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      6 <h1>pcre2test man page</h1>
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     11 This page is part of the PCRE2 HTML documentation. It was generated
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     13 please consult the man page, in case the conversion went wrong.
     14 <br>
     15 <ul>
     16 <li><a name="TOC1" href="#SEC1">SYNOPSIS</a>
     17 <li><a name="TOC2" href="#SEC2">PCRE2's 8-BIT, 16-BIT AND 32-BIT LIBRARIES</a>
     18 <li><a name="TOC3" href="#SEC3">INPUT ENCODING</a>
     19 <li><a name="TOC4" href="#SEC4">COMMAND LINE OPTIONS</a>
     20 <li><a name="TOC5" href="#SEC5">DESCRIPTION</a>
     21 <li><a name="TOC6" href="#SEC6">COMMAND LINES</a>
     22 <li><a name="TOC7" href="#SEC7">MODIFIER SYNTAX</a>
     23 <li><a name="TOC8" href="#SEC8">PATTERN SYNTAX</a>
     24 <li><a name="TOC9" href="#SEC9">SUBJECT LINE SYNTAX</a>
     25 <li><a name="TOC10" href="#SEC10">PATTERN MODIFIERS</a>
     26 <li><a name="TOC11" href="#SEC11">SUBJECT MODIFIERS</a>
     27 <li><a name="TOC12" href="#SEC12">THE ALTERNATIVE MATCHING FUNCTION</a>
     28 <li><a name="TOC13" href="#SEC13">DEFAULT OUTPUT FROM pcre2test</a>
     29 <li><a name="TOC14" href="#SEC14">OUTPUT FROM THE ALTERNATIVE MATCHING FUNCTION</a>
     30 <li><a name="TOC15" href="#SEC15">RESTARTING AFTER A PARTIAL MATCH</a>
     31 <li><a name="TOC16" href="#SEC16">CALLOUTS</a>
     32 <li><a name="TOC17" href="#SEC17">NON-PRINTING CHARACTERS</a>
     33 <li><a name="TOC18" href="#SEC18">SAVING AND RESTORING COMPILED PATTERNS</a>
     34 <li><a name="TOC19" href="#SEC19">SEE ALSO</a>
     35 <li><a name="TOC20" href="#SEC20">AUTHOR</a>
     36 <li><a name="TOC21" href="#SEC21">REVISION</a>
     37 </ul>
     38 <br><a name="SEC1" href="#TOC1">SYNOPSIS</a><br>
     39 <P>
     40 <b>pcre2test [options] [input file [output file]]</b>
     41 <br>
     42 <br>
     43 <b>pcre2test</b> is a test program for the PCRE2 regular expression libraries,
     44 but it can also be used for experimenting with regular expressions. This
     45 document describes the features of the test program; for details of the regular
     46 expressions themselves, see the
     47 <a href="pcre2pattern.html"><b>pcre2pattern</b></a>
     48 documentation. For details of the PCRE2 library function calls and their
     49 options, see the
     50 <a href="pcre2api.html"><b>pcre2api</b></a>
     51 documentation.
     52 </P>
     53 <P>
     54 The input for <b>pcre2test</b> is a sequence of regular expression patterns and
     55 subject strings to be matched. There are also command lines for setting
     56 defaults and controlling some special actions. The output shows the result of
     57 each match attempt. Modifiers on external or internal command lines, the
     58 patterns, and the subject lines specify PCRE2 function options, control how the
     59 subject is processed, and what output is produced.
     60 </P>
     61 <P>
     62 As the original fairly simple PCRE library evolved, it acquired many different
     63 features, and as a result, the original <b>pcretest</b> program ended up with a
     64 lot of options in a messy, arcane syntax for testing all the features. The
     65 move to the new PCRE2 API provided an opportunity to re-implement the test
     66 program as <b>pcre2test</b>, with a cleaner modifier syntax. Nevertheless, there
     67 are still many obscure modifiers, some of which are specifically designed for
     68 use in conjunction with the test script and data files that are distributed as
     69 part of PCRE2. All the modifiers are documented here, some without much
     70 justification, but many of them are unlikely to be of use except when testing
     71 the libraries.
     72 </P>
     73 <br><a name="SEC2" href="#TOC1">PCRE2's 8-BIT, 16-BIT AND 32-BIT LIBRARIES</a><br>
     74 <P>
     75 Different versions of the PCRE2 library can be built to support character
     76 strings that are encoded in 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit code units. One, two, or
     77 all three of these libraries may be simultaneously installed. The
     78 <b>pcre2test</b> program can be used to test all the libraries. However, its own
     79 input and output are always in 8-bit format. When testing the 16-bit or 32-bit
     80 libraries, patterns and subject strings are converted to 16-bit or 32-bit
     81 format before being passed to the library functions. Results are converted back
     82 to 8-bit code units for output.
     83 </P>
     84 <P>
     85 In the rest of this document, the names of library functions and structures
     86 are given in generic form, for example, <b>pcre_compile()</b>. The actual
     87 names used in the libraries have a suffix _8, _16, or _32, as appropriate.
     88 <a name="inputencoding"></a></P>
     89 <br><a name="SEC3" href="#TOC1">INPUT ENCODING</a><br>
     90 <P>
     91 Input to <b>pcre2test</b> is processed line by line, either by calling the C
     92 library's <b>fgets()</b> function, or via the <b>libreadline</b> library. In some
     93 Windows environments character 26 (hex 1A) causes an immediate end of file, and
     94 no further data is read, so this character should be avoided unless you really
     95 want that action.
     96 </P>
     97 <P>
     98 The input is processed using using C's string functions, so must not
     99 contain binary zeros, even though in Unix-like environments, <b>fgets()</b>
    100 treats any bytes other than newline as data characters. An error is generated
    101 if a binary zero is encountered. By default subject lines are processed for
    102 backslash escapes, which makes it possible to include any data value in strings
    103 that are passed to the library for matching. For patterns, there is a facility
    104 for specifying some or all of the 8-bit input characters as hexadecimal pairs,
    105 which makes it possible to include binary zeros.
    106 </P>
    107 <br><b>
    108 Input for the 16-bit and 32-bit libraries
    109 </b><br>
    110 <P>
    111 When testing the 16-bit or 32-bit libraries, there is a need to be able to
    112 generate character code points greater than 255 in the strings that are passed
    113 to the library. For subject lines, backslash escapes can be used. In addition,
    114 when the <b>utf</b> modifier (see
    115 <a href="#optionmodifiers">"Setting compilation options"</a>
    116 below) is set, the pattern and any following subject lines are interpreted as
    117 UTF-8 strings and translated to UTF-16 or UTF-32 as appropriate.
    118 </P>
    119 <P>
    120 For non-UTF testing of wide characters, the <b>utf8_input</b> modifier can be
    121 used. This is mutually exclusive with <b>utf</b>, and is allowed only in 16-bit
    122 or 32-bit mode. It causes the pattern and following subject lines to be treated
    123 as UTF-8 according to the original definition (RFC 2279), which allows for
    124 character values up to 0x7fffffff. Each character is placed in one 16-bit or
    125 32-bit code unit (in the 16-bit case, values greater than 0xffff cause an error
    126 to occur).
    127 </P>
    128 <P>
    129 UTF-8 (in its original definition) is not capable of encoding values greater
    130 than 0x7fffffff, but such values can be handled by the 32-bit library. When
    131 testing this library in non-UTF mode with <b>utf8_input</b> set, if any
    132 character is preceded by the byte 0xff (which is an invalid byte in UTF-8)
    133 0x80000000 is added to the character's value. This is the only way of passing
    134 such code points in a pattern string. For subject strings, using an escape
    135 sequence is preferable.
    136 </P>
    137 <br><a name="SEC4" href="#TOC1">COMMAND LINE OPTIONS</a><br>
    138 <P>
    139 <b>-8</b>
    140 If the 8-bit library has been built, this option causes it to be used (this is
    141 the default). If the 8-bit library has not been built, this option causes an
    142 error.
    143 </P>
    144 <P>
    145 <b>-16</b>
    146 If the 16-bit library has been built, this option causes it to be used. If only
    147 the 16-bit library has been built, this is the default. If the 16-bit library
    148 has not been built, this option causes an error.
    149 </P>
    150 <P>
    151 <b>-32</b>
    152 If the 32-bit library has been built, this option causes it to be used. If only
    153 the 32-bit library has been built, this is the default. If the 32-bit library
    154 has not been built, this option causes an error.
    155 </P>
    156 <P>
    157 <b>-ac</b>
    158 Behave as if each pattern has the <b>auto_callout</b> modifier, that is, insert
    159 automatic callouts into every pattern that is compiled.
    160 </P>
    161 <P>
    162 <b>-AC</b>
    163 As for <b>-ac</b>, but in addition behave as if each subject line has the
    164 <b>callout_extra</b> modifier, that is, show additional information from
    165 callouts.
    166 </P>
    167 <P>
    168 <b>-b</b>
    169 Behave as if each pattern has the <b>fullbincode</b> modifier; the full
    170 internal binary form of the pattern is output after compilation.
    171 </P>
    172 <P>
    173 <b>-C</b>
    174 Output the version number of the PCRE2 library, and all available information
    175 about the optional features that are included, and then exit with zero exit
    176 code. All other options are ignored. If both -C and -LM are present, whichever
    177 is first is recognized.
    178 </P>
    179 <P>
    180 <b>-C</b> <i>option</i>
    181 Output information about a specific build-time option, then exit. This
    182 functionality is intended for use in scripts such as <b>RunTest</b>. The
    183 following options output the value and set the exit code as indicated:
    184 <pre>
    185   ebcdic-nl  the code for LF (= NL) in an EBCDIC environment:
    186                0x15 or 0x25
    187                0 if used in an ASCII environment
    188                exit code is always 0
    189   linksize   the configured internal link size (2, 3, or 4)
    190                exit code is set to the link size
    191   newline    the default newline setting:
    192                CR, LF, CRLF, ANYCRLF, ANY, or NUL
    193                exit code is always 0
    194   bsr        the default setting for what \R matches:
    195                ANYCRLF or ANY
    196                exit code is always 0
    197 </pre>
    198 The following options output 1 for true or 0 for false, and set the exit code
    199 to the same value:
    200 <pre>
    201   backslash-C  \C is supported (not locked out)
    202   ebcdic       compiled for an EBCDIC environment
    203   jit          just-in-time support is available
    204   pcre2-16     the 16-bit library was built
    205   pcre2-32     the 32-bit library was built
    206   pcre2-8      the 8-bit library was built
    207   unicode      Unicode support is available
    208 </pre>
    209 If an unknown option is given, an error message is output; the exit code is 0.
    210 </P>
    211 <P>
    212 <b>-d</b>
    213 Behave as if each pattern has the <b>debug</b> modifier; the internal
    214 form and information about the compiled pattern is output after compilation;
    215 <b>-d</b> is equivalent to <b>-b -i</b>.
    216 </P>
    217 <P>
    218 <b>-dfa</b>
    219 Behave as if each subject line has the <b>dfa</b> modifier; matching is done
    220 using the <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b> function instead of the default
    221 <b>pcre2_match()</b>.
    222 </P>
    223 <P>
    224 <b>-error</b> <i>number[,number,...]</i>
    225 Call <b>pcre2_get_error_message()</b> for each of the error numbers in the
    226 comma-separated list, display the resulting messages on the standard output,
    227 then exit with zero exit code. The numbers may be positive or negative. This is
    228 a convenience facility for PCRE2 maintainers.
    229 </P>
    230 <P>
    231 <b>-help</b>
    232 Output a brief summary these options and then exit.
    233 </P>
    234 <P>
    235 <b>-i</b>
    236 Behave as if each pattern has the <b>info</b> modifier; information about the
    237 compiled pattern is given after compilation.
