PCRE, Perl Compatible Regular Expressions
Consists of a set of functions that implement regular expression pattern matching using the same syntax and semantics as Perl 5.
Website: https://www.pcre.org
Platforms supported: Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Haiku
Headers to include: pcre.bi, pcre16.bi, pcre32.bi, pcreposix.bi
Header version: 8.37 (PCRE 1)
Examples: in examples/regex/PCRE/
Haiku R1 beta 6 amd64: `examples/regex/PCRE/pcredemo.bas` and
`examples/regex/PCRE/preg_class.bas` compiled and ran with FreeBASIC 1.20.4-3
against HaikuPorts PCRE 8.45. The latter uses the sibling
`match-progress.bi` helper.
These bindings use the original PCRE API. PCRE 2 has different entry points and cannot replace a PCRE 1 library when linking these examples. Match offsets and capture counts use C int, represented by FreeBASIC Long even on Win64.
On Windows, allocator and callout exports are DLL data containing function pointers. The bindings import that data with Extern Import. Define PCRE_STATIC when linking static PCRE archives so the declarations refer directly to the archive's variables. Use libraries built for the executable's bitness and the required character width.
The Windows examples were checked with PCRE 8.45 DLLs and static archives on Win64, and genuine PCRE 8.32 static archives on Win32. Native C checks used matching SDK headers and compared the layouts used by these examples; this does not qualify every entry point in the 8.37 binding against the older 8.32 engine.
pcredemo.bas compiles one pattern, checks capture offsets and releases the pattern with pcre_free. Its optional command-line arguments select the pattern and subject. A malformed pattern returns a nonzero exit status; no match is a normal result.
CRegex and preg_t own their compiled patterns or result arrays. Their copy constructors and assignment operators are private to prevent shallow copies of native allocations. Use one thread owner per object. CRegex.search copies the subject, including embedded zero bytes when an explicit byte length is supplied. Capture pointers returned by getStr remain valid until the next search; failed searches and unmatched optional captures return no capture.
Global searches need special handling after an empty match. match-progress.bi first retries a nonempty, anchored match at the same position, then advances if none exists. It advances across a complete UTF-8 character or configured CRLF newline and stops at the end of the subject. Both wrappers use this helper to avoid infinite loops while preserving nonempty alternatives at the same position.
preg_t.replace accepts $n or $n$ for numbered captures, $0 for the whole match and $$ for a literal dollar sign. An unset or out-of-range capture contributes an empty string. The replacement parser bounds numeric indices before using them.
Website: https://www.pcre.org
Platforms supported: Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Haiku
Headers to include: pcre.bi, pcre16.bi, pcre32.bi, pcreposix.bi
Header version: 8.37 (PCRE 1)
Examples: in examples/regex/PCRE/
Haiku R1 beta 6 amd64: `examples/regex/PCRE/pcredemo.bas` and
`examples/regex/PCRE/preg_class.bas` compiled and ran with FreeBASIC 1.20.4-3
against HaikuPorts PCRE 8.45. The latter uses the sibling
`match-progress.bi` helper.
These bindings use the original PCRE API. PCRE 2 has different entry points and cannot replace a PCRE 1 library when linking these examples. Match offsets and capture counts use C int, represented by FreeBASIC Long even on Win64.
On Windows, allocator and callout exports are DLL data containing function pointers. The bindings import that data with Extern Import. Define PCRE_STATIC when linking static PCRE archives so the declarations refer directly to the archive's variables. Use libraries built for the executable's bitness and the required character width.
The Windows examples were checked with PCRE 8.45 DLLs and static archives on Win64, and genuine PCRE 8.32 static archives on Win32. Native C checks used matching SDK headers and compared the layouts used by these examples; this does not qualify every entry point in the 8.37 binding against the older 8.32 engine.
pcredemo.bas compiles one pattern, checks capture offsets and releases the pattern with pcre_free. Its optional command-line arguments select the pattern and subject. A malformed pattern returns a nonzero exit status; no match is a normal result.
CRegex and preg_t own their compiled patterns or result arrays. Their copy constructors and assignment operators are private to prevent shallow copies of native allocations. Use one thread owner per object. CRegex.search copies the subject, including embedded zero bytes when an explicit byte length is supplied. Capture pointers returned by getStr remain valid until the next search; failed searches and unmatched optional captures return no capture.
Global searches need special handling after an empty match. match-progress.bi first retries a nonempty, anchored match at the same position, then advances if none exists. It advances across a complete UTF-8 character or configured CRLF newline and stops at the end of the subject. Both wrappers use this helper to avoid infinite loops while preserving nonempty alternatives at the same position.
preg_t.replace accepts $n or $n$ for numbered captures, $0 for the whole match and $$ for a literal dollar sign. An unset or out-of-range capture contributes an empty string. The replacement parser bounds numeric indices before using them.