this form of 'hard' option? You say, this option is not for a long/multisegment string matching. But what for? > > I will not change current behaviour because there may be people who are > relying on it. Compatibility is important. > > In theory, perhaps, a new option could be added. However, I am now > retired (and getting old and more forgetful) and I do not think I will > have the desire, or the time, to add new features to PCRE, though I do > still mend bugs. > I treat that is not new principial change. And what for are two options: 'hard' and new option? I think there is (and was) only one task - using PCRE to process multisegment data. And it need one option. And present 'hard' option needs very little correction to deal right with certain lookahead assertions. As example I really don't understant *practical reasons* WHY for subject string 'cat' analogous patterns returns different result: pattern 't\b' returns 'ERROR_PARTIAL' pattern 't\K\b' returns 'MATCH' I read in documentation that partial match can never be an empty string. But WHY? What idea is? What benefits are? > Presumably, the restrictions for pcre_dfa_exec() mean that you can't use > it? It is more straightforward to handle multisegment strings with > pcre_dfa_exec(), but it does behave in a very different way. > pcre_dfa_exec() can not help. Only pcre_exec() can. > I am sorry that I have misunderstood you during this thread; I plead old > age. I'm sorry too, I can't find precise words due to my bad English. -- ## List details at http://lists.exim.org/mailman/listinfo/pcre-dev