    238 </P>
    239 <P>
    240 <b>-jit</b>
    241 Behave as if each pattern line has the <b>jit</b> modifier; after successful
    242 compilation, each pattern is passed to the just-in-time compiler, if available.
    243 </P>
    244 <P>
    245 <b>-jitverify</b>
    246 Behave as if each pattern line has the <b>jitverify</b> modifier; after
    247 successful compilation, each pattern is passed to the just-in-time compiler, if
    248 available, and the use of JIT is verified.
    249 </P>
    250 <P>
    251 <b>-LM</b>
    252 List modifiers: write a list of available pattern and subject modifiers to the
    253 standard output, then exit with zero exit code. All other options are ignored.
    254 If both -C and -LM are present, whichever is first is recognized.
    255 </P>
    256 <P>
    257 \fB-pattern\fB <i>modifier-list</i>
    258 Behave as if each pattern line contains the given modifiers.
    259 </P>
    260 <P>
    261 <b>-q</b>
    262 Do not output the version number of <b>pcre2test</b> at the start of execution.
    263 </P>
    264 <P>
    265 <b>-S</b> <i>size</i>
    266 On Unix-like systems, set the size of the run-time stack to <i>size</i>
    267 mebibytes (units of 1024*1024 bytes).
    268 </P>
    269 <P>
    270 <b>-subject</b> <i>modifier-list</i>
    271 Behave as if each subject line contains the given modifiers.
    272 </P>
    273 <P>
    274 <b>-t</b>
    275 Run each compile and match many times with a timer, and output the resulting
    276 times per compile or match. When JIT is used, separate times are given for the
    277 initial compile and the JIT compile. You can control the number of iterations
    278 that are used for timing by following <b>-t</b> with a number (as a separate
    279 item on the command line). For example, "-t 1000" iterates 1000 times. The
    280 default is to iterate 500,000 times.
    281 </P>
    282 <P>
    283 <b>-tm</b>
    284 This is like <b>-t</b> except that it times only the matching phase, not the
    285 compile phase.
    286 </P>
    287 <P>
    288 <b>-T</b> <b>-TM</b>
    289 These behave like <b>-t</b> and <b>-tm</b>, but in addition, at the end of a run,
    290 the total times for all compiles and matches are output.
    291 </P>
    292 <P>
    293 <b>-version</b>
    294 Output the PCRE2 version number and then exit.
    295 </P>
    296 <br><a name="SEC5" href="#TOC1">DESCRIPTION</a><br>
    297 <P>
    298 If <b>pcre2test</b> is given two filename arguments, it reads from the first and
    299 writes to the second. If the first name is "-", input is taken from the
    300 standard input. If <b>pcre2test</b> is given only one argument, it reads from
    301 that file and writes to stdout. Otherwise, it reads from stdin and writes to
    302 stdout.
    303 </P>
    304 <P>
    305 When <b>pcre2test</b> is built, a configuration option can specify that it
    306 should be linked with the <b>libreadline</b> or <b>libedit</b> library. When this
    307 is done, if the input is from a terminal, it is read using the <b>readline()</b>
    308 function. This provides line-editing and history facilities. The output from
    309 the <b>-help</b> option states whether or not <b>readline()</b> will be used.
    310 </P>
    311 <P>
    312 The program handles any number of tests, each of which consists of a set of
    313 input lines. Each set starts with a regular expression pattern, followed by any
    314 number of subject lines to be matched against that pattern. In between sets of
    315 test data, command lines that begin with # may appear. This file format, with
    316 some restrictions, can also be processed by the <b>perltest.sh</b> script that
    317 is distributed with PCRE2 as a means of checking that the behaviour of PCRE2
    318 and Perl is the same. For a specification of <b>perltest.sh</b>, see the
    319 comments near its beginning.
    320 </P>
    321 <P>
    322 When the input is a terminal, <b>pcre2test</b> prompts for each line of input,
    323 using "re&#62;" to prompt for regular expression patterns, and "data&#62;" to prompt
    324 for subject lines. Command lines starting with # can be entered only in
    325 response to the "re&#62;" prompt.
    326 </P>
    327 <P>
    328 Each subject line is matched separately and independently. If you want to do
    329 multi-line matches, you have to use the \n escape sequence (or \r or \r\n,
    330 etc., depending on the newline setting) in a single line of input to encode the
    331 newline sequences. There is no limit on the length of subject lines; the input
    332 buffer is automatically extended if it is too small. There are replication
    333 features that makes it possible to generate long repetitive pattern or subject
    334 lines without having to supply them explicitly.
    335 </P>
    336 <P>
    337 An empty line or the end of the file signals the end of the subject lines for a
    338 test, at which point a new pattern or command line is expected if there is
    339 still input to be read.
    340 </P>
    341 <br><a name="SEC6" href="#TOC1">COMMAND LINES</a><br>
    342 <P>
    343 In between sets of test data, a line that begins with # is interpreted as a
    344 command line. If the first character is followed by white space or an
    345 exclamation mark, the line is treated as a comment, and ignored. Otherwise, the
    346 following commands are recognized:
    347 <pre>
    348   #forbid_utf
    349 </pre>
    350 Subsequent patterns automatically have the PCRE2_NEVER_UTF and PCRE2_NEVER_UCP
    351 options set, which locks out the use of the PCRE2_UTF and PCRE2_UCP options and
    352 the use of (*UTF) and (*UCP) at the start of patterns. This command also forces
    353 an error if a subsequent pattern contains any occurrences of \P, \p, or \X,
    354 which are still supported when PCRE2_UTF is not set, but which require Unicode
    355 property support to be included in the library.
    356 </P>
    357 <P>
    358 This is a trigger guard that is used in test files to ensure that UTF or
    359 Unicode property tests are not accidentally added to files that are used when
    360 Unicode support is not included in the library. Setting PCRE2_NEVER_UTF and
    361 PCRE2_NEVER_UCP as a default can also be obtained by the use of <b>#pattern</b>;
    362 the difference is that <b>#forbid_utf</b> cannot be unset, and the automatic
    363 options are not displayed in pattern information, to avoid cluttering up test
    364 output.
    365 <pre>
    366   #load &#60;filename&#62;
    367 </pre>
    368 This command is used to load a set of precompiled patterns from a file, as
    369 described in the section entitled "Saving and restoring compiled patterns"
    370 <a href="#saverestore">below.</a>
    371 <pre>
    372   #newline_default [&#60;newline-list&#62;]
    373 </pre>
    374 When PCRE2 is built, a default newline convention can be specified. This
    375 determines which characters and/or character pairs are recognized as indicating
    376 a newline in a pattern or subject string. The default can be overridden when a
    377 pattern is compiled. The standard test files contain tests of various newline
    378 conventions, but the majority of the tests expect a single linefeed to be
    379 recognized as a newline by default. Without special action the tests would fail
    380 when PCRE2 is compiled with either CR or CRLF as the default newline.
    381 </P>
    382 <P>
    383 The #newline_default command specifies a list of newline types that are
    384 acceptable as the default. The types must be one of CR, LF, CRLF, ANYCRLF,
    385 ANY, or NUL (in upper or lower case), for example:
    386 <pre>
    387   #newline_default LF Any anyCRLF
    388 </pre>
    389 If the default newline is in the list, this command has no effect. Otherwise,
    390 except when testing the POSIX API, a <b>newline</b> modifier that specifies the
    391 first newline convention in the list (LF in the above example) is added to any
    392 pattern that does not already have a <b>newline</b> modifier. If the newline
    393 list is empty, the feature is turned off. This command is present in a number
    394 of the standard test input files.
    395 </P>
    396 <P>
    397 When the POSIX API is being tested there is no way to override the default
    398 newline convention, though it is possible to set the newline convention from
    399 within the pattern. A warning is given if the <b>posix</b> or <b>posix_nosub</b>
    400 modifier is used when <b>#newline_default</b> would set a default for the
    401 non-POSIX API.
    402 <pre>
    403   #pattern &#60;modifier-list&#62;
    404 </pre>
    405 This command sets a default modifier list that applies to all subsequent
    406 patterns. Modifiers on a pattern can change these settings.
    407 <pre>
    408   #perltest
    409 </pre>
    410 The appearance of this line causes all subsequent modifier settings to be
    411 checked for compatibility with the <b>perltest.sh</b> script, which is used to
    412 confirm that Perl gives the same results as PCRE2. Also, apart from comment
    413 lines, #pattern commands, and #subject commands that set or unset "mark", no
    414 command lines are permitted, because they and many of the modifiers are
    415 specific to <b>pcre2test</b>, and should not be used in test files that are also
    416 processed by <b>perltest.sh</b>. The <b>#perltest</b> command helps detect tests
    417 that are accidentally put in the wrong file.
    418 <pre>
    419   #pop [&#60;modifiers&#62;]
    420   #popcopy [&#60;modifiers&#62;]
    421 </pre>
    422 These commands are used to manipulate the stack of compiled patterns, as
    423 described in the section entitled "Saving and restoring compiled patterns"
    424 <a href="#saverestore">below.</a>
    425 <pre>
    426   #save &#60;filename&#62;
    427 </pre>
    428 This command is used to save a set of compiled patterns to a file, as described
    429 in the section entitled "Saving and restoring compiled patterns"
    430 <a href="#saverestore">below.</a>
    431 <pre>
    432   #subject &#60;modifier-list&#62;
    433 </pre>
    434 This command sets a default modifier list that applies to all subsequent
    435 subject lines. Modifiers on a subject line can change these settings.
    436 </P>
    437 <br><a name="SEC7" href="#TOC1">MODIFIER SYNTAX</a><br>
    438 <P>
    439 Modifier lists are used with both pattern and subject lines. Items in a list
    440 are separated by commas followed by optional white space. Trailing whitespace
    441 in a modifier list is ignored. Some modifiers may be given for both patterns
    442 and subject lines, whereas others are valid only for one or the other. Each
    443 modifier has a long name, for example "anchored", and some of them must be
    444 followed by an equals sign and a value, for example, "offset=12". Values cannot
    445 contain comma characters, but may contain spaces. Modifiers that do not take
    446 values may be preceded by a minus sign to turn off a previous setting.
    447 </P>
    448 <P>
    449 A few of the more common modifiers can also be specified as single letters, for
    450 example "i" for "caseless". In documentation, following the Perl convention,
    451 these are written with a slash ("the /i modifier") for clarity. Abbreviated
    452 modifiers must all be concatenated in the first item of a modifier list. If the
    453 first item is not recognized as a long modifier name, it is interpreted as a
    454 sequence of these abbreviations. For example:
    455 <pre>
    456   /abc/ig,newline=cr,jit=3
    457 </pre>
    458 This is a pattern line whose modifier list starts with two one-letter modifiers
    459 (/i and /g). The lower-case abbreviated modifiers are the same as used in Perl.
    460 </P>
    461 <br><a name="SEC8" href="#TOC1">PATTERN SYNTAX</a><br>
    462 <P>
    463 A pattern line must start with one of the following characters (common symbols,
    464 excluding pattern meta-characters):
    465 <pre>
    466   / ! " ' ` - = _ : ; , % & @ ~
    467 </pre>
    468 This is interpreted as the pattern's delimiter. A regular expression may be
    469 continued over several input lines, in which case the newline characters are
    470 included within it. It is possible to include the delimiter within the pattern
    471 by escaping it with a backslash, for example
    472 <pre>
    473   /abc\/def/
    474 </pre>
    475 If you do this, the escape and the delimiter form part of the pattern, but
    476 since the delimiters are all non-alphanumeric, this does not affect its
    477 interpretation. If the terminating delimiter is immediately followed by a
    478 backslash, for example,
    479 <pre>
    480   /abc/\
    481 </pre>
    482 then a backslash is added to the end of the pattern. This is done to provide a
    483 way of testing the error condition that arises if a pattern finishes with a
    484 backslash, because
    485 <pre>
    486   /abc\/
    487 </pre>
    488 is interpreted as the first line of a pattern that starts with "abc/", causing
    489 pcre2test to read the next line as a continuation of the regular expression.
    490 </P>
    491 <P>
    492 A pattern can be followed by a modifier list (details below).
    493 </P>
    494 <br><a name="SEC9" href="#TOC1">SUBJECT LINE SYNTAX</a><br>
    495 <P>
    496 Before each subject line is passed to <b>pcre2_match()</b> or
    497 <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>, leading and trailing white space is removed, and the
    498 line is scanned for backslash escapes, unless the <b>subject_literal</b>
    499 modifier was set for the pattern. The following provide a means of encoding
    500 non-printing characters in a visible way:
    501 <pre>
    502   \a         alarm (BEL, \x07)
    503   \b         backspace (\x08)
    504   \e         escape (\x27)
    505   \f         form feed (\x0c)
    506   \n         newline (\x0a)
    507   \r         carriage return (\x0d)
    508   \t         tab (\x09)
    509   \v         vertical tab (\x0b)
    510   \nnn       octal character (up to 3 octal digits); always
    511                a byte unless &#62; 255 in UTF-8 or 16-bit or 32-bit mode
    512   \o{dd...}  octal character (any number of octal digits}
    513   \xhh       hexadecimal byte (up to 2 hex digits)
    514   \x{hh...}  hexadecimal character (any number of hex digits)
    515 </pre>
    516 The use of \x{hh...} is not dependent on the use of the <b>utf</b> modifier on
    517 the pattern. It is recognized always. There may be any number of hexadecimal
    518 digits inside the braces; invalid values provoke error messages.
    519 </P>
    520 <P>
    521 Note that \xhh specifies one byte rather than one character in UTF-8 mode;
    522 this makes it possible to construct invalid UTF-8 sequences for testing
    523 purposes. On the other hand, \x{hh} is interpreted as a UTF-8 character in
    524 UTF-8 mode, generating more than one byte if the value is greater than 127.
    525 When testing the 8-bit library not in UTF-8 mode, \x{hh} generates one byte
    526 for values less than 256, and causes an error for greater values.
    527 </P>
    528 <P>
    529 In UTF-16 mode, all 4-digit \x{hhhh} values are accepted. This makes it
    530 possible to construct invalid UTF-16 sequences for testing purposes.
    531 </P>
    532 <P>
    533 In UTF-32 mode, all 4- to 8-digit \x{...} values are accepted. This makes it
    534 possible to construct invalid UTF-32 sequences for testing purposes.
    535 </P>
    536 <P>
    537 There is a special backslash sequence that specifies replication of one or more
    538 characters:
    539 <pre>
    540   \[&#60;characters&#62;]{&#60;count&#62;}
    541 </pre>
    542 This makes it possible to test long strings without having to provide them as
    543 part of the file. For example:
    544 <pre>
    545   \[abc]{4}
    546 </pre>
    547 is converted to "abcabcabcabc". This feature does not support nesting. To
    548 include a closing square bracket in the characters, code it as \x5D.
    549 </P>
    550 <P>
    551 A backslash followed by an equals sign marks the end of the subject string and
    552 the start of a modifier list. For example:
    553 <pre>
    554   abc\=notbol,notempty
    555 </pre>
    556 If the subject string is empty and \= is followed by whitespace, the line is
    557 treated as a comment line, and is not used for matching. For example:
    558 <pre>
    559   \= This is a comment.
    560   abc\= This is an invalid modifier list.
    561 </pre>
    562 A backslash followed by any other non-alphanumeric character just escapes that
    563 character. A backslash followed by anything else causes an error. However, if
    564 the very last character in the line is a backslash (and there is no modifier
    565 list), it is ignored. This gives a way of passing an empty line as data, since
    566 a real empty line terminates the data input.
    567 </P>
    568 <P>
    569 If the <b>subject_literal</b> modifier is set for a pattern, all subject lines
    570 that follow are treated as literals, with no special treatment of backslashes.
    571 No replication is possible, and any subject modifiers must be set as defaults
    572 by a <b>#subject</b> command.
    573 </P>
    574 <br><a name="SEC10" href="#TOC1">PATTERN MODIFIERS</a><br>
    575 <P>
    576 There are several types of modifier that can appear in pattern lines. Except
    577 where noted below, they may also be used in <b>#pattern</b> commands. A
    578 pattern's modifier list can add to or override default modifiers that were set
    579 by a previous <b>#pattern</b> command.
    580 <a name="optionmodifiers"></a></P>
    581 <br><b>
    582 Setting compilation options
    583 </b><br>
    584 <P>
    585 The following modifiers set options for <b>pcre2_compile()</b>. Most of them set
    586 bits in the options argument of that function, but those whose names start with
    587 PCRE2_EXTRA are additional options that are set in the compile context. For the
    588 main options, there are some single-letter abbreviations that are the same as
    589 Perl options. There is special handling for /x: if a second x is present,
    590 PCRE2_EXTENDED is converted into PCRE2_EXTENDED_MORE as in Perl. A third
    591 appearance adds PCRE2_EXTENDED as well, though this makes no difference to the
    592 way <b>pcre2_compile()</b> behaves. See
    593 <a href="pcre2api.html"><b>pcre2api</b></a>
    594 for a description of the effects of these options.
    595 <pre>
    596       allow_empty_class         set PCRE2_ALLOW_EMPTY_CLASS
    597       allow_surrogate_escapes   set PCRE2_EXTRA_ALLOW_SURROGATE_ESCAPES
    598       alt_bsux                  set PCRE2_ALT_BSUX
    599       alt_circumflex            set PCRE2_ALT_CIRCUMFLEX
    600       alt_verbnames             set PCRE2_ALT_VERBNAMES
    601       anchored                  set PCRE2_ANCHORED
    602       auto_callout              set PCRE2_AUTO_CALLOUT
    603       bad_escape_is_literal     set PCRE2_EXTRA_BAD_ESCAPE_IS_LITERAL
    604   /i  caseless                  set PCRE2_CASELESS
    605       dollar_endonly            set PCRE2_DOLLAR_ENDONLY
    606   /s  dotall                    set PCRE2_DOTALL
    607       dupnames                  set PCRE2_DUPNAMES
    608       endanchored               set PCRE2_ENDANCHORED
    609   /x  extended                  set PCRE2_EXTENDED
    610   /xx extended_more             set PCRE2_EXTENDED_MORE
    611       firstline                 set PCRE2_FIRSTLINE
    612       literal                   set PCRE2_LITERAL
    613       match_line                set PCRE2_EXTRA_MATCH_LINE
    614       match_unset_backref       set PCRE2_MATCH_UNSET_BACKREF
    615       match_word                set PCRE2_EXTRA_MATCH_WORD
    616   /m  multiline                 set PCRE2_MULTILINE
    617       never_backslash_c         set PCRE2_NEVER_BACKSLASH_C
    618       never_ucp                 set PCRE2_NEVER_UCP
    619       never_utf                 set PCRE2_NEVER_UTF
    620   /n  no_auto_capture           set PCRE2_NO_AUTO_CAPTURE
    621       no_auto_possess           set PCRE2_NO_AUTO_POSSESS
    622       no_dotstar_anchor         set PCRE2_NO_DOTSTAR_ANCHOR
    623       no_start_optimize         set PCRE2_NO_START_OPTIMIZE
    624       no_utf_check              set PCRE2_NO_UTF_CHECK
    625       ucp                       set PCRE2_UCP
    626       ungreedy                  set PCRE2_UNGREEDY
    627       use_offset_limit          set PCRE2_USE_OFFSET_LIMIT
    628       utf                       set PCRE2_UTF
    629 </pre>
    630 As well as turning on the PCRE2_UTF option, the <b>utf</b> modifier causes all
    631 non-printing characters in output strings to be printed using the \x{hh...}
    632 notation. Otherwise, those less than 0x100 are output in hex without the curly
    633 brackets. Setting <b>utf</b> in 16-bit or 32-bit mode also causes pattern and
    634 subject strings to be translated to UTF-16 or UTF-32, respectively, before
    635 being passed to library functions.
    636 <a name="controlmodifiers"></a></P>
    637 <br><b>
    638 Setting compilation controls
    639 </b><br>
    640 <P>
    641 The following modifiers affect the compilation process or request information
    642 about the pattern. There are single-letter abbreviations for some that are
    643 heavily used in the test files.
    644 <pre>
    645       bsr=[anycrlf|unicode]     specify \R handling
    646   /B  bincode                   show binary code without lengths
    647       callout_info              show callout information
    648       convert=&#60;options&#62;         request foreign pattern conversion
    649       convert_glob_escape=c     set glob escape character
    650       convert_glob_separator=c  set glob separator character
    651       convert_length            set convert buffer length
    652       debug                     same as info,fullbincode
    653       framesize                 show matching frame size
    654       fullbincode               show binary code with lengths
    655   /I  info                      show info about compiled pattern
    656       hex                       unquoted characters are hexadecimal
    657       jit[=&#60;number&#62;]            use JIT
    658       jitfast                   use JIT fast path
    659       jitverify                 verify JIT use
    660       locale=&#60;name&#62;             use this locale
    661       max_pattern_length=&#60;n&#62;    set the maximum pattern length
    662       memory                    show memory used
    663       newline=&#60;type&#62;            set newline type
    664       null_context              compile with a NULL context
    665       parens_nest_limit=&#60;n&#62;     set maximum parentheses depth
    666       posix                     use the POSIX API
    667       posix_nosub               use the POSIX API with REG_NOSUB
    668       push                      push compiled pattern onto the stack
    669       pushcopy                  push a copy onto the stack
    670       stackguard=&#60;number&#62;       test the stackguard feature
    671       subject_literal           treat all subject lines as literal
    672       tables=[0|1|2]            select internal tables
    673       use_length                do not zero-terminate the pattern
    674       utf8_input                treat input as UTF-8
    675 </pre>
    676 The effects of these modifiers are described in the following sections.
    677 </P>
    678 <br><b>
    679 Newline and \R handling
    680 </b><br>
    681 <P>
    682 The <b>bsr</b> modifier specifies what \R in a pattern should match. If it is
    683 set to "anycrlf", \R matches CR, LF, or CRLF only. If it is set to "unicode",
    684 \R matches any Unicode newline sequence. The default can be specified when
    685 PCRE2 is built; if it is not, the default is set to Unicode.
    686 </P>
    687 <P>
    688 The <b>newline</b> modifier specifies which characters are to be interpreted as
    689 newlines, both in the pattern and in subject lines. The type must be one of CR,
    690 LF, CRLF, ANYCRLF, ANY, or NUL (in upper or lower case).
    691 </P>
    692 <br><b>
    693 Information about a pattern
    694 </b><br>
    695 <P>
    696 The <b>debug</b> modifier is a shorthand for <b>info,fullbincode</b>, requesting
    697 all available information.
    698 </P>
    699 <P>
    700 The <b>bincode</b> modifier causes a representation of the compiled code to be
    701 output after compilation. This information does not contain length and offset
    702 values, which ensures that the same output is generated for different internal
    703 link sizes and different code unit widths. By using <b>bincode</b>, the same
    704 regression tests can be used in different environments.
    705 </P>
    706 <P>
    707 The <b>fullbincode</b> modifier, by contrast, <i>does</i> include length and
    708 offset values. This is used in a few special tests that run only for specific
    709 code unit widths and link sizes, and is also useful for one-off tests.
    710 </P>
    711 <P>
    712 The <b>info</b> modifier requests information about the compiled pattern
    713 (whether it is anchored, has a fixed first character, and so on). The
    714 information is obtained from the <b>pcre2_pattern_info()</b> function. Here are
    715 some typical examples:
    716 <pre>
    717     re&#62; /(?i)(^a|^b)/m,info
    718   Capturing subpattern count = 1
    719   Compile options: multiline
    720   Overall options: caseless multiline
    721   First code unit at start or follows newline
    722   Subject length lower bound = 1
    723 
    724     re&#62; /(?i)abc/info
    725   Capturing subpattern count = 0
    726   Compile options: &#60;none&#62;
    727   Overall options: caseless
    728   First code unit = 'a' (caseless)
    729   Last code unit = 'c' (caseless)
    730   Subject length lower bound = 3
    731 </pre>
    732 "Compile options" are those specified by modifiers; "overall options" have
    733 added options that are taken or deduced from the pattern. If both sets of
    734 options are the same, just a single "options" line is output; if there are no
    735 options, the line is omitted. "First code unit" is where any match must start;
    736 if there is more than one they are listed as "starting code units". "Last code
    737 unit" is the last literal code unit that must be present in any match. This is
    738 not necessarily the last character. These lines are omitted if no starting or
    739 ending code units are recorded.
    740 </P>
    741 <P>
    742 The <b>framesize</b> modifier shows the size, in bytes, of the storage frames
    743 used by <b>pcre2_match()</b> for handling backtracking. The size depends on the
    744 number of capturing parentheses in the pattern.
    745 </P>
    746 <P>
    747 The <b>callout_info</b> modifier requests information about all the callouts in
    748 the pattern. A list of them is output at the end of any other information that
    749 is requested. For each callout, either its number or string is given, followed
    750 by the item that follows it in the pattern.
    751 </P>
    752 <br><b>
    753 Passing a NULL context
    754 </b><br>
    755 <P>
    756 Normally, <b>pcre2test</b> passes a context block to <b>pcre2_compile()</b>. If
    757 the <b>null_context</b> modifier is set, however, NULL is passed. This is for
    758 testing that <b>pcre2_compile()</b> behaves correctly in this case (it uses
    759 default values).
    760 </P>
    761 <br><b>
    762 Specifying pattern characters in hexadecimal
    763 </b><br>
    764 <P>
    765 The <b>hex</b> modifier specifies that the characters of the pattern, except for
    766 substrings enclosed in single or double quotes, are to be interpreted as pairs
    767 of hexadecimal digits. This feature is provided as a way of creating patterns
    768 that contain binary zeros and other non-printing characters. White space is
    769 permitted between pairs of digits. For example, this pattern contains three
    770 characters:
    771 <pre>
    772   /ab 32 59/hex
    773 </pre>
    774 Parts of such a pattern are taken literally if quoted. This pattern contains
    775 nine characters, only two of which are specified in hexadecimal:
    776 <pre>
    777   /ab "literal" 32/hex
    778 </pre>
    779 Either single or double quotes may be used. There is no way of including
    780 the delimiter within a substring. The <b>hex</b> and <b>expand</b> modifiers are
    781 mutually exclusive.
    782 </P>
    783 <br><b>
    784 Specifying the pattern's length
    785 </b><br>
    786 <P>
    787 By default, patterns are passed to the compiling functions as zero-terminated
    788 strings but can be passed by length instead of being zero-terminated. The
    789 <b>use_length</b> modifier causes this to happen. Using a length happens
    790 automatically (whether or not <b>use_length</b> is set) when <b>hex</b> is set,
    791 because patterns specified in hexadecimal may contain binary zeros.
    792 </P>
    793 <P>
    794 If <b>hex</b> or <b>use_length</b> is used with the POSIX wrapper API (see
    795 <a href="#posixwrapper">"Using the POSIX wrapper API"</a>
    796 below), the REG_PEND extension is used to pass the pattern's length.
    797 </P>
    798 <br><b>
    799 Specifying wide characters in 16-bit and 32-bit modes
    800 </b><br>
    801 <P>
    802 In 16-bit and 32-bit modes, all input is automatically treated as UTF-8 and
    803 translated to UTF-16 or UTF-32 when the <b>utf</b> modifier is set. For testing
    804 the 16-bit and 32-bit libraries in non-UTF mode, the <b>utf8_input</b> modifier
    805 can be used. It is mutually exclusive with <b>utf</b>. Input lines are
    806 interpreted as UTF-8 as a means of specifying wide characters. More details are
    807 given in
    808 <a href="#inputencoding">"Input encoding"</a>
    809 above.
    810 </P>
    811 <br><b>
    812 Generating long repetitive patterns
    813 </b><br>
    814 <P>
    815 Some tests use long patterns that are very repetitive. Instead of creating a
    816 very long input line for such a pattern, you can use a special repetition
    817 feature, similar to the one described for subject lines above. If the
    818 <b>expand</b> modifier is present on a pattern, parts of the pattern that have
    819 the form
    820 <pre>
    821   \[&#60;characters&#62;]{&#60;count&#62;}
    822 </pre>
    823 are expanded before the pattern is passed to <b>pcre2_compile()</b>. For
    824 example, \[AB]{6000} is expanded to "ABAB..." 6000 times. This construction
    825 cannot be nested. An initial "\[" sequence is recognized only if "]{" followed
    826 by decimal digits and "}" is found later in the pattern. If not, the characters
    827 remain in the pattern unaltered. The <b>expand</b> and <b>hex</b> modifiers are
    828 mutually exclusive.
    829 </P>
    830 <P>
    831 If part of an expanded pattern looks like an expansion, but is really part of
    832 the actual pattern, unwanted expansion can be avoided by giving two values in
    833 the quantifier. For example, \[AB]{6000,6000} is not recognized as an
    834 expansion item.
    835 </P>
    836 <P>
    837 If the <b>info</b> modifier is set on an expanded pattern, the result of the
    838 expansion is included in the information that is output.
    839 </P>
    840 <br><b>
    841 JIT compilation
    842 </b><br>
    843 <P>
    844 Just-in-time (JIT) compiling is a heavyweight optimization that can greatly
    845 speed up pattern matching. See the
    846 <a href="pcre2jit.html"><b>pcre2jit</b></a>
    847 documentation for details. JIT compiling happens, optionally, after a pattern
    848 has been successfully compiled into an internal form. The JIT compiler converts
    849 this to optimized machine code. It needs to know whether the match-time options
    850 PCRE2_PARTIAL_HARD and PCRE2_PARTIAL_SOFT are going to be used, because
    851 different code is generated for the different cases. See the <b>partial</b>
    852 modifier in "Subject Modifiers"
    853 <a href="#subjectmodifiers">below</a>
    854 for details of how these options are specified for each match attempt.
    855 </P>
    856 <P>
    857 JIT compilation is requested by the <b>jit</b> pattern modifier, which may
    858 optionally be followed by an equals sign and a number in the range 0 to 7.
    859 The three bits that make up the number specify which of the three JIT operating
    860 modes are to be compiled:
    861 <pre>
    862   1  compile JIT code for non-partial matching
    863   2  compile JIT code for soft partial matching
    864   4  compile JIT code for hard partial matching
    865 </pre>
    866 The possible values for the <b>jit</b> modifier are therefore:
    867 <pre>
    868   0  disable JIT
    869   1  normal matching only
    870   2  soft partial matching only
    871   3  normal and soft partial matching
    872   4  hard partial matching only
    873   6  soft and hard partial matching only
    874   7  all three modes
    875 </pre>
    876 If no number is given, 7 is assumed. The phrase "partial matching" means a call
    877 to <b>pcre2_match()</b> with either the PCRE2_PARTIAL_SOFT or the
    878 PCRE2_PARTIAL_HARD option set. Note that such a call may return a complete
    879 match; the options enable the possibility of a partial match, but do not
    880 require it. Note also that if you request JIT compilation only for partial
    881 matching (for example, jit=2) but do not set the <b>partial</b> modifier on a
    882 subject line, that match will not use JIT code because none was compiled for
    883 non-partial matching.
    884 </P>
    885 <P>
    886 If JIT compilation is successful, the compiled JIT code will automatically be
    887 used when an appropriate type of match is run, except when incompatible
    888 run-time options are specified. For more details, see the
    889 <a href="pcre2jit.html"><b>pcre2jit</b></a>
    890 documentation. See also the <b>jitstack</b> modifier below for a way of
    891 setting the size of the JIT stack.
    892 </P>
    893 <P>
    894 If the <b>jitfast</b> modifier is specified, matching is done using the JIT
    895 "fast path" interface, <b>pcre2_jit_match()</b>, which skips some of the sanity
    896 checks that are done by <b>pcre2_match()</b>, and of course does not work when
    897 JIT is not supported. If <b>jitfast</b> is specified without <b>jit</b>, jit=7 is
    898 assumed.
    899 </P>
    900 <P>
    901 If the <b>jitverify</b> modifier is specified, information about the compiled
    902 pattern shows whether JIT compilation was or was not successful. If
    903 <b>jitverify</b> is specified without <b>jit</b>, jit=7 is assumed. If JIT
    904 compilation is successful when <b>jitverify</b> is set, the text "(JIT)" is
    905 added to the first output line after a match or non match when JIT-compiled
    906 code was actually used in the match.
    907 </P>
    908 <br><b>
    909 Setting a locale
    910 </b><br>
    911 <P>
    912 The <b>locale</b> modifier must specify the name of a locale, for example:
    913 <pre>
    914   /pattern/locale=fr_FR
    915 </pre>
    916 The given locale is set, <b>pcre2_maketables()</b> is called to build a set of
    917 character tables for the locale, and this is then passed to
    918 <b>pcre2_compile()</b> when compiling the regular expression. The same tables
    919 are used when matching the following subject lines. The <b>locale</b> modifier
    920 applies only to the pattern on which it appears, but can be given in a
    921 <b>#pattern</b> command if a default is needed. Setting a locale and alternate
    922 character tables are mutually exclusive.
    923 </P>
    924 <br><b>
    925 Showing pattern memory
    926 </b><br>
    927 <P>
    928 The <b>memory</b> modifier causes the size in bytes of the memory used to hold
    929 the compiled pattern to be output. This does not include the size of the
    930 <b>pcre2_code</b> block; it is just the actual compiled data. If the pattern is
    931 subsequently passed to the JIT compiler, the size of the JIT compiled code is
    932 also output. Here is an example:
    933 <pre>
    934     re&#62; /a(b)c/jit,memory
    935   Memory allocation (code space): 21
    936   Memory allocation (JIT code): 1910
    937 
    938 </PRE>
    939 </P>
    940 <br><b>
    941 Limiting nested parentheses
    942 </b><br>
    943 <P>
    944 The <b>parens_nest_limit</b> modifier sets a limit on the depth of nested
    945 parentheses in a pattern. Breaching the limit causes a compilation error.
    946 The default for the library is set when PCRE2 is built, but <b>pcre2test</b>
    947 sets its own default of 220, which is required for running the standard test
    948 suite.
    949 </P>
    950 <br><b>
    951 Limiting the pattern length
    952 </b><br>
    953 <P>
    954 The <b>max_pattern_length</b> modifier sets a limit, in code units, to the
    955 length of pattern that <b>pcre2_compile()</b> will accept. Breaching the limit
    956 causes a compilation error. The default is the largest number a PCRE2_SIZE
    957 variable can hold (essentially unlimited).
    958 <a name="posixwrapper"></a></P>
    959 <br><b>
    960 Using the POSIX wrapper API
    961 </b><br>
    962 <P>
    963 The <b>posix</b> and <b>posix_nosub</b> modifiers cause <b>pcre2test</b> to call
    964 PCRE2 via the POSIX wrapper API rather than its native API. When
    965 <b>posix_nosub</b> is used, the POSIX option REG_NOSUB is passed to
    966 <b>regcomp()</b>. The POSIX wrapper supports only the 8-bit library. Note that
    967 it does not imply POSIX matching semantics; for more detail see the
    968 <a href="pcre2posix.html"><b>pcre2posix</b></a>
    969 documentation. The following pattern modifiers set options for the
    970 <b>regcomp()</b> function:
    971 <pre>
    972   caseless           REG_ICASE
    973   multiline          REG_NEWLINE
    974   dotall             REG_DOTALL     )
    975   ungreedy           REG_UNGREEDY   ) These options are not part of
    976   ucp                REG_UCP        )   the POSIX standard
    977   utf                REG_UTF8       )
    978 </pre>
    979 The <b>regerror_buffsize</b> modifier specifies a size for the error buffer that
    980 is passed to <b>regerror()</b> in the event of a compilation error. For example:
    981 <pre>
    982   /abc/posix,regerror_buffsize=20
    983 </pre>
    984 This provides a means of testing the behaviour of <b>regerror()</b> when the
    985 buffer is too small for the error message. If this modifier has not been set, a
    986 large buffer is used.
    987 </P>
    988 <P>
    989 The <b>aftertext</b> and <b>allaftertext</b> subject modifiers work as described
    990 below. All other modifiers are either ignored, with a warning message, or cause
    991 an error.
    992 </P>
    993 <P>
    994 The pattern is passed to <b>regcomp()</b> as a zero-terminated string by
    995 default, but if the <b>use_length</b> or <b>hex</b> modifiers are set, the
    996 REG_PEND extension is used to pass it by length.
    997 </P>
    998 <br><b>
    999 Testing the stack guard feature
   1000 </b><br>
   1001 <P>
   1002 The <b>stackguard</b> modifier is used to test the use of
   1003 <b>pcre2_set_compile_recursion_guard()</b>, a function that is provided to
   1004 enable stack availability to be checked during compilation (see the
   1005 <a href="pcre2api.html"><b>pcre2api</b></a>
   1006 documentation for details). If the number specified by the modifier is greater
   1007 than zero, <b>pcre2_set_compile_recursion_guard()</b> is called to set up
   1008 callback from <b>pcre2_compile()</b> to a local function. The argument it
   1009 receives is the current nesting parenthesis depth; if this is greater than the
   1010 value given by the modifier, non-zero is returned, causing the compilation to
   1011 be aborted.
   1012 </P>
   1013 <br><b>
   1014 Using alternative character tables
   1015 </b><br>
   1016 <P>
   1017 The value specified for the <b>tables</b> modifier must be one of the digits 0,
   1018 1, or 2. It causes a specific set of built-in character tables to be passed to
   1019 <b>pcre2_compile()</b>. This is used in the PCRE2 tests to check behaviour with
   1020 different character tables. The digit specifies the tables as follows:
   1021 <pre>
   1022   0   do not pass any special character tables
   1023   1   the default ASCII tables, as distributed in
   1024         pcre2_chartables.c.dist
   1025   2   a set of tables defining ISO 8859 characters
   1026 </pre>
   1027 In table 2, some characters whose codes are greater than 128 are identified as
   1028 letters, digits, spaces, etc. Setting alternate character tables and a locale
   1029 are mutually exclusive.
   1030 </P>
   1031 <br><b>
   1032 Setting certain match controls
   1033 </b><br>
   1034 <P>
   1035 The following modifiers are really subject modifiers, and are described under
   1036 "Subject Modifiers" below. However, they may be included in a pattern's
   1037 modifier list, in which case they are applied to every subject line that is
   1038 processed with that pattern. These modifiers do not affect the compilation
   1039 process.
   1040 <pre>
   1041       aftertext                  show text after match
   1042       allaftertext               show text after captures
   1043       allcaptures                show all captures
   1044       allusedtext                show all consulted text
   1045       altglobal                  alternative global matching
   1046   /g  global                     global matching
   1047       jitstack=&#60;n&#62;               set size of JIT stack
   1048       mark                       show mark values
   1049       replace=&#60;string&#62;           specify a replacement string
   1050       startchar                  show starting character when relevant
   1051       substitute_extended        use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_EXTENDED
   1052       substitute_overflow_length use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_OVERFLOW_LENGTH
   1053       substitute_unknown_unset   use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNKNOWN_UNSET
   1054       substitute_unset_empty     use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNSET_EMPTY
   1055 </pre>
   1056 These modifiers may not appear in a <b>#pattern</b> command. If you want them as
   1057 defaults, set them in a <b>#subject</b> command.
   1058 </P>
   1059 <br><b>
   1060 Specifying literal subject lines
   1061 </b><br>
   1062 <P>
   1063 If the <b>subject_literal</b> modifier is present on a pattern, all the subject
   1064 lines that it matches are taken as literal strings, with no interpretation of
   1065 backslashes. It is not possible to set subject modifiers on such lines, but any
   1066 that are set as defaults by a <b>#subject</b> command are recognized.
   1067 </P>
   1068 <br><b>
   1069 Saving a compiled pattern
   1070 </b><br>
   1071 <P>
   1072 When a pattern with the <b>push</b> modifier is successfully compiled, it is
   1073 pushed onto a stack of compiled patterns, and <b>pcre2test</b> expects the next
   1074 line to contain a new pattern (or a command) instead of a subject line. This
   1075 facility is used when saving compiled patterns to a file, as described in the
   1076 section entitled "Saving and restoring compiled patterns"
   1077 <a href="#saverestore">below.</a>
   1078 If <b>pushcopy</b> is used instead of <b>push</b>, a copy of the compiled
   1079 pattern is stacked, leaving the original as current, ready to match the
   1080 following input lines. This provides a way of testing the
   1081 <b>pcre2_code_copy()</b> function.
   1082 The <b>push</b> and <b>pushcopy </b> modifiers are incompatible with compilation
   1083 modifiers such as <b>global</b> that act at match time. Any that are specified
   1084 are ignored (for the stacked copy), with a warning message, except for
   1085 <b>replace</b>, which causes an error. Note that <b>jitverify</b>, which is
   1086 allowed, does not carry through to any subsequent matching that uses a stacked
   1087 pattern.
   1088 </P>
   1089 <br><b>
   1090 Testing foreign pattern conversion
   1091 </b><br>
   1092 <P>
   1093 The experimental foreign pattern conversion functions in PCRE2 can be tested by
   1094 setting the <b>convert</b> modifier. Its argument is a colon-separated list of
   1095 options, which set the equivalent option for the <b>pcre2_pattern_convert()</b>
   1096 function:
   1097 <pre>
   1098   glob                    PCRE2_CONVERT_GLOB
   1099   glob_no_starstar        PCRE2_CONVERT_GLOB_NO_STARSTAR
   1100   glob_no_wild_separator  PCRE2_CONVERT_GLOB_NO_WILD_SEPARATOR
   1101   posix_basic             PCRE2_CONVERT_POSIX_BASIC
   1102   posix_extended          PCRE2_CONVERT_POSIX_EXTENDED
   1103   unset                   Unset all options
   1104 </pre>
   1105 The "unset" value is useful for turning off a default that has been set by a
   1106 <b>#pattern</b> command. When one of these options is set, the input pattern is
   1107 passed to <b>pcre2_pattern_convert()</b>. If the conversion is successful, the
   1108 result is reflected in the output and then passed to <b>pcre2_compile()</b>. The
   1109 normal <b>utf</b> and <b>no_utf_check</b> options, if set, cause the
   1110 PCRE2_CONVERT_UTF and PCRE2_CONVERT_NO_UTF_CHECK options to be passed to
   1111 <b>pcre2_pattern_convert()</b>.
   1112 </P>
   1113 <P>
   1114 By default, the conversion function is allowed to allocate a buffer for its
   1115 output. However, if the <b>convert_length</b> modifier is set to a value greater
   1116 than zero, <b>pcre2test</b> passes a buffer of the given length. This makes it
   1117 possible to test the length check.
   1118 </P>
   1119 <P>
   1120 The <b>convert_glob_escape</b> and <b>convert_glob_separator</b> modifiers can be
   1121 used to specify the escape and separator characters for glob processing,
   1122 overriding the defaults, which are operating-system dependent.
   1123 <a name="subjectmodifiers"></a></P>
   1124 <br><a name="SEC11" href="#TOC1">SUBJECT MODIFIERS</a><br>
   1125 <P>
   1126 The modifiers that can appear in subject lines and the <b>#subject</b>
   1127 command are of two types.
   1128 </P>
   1129 <br><b>
   1130 Setting match options
   1131 </b><br>
   1132 <P>
   1133 The following modifiers set options for <b>pcre2_match()</b> or
   1134 <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>. See
   1135 <a href="pcreapi.html"><b>pcreapi</b></a>
   1136 for a description of their effects.
   1137 <pre>
   1138       anchored                  set PCRE2_ANCHORED
   1139       endanchored               set PCRE2_ENDANCHORED
   1140       dfa_restart               set PCRE2_DFA_RESTART
   1141       dfa_shortest              set PCRE2_DFA_SHORTEST
   1142       no_jit                    set PCRE2_NO_JIT
   1143       no_utf_check              set PCRE2_NO_UTF_CHECK
   1144       notbol                    set PCRE2_NOTBOL
   1145       notempty                  set PCRE2_NOTEMPTY
   1146       notempty_atstart          set PCRE2_NOTEMPTY_ATSTART
   1147       noteol                    set PCRE2_NOTEOL
   1148       partial_hard (or ph)      set PCRE2_PARTIAL_HARD
   1149       partial_soft (or ps)      set PCRE2_PARTIAL_SOFT
   1150 </pre>
   1151 The partial matching modifiers are provided with abbreviations because they
   1152 appear frequently in tests.
   1153 </P>
   1154 <P>
   1155 If the <b>posix</b> or <b>posix_nosub</b> modifier was present on the pattern,
   1156 causing the POSIX wrapper API to be used, the only option-setting modifiers
   1157 that have any effect are <b>notbol</b>, <b>notempty</b>, and <b>noteol</b>,
   1158 causing REG_NOTBOL, REG_NOTEMPTY, and REG_NOTEOL, respectively, to be passed to
   1159 <b>regexec()</b>. The other modifiers are ignored, with a warning message.
   1160 </P>
   1161 <P>
   1162 There is one additional modifier that can be used with the POSIX wrapper. It is
   1163 ignored (with a warning) if used for non-POSIX matching.
   1164 <pre>
   1165       posix_startend=&#60;n&#62;[:&#60;m&#62;]
   1166 </pre>
   1167 This causes the subject string to be passed to <b>regexec()</b> using the
   1168 REG_STARTEND option, which uses offsets to specify which part of the string is
   1169 searched. If only one number is given, the end offset is passed as the end of
   1170 the subject string. For more detail of REG_STARTEND, see the
   1171 <a href="pcre2posix.html"><b>pcre2posix</b></a>
   1172 documentation. If the subject string contains binary zeros (coded as escapes
   1173 such as \x{00} because <b>pcre2test</b> does not support actual binary zeros in
   1174 its input), you must use <b>posix_startend</b> to specify its length.
   1175 </P>
   1176 <br><b>
   1177 Setting match controls
   1178 </b><br>
   1179 <P>
   1180 The following modifiers affect the matching process or request additional
   1181 information. Some of them may also be specified on a pattern line (see above),
   1182 in which case they apply to every subject line that is matched against that
   1183 pattern.
   1184 <pre>
   1185       aftertext                  show text after match
   1186       allaftertext               show text after captures
   1187       allcaptures                show all captures
   1188       allusedtext                show all consulted text (non-JIT only)
   1189       altglobal                  alternative global matching
   1190       callout_capture            show captures at callout time
   1191       callout_data=&#60;n&#62;           set a value to pass via callouts
   1192       callout_error=&#60;n&#62;[:&#60;m&#62;]    control callout error
   1193       callout_extra              show extra callout information
   1194       callout_fail=&#60;n&#62;[:&#60;m&#62;]     control callout failure
   1195       callout_no_where           do not show position of a callout
   1196       callout_none               do not supply a callout function
   1197       copy=&#60;number or name&#62;      copy captured substring
   1198       depth_limit=&#60;n&#62;            set a depth limit
   1199       dfa                        use <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>
   1200       find_limits                find match and depth limits
   1201       get=&#60;number or name&#62;       extract captured substring
   1202       getall                     extract all captured substrings
   1203   /g  global                     global matching
   1204       heap_limit=&#60;n&#62;             set a limit on heap memory (Kbytes)
   1205       jitstack=&#60;n&#62;               set size of JIT stack
   1206       mark                       show mark values
   1207       match_limit=&#60;n&#62;            set a match limit
   1208       memory                     show heap memory usage
   1209       null_context               match with a NULL context
   1210       offset=&#60;n&#62;                 set starting offset
   1211       offset_limit=&#60;n&#62;           set offset limit
   1212       ovector=&#60;n&#62;                set size of output vector
   1213       recursion_limit=&#60;n&#62;        obsolete synonym for depth_limit
   1214       replace=&#60;string&#62;           specify a replacement string
   1215       startchar                  show startchar when relevant
   1216       startoffset=&#60;n&#62;            same as offset=&#60;n&#62;
   1217       substitute_extedded        use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_EXTENDED
   1218       substitute_overflow_length use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_OVERFLOW_LENGTH
   1219       substitute_unknown_unset   use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNKNOWN_UNSET
   1220       substitute_unset_empty     use PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNSET_EMPTY
   1221       zero_terminate             pass the subject as zero-terminated
   1222 </pre>
   1223 The effects of these modifiers are described in the following sections. When
   1224 matching via the POSIX wrapper API, the <b>aftertext</b>, <b>allaftertext</b>,
   1225 and <b>ovector</b> subject modifiers work as described below. All other
   1226 modifiers are either ignored, with a warning message, or cause an error.
   1227 </P>
   1228 <br><b>
   1229 Showing more text
   1230 </b><br>
   1231 <P>
   1232 The <b>aftertext</b> modifier requests that as well as outputting the part of
   1233 the subject string that matched the entire pattern, <b>pcre2test</b> should in
   1234 addition output the remainder of the subject string. This is useful for tests
   1235 where the subject contains multiple copies of the same substring. The
   1236 <b>allaftertext</b> modifier requests the same action for captured substrings as
   1237 well as the main matched substring. In each case the remainder is output on the
   1238 following line with a plus character following the capture number.
   1239 </P>
   1240 <P>
   1241 The <b>allusedtext</b> modifier requests that all the text that was consulted
   1242 during a successful pattern match by the interpreter should be shown. This
   1243 feature is not supported for JIT matching, and if requested with JIT it is
   1244 ignored (with a warning message). Setting this modifier affects the output if
   1245 there is a lookbehind at the start of a match, or a lookahead at the end, or if
   1246 \K is used in the pattern. Characters that precede or follow the start and end
   1247 of the actual match are indicated in the output by '&#60;' or '&#62;' characters
   1248 underneath them. Here is an example:
   1249 <pre>
   1250     re&#62; /(?&#60;=pqr)abc(?=xyz)/
   1251   data&#62; 123pqrabcxyz456\=allusedtext
   1252    0: pqrabcxyz
   1253       &#60;&#60;&#60;   &#62;&#62;&#62;
   1254 </pre>
   1255 This shows that the matched string is "abc", with the preceding and following
   1256 strings "pqr" and "xyz" having been consulted during the match (when processing
   1257 the assertions).
   1258 </P>
   1259 <P>
   1260 The <b>startchar</b> modifier requests that the starting character for the match
   1261 be indicated, if it is different to the start of the matched string. The only
   1262 time when this occurs is when \K has been processed as part of the match. In
   1263 this situation, the output for the matched string is displayed from the
   1264 starting character instead of from the match point, with circumflex characters
   1265 under the earlier characters. For example:
   1266 <pre>
   1267     re&#62; /abc\Kxyz/
   1268   data&#62; abcxyz\=startchar
   1269    0: abcxyz
   1270       ^^^
   1271 </pre>
   1272 Unlike <b>allusedtext</b>, the <b>startchar</b> modifier can be used with JIT.
   1273 However, these two modifiers are mutually exclusive.
   1274 </P>
   1275 <br><b>
   1276 Showing the value of all capture groups
   1277 </b><br>
   1278 <P>
   1279 The <b>allcaptures</b> modifier requests that the values of all potential
   1280 captured parentheses be output after a match. By default, only those up to the
   1281 highest one actually used in the match are output (corresponding to the return
   1282 code from <b>pcre2_match()</b>). Groups that did not take part in the match
   1283 are output as "&#60;unset&#62;". This modifier is not relevant for DFA matching (which
   1284 does no capturing); it is ignored, with a warning message, if present.
   1285 </P>
   1286 <br><b>
   1287 Testing callouts
   1288 </b><br>
   1289 <P>
   1290 A callout function is supplied when <b>pcre2test</b> calls the library matching
   1291 functions, unless <b>callout_none</b> is specified. Its behaviour can be
   1292 controlled by various modifiers listed above whose names begin with
   1293 <b>callout_</b>. Details are given in the section entitled "Callouts"
   1294 <a href="#callouts">below.</a>
   1295 </P>
   1296 <br><b>
   1297 Finding all matches in a string
   1298 </b><br>
   1299 <P>
   1300 Searching for all possible matches within a subject can be requested by the
   1301 <b>global</b> or <b>altglobal</b> modifier. After finding a match, the matching
   1302 function is called again to search the remainder of the subject. The difference
   1303 between <b>global</b> and <b>altglobal</b> is that the former uses the
   1304 <i>start_offset</i> argument to <b>pcre2_match()</b> or <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>
   1305 to start searching at a new point within the entire string (which is what Perl
   1306 does), whereas the latter passes over a shortened subject. This makes a
   1307 difference to the matching process if the pattern begins with a lookbehind
   1308 assertion (including \b or \B).
   1309 </P>
   1310 <P>
   1311 If an empty string is matched, the next match is done with the
   1312 PCRE2_NOTEMPTY_ATSTART and PCRE2_ANCHORED flags set, in order to search for
   1313 another, non-empty, match at the same point in the subject. If this match
   1314 fails, the start offset is advanced, and the normal match is retried. This
   1315 imitates the way Perl handles such cases when using the <b>/g</b> modifier or
   1316 the <b>split()</b> function. Normally, the start offset is advanced by one
   1317 character, but if the newline convention recognizes CRLF as a newline, and the
   1318 current character is CR followed by LF, an advance of two characters occurs.
   1319 </P>
   1320 <br><b>
   1321 Testing substring extraction functions
   1322 </b><br>
   1323 <P>
   1324 The <b>copy</b> and <b>get</b> modifiers can be used to test the
   1325 <b>pcre2_substring_copy_xxx()</b> and <b>pcre2_substring_get_xxx()</b> functions.
   1326 They can be given more than once, and each can specify a group name or number,
   1327 for example:
   1328 <pre>
   1329    abcd\=copy=1,copy=3,get=G1
   1330 </pre>
   1331 If the <b>#subject</b> command is used to set default copy and/or get lists,
   1332 these can be unset by specifying a negative number to cancel all numbered
   1333 groups and an empty name to cancel all named groups.
   1334 </P>
   1335 <P>
   1336 The <b>getall</b> modifier tests <b>pcre2_substring_list_get()</b>, which
   1337 extracts all captured substrings.
   1338 </P>
   1339 <P>
   1340 If the subject line is successfully matched, the substrings extracted by the
   1341 convenience functions are output with C, G, or L after the string number
   1342 instead of a colon. This is in addition to the normal full list. The string
   1343 length (that is, the return from the extraction function) is given in
   1344 parentheses after each substring, followed by the name when the extraction was
   1345 by name.
   1346 </P>
   1347 <br><b>
   1348 Testing the substitution function
   1349 </b><br>
   1350 <P>
   1351 If the <b>replace</b> modifier is set, the <b>pcre2_substitute()</b> function is
   1352 called instead of one of the matching functions. Note that replacement strings
   1353 cannot contain commas, because a comma signifies the end of a modifier. This is
   1354 not thought to be an issue in a test program.
   1355 </P>
   1356 <P>
   1357 Unlike subject strings, <b>pcre2test</b> does not process replacement strings
   1358 for escape sequences. In UTF mode, a replacement string is checked to see if it
   1359 is a valid UTF-8 string. If so, it is correctly converted to a UTF string of
   1360 the appropriate code unit width. If it is not a valid UTF-8 string, the
   1361 individual code units are copied directly. This provides a means of passing an
   1362 invalid UTF-8 string for testing purposes.
   1363 </P>
   1364 <P>
   1365 The following modifiers set options (in additional to the normal match options)
   1366 for <b>pcre2_substitute()</b>:
   1367 <pre>
   1368   global                      PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_GLOBAL
   1369   substitute_extended         PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_EXTENDED
   1370   substitute_overflow_length  PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_OVERFLOW_LENGTH
   1371   substitute_unknown_unset    PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNKNOWN_UNSET
   1372   substitute_unset_empty      PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_UNSET_EMPTY
   1373 
   1374 </PRE>
   1375 </P>
   1376 <P>
   1377 After a successful substitution, the modified string is output, preceded by the
   1378 number of replacements. This may be zero if there were no matches. Here is a
   1379 simple example of a substitution test:
   1380 <pre>
   1381   /abc/replace=xxx
   1382       =abc=abc=
   1383    1: =xxx=abc=
   1384       =abc=abc=\=global
   1385    2: =xxx=xxx=
   1386 </pre>
   1387 Subject and replacement strings should be kept relatively short (fewer than 256
   1388 characters) for substitution tests, as fixed-size buffers are used. To make it
   1389 easy to test for buffer overflow, if the replacement string starts with a
   1390 number in square brackets, that number is passed to <b>pcre2_substitute()</b> as
   1391 the size of the output buffer, with the replacement string starting at the next
   1392 character. Here is an example that tests the edge case:
   1393 <pre>
   1394   /abc/
   1395       123abc123\=replace=[10]XYZ
   1396    1: 123XYZ123
   1397       123abc123\=replace=[9]XYZ
   1398   Failed: error -47: no more memory
   1399 </pre>
   1400 The default action of <b>pcre2_substitute()</b> is to return
   1401 PCRE2_ERROR_NOMEMORY when the output buffer is too small. However, if the
   1402 PCRE2_SUBSTITUTE_OVERFLOW_LENGTH option is set (by using the
   1403 <b>substitute_overflow_length</b> modifier), <b>pcre2_substitute()</b> continues
   1404 to go through the motions of matching and substituting, in order to compute the
   1405 size of buffer that is required. When this happens, <b>pcre2test</b> shows the
   1406 required buffer length (which includes space for the trailing zero) as part of
   1407 the error message. For example:
   1408 <pre>
   1409   /abc/substitute_overflow_length
   1410       123abc123\=replace=[9]XYZ
   1411   Failed: error -47: no more memory: 10 code units are needed
   1412 </pre>
   1413 A replacement string is ignored with POSIX and DFA matching. Specifying partial
   1414 matching provokes an error return ("bad option value") from
   1415 <b>pcre2_substitute()</b>.
   1416 </P>
   1417 <br><b>
   1418 Setting the JIT stack size
   1419 </b><br>
   1420 <P>
   1421 The <b>jitstack</b> modifier provides a way of setting the maximum stack size
   1422 that is used by the just-in-time optimization code. It is ignored if JIT
   1423 optimization is not being used. The value is a number of kibibytes (units of
   1424 1024 bytes). Setting zero reverts to the default of 32KiB. Providing a stack
   1425 that is larger than the default is necessary only for very complicated
   1426 patterns. If <b>jitstack</b> is set non-zero on a subject line it overrides any
   1427 value that was set on the pattern.
   1428 </P>
   1429 <br><b>
   1430 Setting heap, match, and depth limits
   1431 </b><br>
   1432 <P>
   1433 The <b>heap_limit</b>, <b>match_limit</b>, and <b>depth_limit</b> modifiers set
   1434 the appropriate limits in the match context. These values are ignored when the
   1435 <b>find_limits</b> modifier is specified.
   1436 </P>
   1437 <br><b>
   1438 Finding minimum limits
   1439 </b><br>
   1440 <P>
   1441 If the <b>find_limits</b> modifier is present on a subject line, <b>pcre2test</b>
   1442 calls the relevant matching function several times, setting different values in
   1443 the match context via <b>pcre2_set_heap_limit()</b>,
   1444 <b>pcre2_set_match_limit()</b>, or <b>pcre2_set_depth_limit()</b> until it finds
   1445 the minimum values for each parameter that allows the match to complete without
   1446 error. If JIT is being used, only the match limit is relevant.
   1447 </P>
   1448 <P>
   1449 When using this modifier, the pattern should not contain any limit settings
   1450 such as (*LIMIT_MATCH=...) within it. If such a setting is present and is
   1451 lower than the minimum matching value, the minimum value cannot be found
   1452 because <b>pcre2_set_match_limit()</b> etc. are only able to reduce the value of
   1453 an in-pattern limit; they cannot increase it.
   1454 </P>
   1455 <P>
   1456 For non-DFA matching, the minimum <i>depth_limit</i> number is a measure of how
   1457 much nested backtracking happens (that is, how deeply the pattern's tree is
   1458 searched). In the case of DFA matching, <i>depth_limit</i> controls the depth of
   1459 recursive calls of the internal function that is used for handling pattern
   1460 recursion, lookaround assertions, and atomic groups.
   1461 </P>
   1462 <P>
   1463 For non-DFA matching, the <i>match_limit</i> number is a measure of the amount
   1464 of backtracking that takes place, and learning the minimum value can be
   1465 instructive. For most simple matches, the number is quite small, but for
   1466 patterns with very large numbers of matching possibilities, it can become large
   1467 very quickly with increasing length of subject string. In the case of DFA
   1468 matching, <i>match_limit</i> controls the total number of calls, both recursive
   1469 and non-recursive, to the internal matching function, thus controlling the
   1470 overall amount of computing resource that is used.
   1471 </P>
   1472 <P>
   1473 For both kinds of matching, the <i>heap_limit</i> number, which is in kibibytes
   1474 (units of 1024 bytes), limits the amount of heap memory used for matching. A
   1475 value of zero disables the use of any heap memory; many simple pattern matches
   1476 can be done without using the heap, so zero is not an unreasonable setting.
   1477 </P>
   1478 <br><b>
   1479 Showing MARK names
   1480 </b><br>
   1481 <P>
   1482 The <b>mark</b> modifier causes the names from backtracking control verbs that
   1483 are returned from calls to <b>pcre2_match()</b> to be displayed. If a mark is
   1484 returned for a match, non-match, or partial match, <b>pcre2test</b> shows it.
   1485 For a match, it is on a line by itself, tagged with "MK:". Otherwise, it
   1486 is added to the non-match message.
   1487 </P>
   1488 <br><b>
   1489 Showing memory usage
   1490 </b><br>
   1491 <P>
   1492 The <b>memory</b> modifier causes <b>pcre2test</b> to log the sizes of all heap
   1493 memory allocation and freeing calls that occur during a call to
   1494 <b>pcre2_match()</b> or <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>. These occur only when a match
   1495 requires a bigger vector than the default for remembering backtracking points
   1496 (<b>pcre2_match()</b>) or for internal workspace (<b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>). In
   1497 many cases there will be no heap memory used and therefore no additional
   1498 output. No heap memory is allocated during matching with JIT, so in that case
   1499 the <b>memory</b> modifier never has any effect. For this modifier to work, the
   1500 <b>null_context</b> modifier must not be set on both the pattern and the
   1501 subject, though it can be set on one or the other.
   1502 </P>
   1503 <br><b>
   1504 Setting a starting offset
   1505 </b><br>
   1506 <P>
   1507 The <b>offset</b> modifier sets an offset in the subject string at which
   1508 matching starts. Its value is a number of code units, not characters.
   1509 </P>
   1510 <br><b>
   1511 Setting an offset limit
   1512 </b><br>
   1513 <P>
   1514 The <b>offset_limit</b> modifier sets a limit for unanchored matches. If a match
   1515 cannot be found starting at or before this offset in the subject, a "no match"
   1516 return is given. The data value is a number of code units, not characters. When
   1517 this modifier is used, the <b>use_offset_limit</b> modifier must have been set
   1518 for the pattern; if not, an error is generated.
   1519 </P>
   1520 <br><b>
   1521 Setting the size of the output vector
   1522 </b><br>
   1523 <P>
   1524 The <b>ovector</b> modifier applies only to the subject line in which it
   1525 appears, though of course it can also be used to set a default in a
   1526 <b>#subject</b> command. It specifies the number of pairs of offsets that are
   1527 available for storing matching information. The default is 15.
   1528 </P>
   1529 <P>
   1530 A value of zero is useful when testing the POSIX API because it causes
   1531 <b>regexec()</b> to be called with a NULL capture vector. When not testing the
   1532 POSIX API, a value of zero is used to cause
   1533 <b>pcre2_match_data_create_from_pattern()</b> to be called, in order to create a
   1534 match block of exactly the right size for the pattern. (It is not possible to
   1535 create a match block with a zero-length ovector; there is always at least one
   1536 pair of offsets.)
   1537 </P>
   1538 <br><b>
   1539 Passing the subject as zero-terminated
   1540 </b><br>
   1541 <P>
   1542 By default, the subject string is passed to a native API matching function with
   1543 its correct length. In order to test the facility for passing a zero-terminated
   1544 string, the <b>zero_terminate</b> modifier is provided. It causes the length to
   1545 be passed as PCRE2_ZERO_TERMINATED. When matching via the POSIX interface,
   1546 this modifier is ignored, with a warning.
   1547 </P>
   1548 <P>
   1549 When testing <b>pcre2_substitute()</b>, this modifier also has the effect of
   1550 passing the replacement string as zero-terminated.
   1551 </P>
   1552 <br><b>
   1553 Passing a NULL context
   1554 </b><br>
   1555 <P>
   1556 Normally, <b>pcre2test</b> passes a context block to <b>pcre2_match()</b>,
   1557 <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b> or <b>pcre2_jit_match()</b>. If the <b>null_context</b>
   1558 modifier is set, however, NULL is passed. This is for testing that the matching
   1559 functions behave correctly in this case (they use default values). This
   1560 modifier cannot be used with the <b>find_limits</b> modifier or when testing the
   1561 substitution function.
   1562 </P>
   1563 <br><a name="SEC12" href="#TOC1">THE ALTERNATIVE MATCHING FUNCTION</a><br>
   1564 <P>
   1565 By default, <b>pcre2test</b> uses the standard PCRE2 matching function,
   1566 <b>pcre2_match()</b> to match each subject line. PCRE2 also supports an
   1567 alternative matching function, <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>, which operates in a
   1568 different way, and has some restrictions. The differences between the two
   1569 functions are described in the
   1570 <a href="pcre2matching.html"><b>pcre2matching</b></a>
   1571 documentation.
   1572 </P>
   1573 <P>
   1574 If the <b>dfa</b> modifier is set, the alternative matching function is used.
   1575 This function finds all possible matches at a given point in the subject. If,
   1576 however, the <b>dfa_shortest</b> modifier is set, processing stops after the
   1577 first match is found. This is always the shortest possible match.
   1578 </P>
   1579 <br><a name="SEC13" href="#TOC1">DEFAULT OUTPUT FROM pcre2test</a><br>
   1580 <P>
   1581 This section describes the output when the normal matching function,
   1582 <b>pcre2_match()</b>, is being used.
   1583 </P>
   1584 <P>
   1585 When a match succeeds, <b>pcre2test</b> outputs the list of captured substrings,
   1586 starting with number 0 for the string that matched the whole pattern.
   1587 Otherwise, it outputs "No match" when the return is PCRE2_ERROR_NOMATCH, or
   1588 "Partial match:" followed by the partially matching substring when the
   1589 return is PCRE2_ERROR_PARTIAL. (Note that this is the
   1590 entire substring that was inspected during the partial match; it may include
   1591 characters before the actual match start if a lookbehind assertion, \K, \b,
   1592 or \B was involved.)
   1593 </P>
   1594 <P>
   1595 For any other return, <b>pcre2test</b> outputs the PCRE2 negative error number
   1596 and a short descriptive phrase. If the error is a failed UTF string check, the
   1597 code unit offset of the start of the failing character is also output. Here is
   1598 an example of an interactive <b>pcre2test</b> run.
   1599 <pre>
   1600   $ pcre2test
   1601   PCRE2 version 10.22 2016-07-29
   1602 
   1603     re&#62; /^abc(\d+)/
   1604   data&#62; abc123
   1605    0: abc123
   1606    1: 123
   1607   data&#62; xyz
   1608   No match
   1609 </pre>
   1610 Unset capturing substrings that are not followed by one that is set are not
   1611 shown by <b>pcre2test</b> unless the <b>allcaptures</b> modifier is specified. In
   1612 the following example, there are two capturing substrings, but when the first
   1613 data line is matched, the second, unset substring is not shown. An "internal"
   1614 unset substring is shown as "&#60;unset&#62;", as for the second data line.
   1615 <pre>
   1616     re&#62; /(a)|(b)/
   1617   data&#62; a
   1618    0: a
   1619    1: a
   1620   data&#62; b
   1621    0: b
   1622    1: &#60;unset&#62;
   1623    2: b
   1624 </pre>
   1625 If the strings contain any non-printing characters, they are output as \xhh
   1626 escapes if the value is less than 256 and UTF mode is not set. Otherwise they
   1627 are output as \x{hh...} escapes. See below for the definition of non-printing
   1628 characters. If the <b>aftertext</b> modifier is set, the output for substring
   1629 0 is followed by the the rest of the subject string, identified by "0+" like
   1630 this:
   1631 <pre>
   1632     re&#62; /cat/aftertext
   1633   data&#62; cataract
   1634    0: cat
   1635    0+ aract
   1636 </pre>
   1637 If global matching is requested, the results of successive matching attempts
   1638 are output in sequence, like this:
   1639 <pre>
   1640     re&#62; /\Bi(\w\w)/g
   1641   data&#62; Mississippi
   1642    0: iss
   1643    1: ss
   1644    0: iss
   1645    1: ss
   1646    0: ipp
   1647    1: pp
   1648 </pre>
   1649 "No match" is output only if the first match attempt fails. Here is an example
   1650 of a failure message (the offset 4 that is specified by the <b>offset</b>
   1651 modifier is past the end of the subject string):
   1652 <pre>
   1653     re&#62; /xyz/
   1654   data&#62; xyz\=offset=4
   1655   Error -24 (bad offset value)
   1656 </PRE>
   1657 </P>
   1658 <P>
   1659 Note that whereas patterns can be continued over several lines (a plain "&#62;"
   1660 prompt is used for continuations), subject lines may not. However newlines can
   1661 be included in a subject by means of the \n escape (or \r, \r\n, etc.,
   1662 depending on the newline sequence setting).
   1663 </P>
   1664 <br><a name="SEC14" href="#TOC1">OUTPUT FROM THE ALTERNATIVE MATCHING FUNCTION</a><br>
   1665 <P>
   1666 When the alternative matching function, <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b>, is used, the
   1667 output consists of a list of all the matches that start at the first point in
   1668 the subject where there is at least one match. For example:
   1669 <pre>
   1670     re&#62; /(tang|tangerine|tan)/
   1671   data&#62; yellow tangerine\=dfa
   1672    0: tangerine
   1673    1: tang
   1674    2: tan
   1675 </pre>
   1676 Using the normal matching function on this data finds only "tang". The
   1677 longest matching string is always given first (and numbered zero). After a
   1678 PCRE2_ERROR_PARTIAL return, the output is "Partial match:", followed by the
   1679 partially matching substring. Note that this is the entire substring that was
   1680 inspected during the partial match; it may include characters before the actual
   1681 match start if a lookbehind assertion, \b, or \B was involved. (\K is not
   1682 supported for DFA matching.)
   1683 </P>
   1684 <P>
   1685 If global matching is requested, the search for further matches resumes
   1686 at the end of the longest match. For example:
   1687 <pre>
   1688     re&#62; /(tang|tangerine|tan)/g
   1689   data&#62; yellow tangerine and tangy sultana\=dfa
   1690    0: tangerine
   1691    1: tang
   1692    2: tan
   1693    0: tang
   1694    1: tan
   1695    0: tan
   1696 </pre>
   1697 The alternative matching function does not support substring capture, so the
   1698 modifiers that are concerned with captured substrings are not relevant.
   1699 </P>
   1700 <br><a name="SEC15" href="#TOC1">RESTARTING AFTER A PARTIAL MATCH</a><br>
   1701 <P>
   1702 When the alternative matching function has given the PCRE2_ERROR_PARTIAL
   1703 return, indicating that the subject partially matched the pattern, you can
   1704 restart the match with additional subject data by means of the
   1705 <b>dfa_restart</b> modifier. For example:
   1706 <pre>
   1707     re&#62; /^\d?\d(jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|jul|aug|sep|oct|nov|dec)\d\d$/
   1708   data&#62; 23ja\=P,dfa
   1709   Partial match: 23ja
   1710   data&#62; n05\=dfa,dfa_restart
   1711    0: n05
   1712 </pre>
   1713 For further information about partial matching, see the
   1714 <a href="pcre2partial.html"><b>pcre2partial</b></a>
   1715 documentation.
   1716 <a name="callouts"></a></P>
   1717 <br><a name="SEC16" href="#TOC1">CALLOUTS</a><br>
   1718 <P>
   1719 If the pattern contains any callout requests, <b>pcre2test</b>'s callout
   1720 function is called during matching unless <b>callout_none</b> is specified. This
   1721 works with both matching functions, and with JIT, though there are some
   1722 differences in behaviour. The output for callouts with numerical arguments and
   1723 those with string arguments is slightly different.
   1724 </P>
   1725 <br><b>
   1726 Callouts with numerical arguments
   1727 </b><br>
   1728 <P>
   1729 By default, the callout function displays the callout number, the start and
   1730 current positions in the subject text at the callout time, and the next pattern
   1731 item to be tested. For example:
   1732 <pre>
   1733   ---&#62;pqrabcdef
   1734     0    ^  ^     \d
   1735 </pre>
   1736 This output indicates that callout number 0 occurred for a match attempt
   1737 starting at the fourth character of the subject string, when the pointer was at
   1738 the seventh character, and when the next pattern item was \d. Just
   1739 one circumflex is output if the start and current positions are the same, or if
   1740 the current position precedes the start position, which can happen if the
   1741 callout is in a lookbehind assertion.
   1742 </P>
   1743 <P>
   1744 Callouts numbered 255 are assumed to be automatic callouts, inserted as a
   1745 result of the <b>auto_callout</b> pattern modifier. In this case, instead of
   1746 showing the callout number, the offset in the pattern, preceded by a plus, is
   1747 output. For example:
   1748 <pre>
   1749     re&#62; /\d?[A-E]\*/auto_callout
   1750   data&#62; E*
   1751   ---&#62;E*
   1752    +0 ^      \d?
   1753    +3 ^      [A-E]
   1754    +8 ^^     \*
   1755   +10 ^ ^
   1756    0: E*
   1757 </pre>
   1758 If a pattern contains (*MARK) items, an additional line is output whenever
   1759 a change of latest mark is passed to the callout function. For example:
   1760 <pre>
   1761     re&#62; /a(*MARK:X)bc/auto_callout
   1762   data&#62; abc
   1763   ---&#62;abc
   1764    +0 ^       a
   1765    +1 ^^      (*MARK:X)
   1766   +10 ^^      b
   1767   Latest Mark: X
   1768   +11 ^ ^     c
   1769   +12 ^  ^
   1770    0: abc
   1771 </pre>
   1772 The mark changes between matching "a" and "b", but stays the same for the rest
   1773 of the match, so nothing more is output. If, as a result of backtracking, the
   1774 mark reverts to being unset, the text "&#60;unset&#62;" is output.
   1775 </P>
   1776 <br><b>
   1777 Callouts with string arguments
   1778 </b><br>
   1779 <P>
   1780 The output for a callout with a string argument is similar, except that instead
   1781 of outputting a callout number before the position indicators, the callout
   1782 string and its offset in the pattern string are output before the reflection of
   1783 the subject string, and the subject string is reflected for each callout. For
   1784 example:
   1785 <pre>
   1786     re&#62; /^ab(?C'first')cd(?C"second")ef/
   1787   data&#62; abcdefg
   1788   Callout (7): 'first'
   1789   ---&#62;abcdefg
   1790       ^ ^         c
   1791   Callout (20): "second"
   1792   ---&#62;abcdefg
   1793       ^   ^       e
   1794    0: abcdef
   1795 
   1796 </PRE>
   1797 </P>
   1798 <br><b>
   1799 Callout modifiers
   1800 </b><br>
   1801 <P>
   1802 The callout function in <b>pcre2test</b> returns zero (carry on matching) by
   1803 default, but you can use a <b>callout_fail</b> modifier in a subject line to
   1804 change this and other parameters of the callout (see below).
   1805 </P>
   1806 <P>
   1807 If the <b>callout_capture</b> modifier is set, the current captured groups are
   1808 output when a callout occurs. This is useful only for non-DFA matching, as
   1809 <b>pcre2_dfa_match()</b> does not support capturing, so no captures are ever
   1810 shown.
   1811 </P>
   1812 <P>
   1813 The normal callout output, showing the callout number or pattern offset (as
   1814 described above) is suppressed if the <b>callout_no_where</b> modifier is set.
   1815 </P>
   1816 <P>
   1817 When using the interpretive matching function <b>pcre2_match()</b> without JIT,
   1818 setting the <b>callout_extra</b> modifier causes additional output from
   1819 <b>pcre2test</b>'s callout function to be generated. For the first callout in a
   1820 match attempt at a new starting position in the subject, "New match attempt" is
   1821 output. If there has been a backtrack since the last callout (or start of
   1822 matching if this is the first callout), "Backtrack" is output, followed by "No
   1823 other matching paths" if the backtrack ended the previous match attempt. For
   1824 example:
   1825 <pre>
   1826    re&#62; /(a+)b/auto_callout,no_start_optimize,no_auto_possess
   1827   data&#62; aac\=callout_extra
   1828   New match attempt
   1829   ---&#62;aac
   1830    +0 ^       (
   1831    +1 ^       a+
   1832    +3 ^ ^     )
   1833    +4 ^ ^     b
   1834   Backtrack
   1835   ---&#62;aac
   1836    +3 ^^      )
   1837    +4 ^^      b
   1838   Backtrack
   1839   No other matching paths
   1840   New match attempt
   1841   ---&#62;aac
   1842    +0  ^      (
   1843    +1  ^      a+
   1844    +3  ^^     )
   1845    +4  ^^     b
   1846   Backtrack
   1847   No other matching paths
   1848   New match attempt
   1849   ---&#62;aac
   1850    +0   ^     (
   1851    +1   ^     a+
   1852   Backtrack
   1853   No other matching paths
   1854   New match attempt
   1855   ---&#62;aac
   1856    +0    ^    (
   1857    +1    ^    a+
   1858   No match
   1859 </pre>
   1860 Notice that various optimizations must be turned off if you want all possible
   1861 matching paths to be scanned. If <b>no_start_optimize</b> is not used, there is
   1862 an immediate "no match", without any callouts, because the starting
   1863 optimization fails to find "b" in the subject, which it knows must be present
   1864 for any match. If <b>no_auto_possess</b> is not used, the "a+" item is turned
   1865 into "a++", which reduces the number of backtracks.
   1866 </P>
   1867 <P>
   1868 The <b>callout_extra</b> modifier has no effect if used with the DFA matching
   1869 function, or with JIT.
   1870 </P>
   1871 <br><b>
   1872 Return values from callouts
   1873 </b><br>
   1874 <P>
   1875 The default return from the callout function is zero, which allows matching to
   1876 continue. The <b>callout_fail</b> modifier can be given one or two numbers. If
   1877 there is only one number, 1 is returned instead of 0 (causing matching to
   1878 backtrack) when a callout of that number is reached. If two numbers (&#60;n&#62;:&#60;m&#62;)
   1879 are given, 1 is returned when callout &#60;n&#62; is reached and there have been at
   1880 least &#60;m&#62; callouts. The <b>callout_error</b> modifier is similar, except that
   1881 PCRE2_ERROR_CALLOUT is returned, causing the entire matching process to be
   1882 aborted. If both these modifiers are set for the same callout number,
   1883 <b>callout_error</b> takes precedence. Note that callouts with string arguments
   1884 are always given the number zero.
   1885 </P>
   1886 <P>
   1887 The <b>callout_data</b> modifier can be given an unsigned or a negative number.
   1888 This is set as the "user data" that is passed to the matching function, and
   1889 passed back when the callout function is invoked. Any value other than zero is
   1890 used as a return from <b>pcre2test</b>'s callout function.
   1891 </P>
   1892 <P>
   1893 Inserting callouts can be helpful when using <b>pcre2test</b> to check
   1894 complicated regular expressions. For further information about callouts, see
   1895 the
   1896 <a href="pcre2callout.html"><b>pcre2callout</b></a>
   1897 documentation.
   1898 </P>
   1899 <br><a name="SEC17" href="#TOC1">NON-PRINTING CHARACTERS</a><br>
   1900 <P>
   1901 When <b>pcre2test</b> is outputting text in the compiled version of a pattern,
   1902 bytes other than 32-126 are always treated as non-printing characters and are
   1903 therefore shown as hex escapes.
   1904 </P>
   1905 <P>
   1906 When <b>pcre2test</b> is outputting text that is a matched part of a subject
   1907 string, it behaves in the same way, unless a different locale has been set for
   1908 the pattern (using the <b>locale</b> modifier). In this case, the
   1909 <b>isprint()</b> function is used to distinguish printing and non-printing
   1910 characters.
   1911 <a name="saverestore"></a></P>
   1912 <br><a name="SEC18" href="#TOC1">SAVING AND RESTORING COMPILED PATTERNS</a><br>
   1913 <P>
   1914 It is possible to save compiled patterns on disc or elsewhere, and reload them
   1915 later, subject to a number of restrictions. JIT data cannot be saved. The host
   1916 on which the patterns are reloaded must be running the same version of PCRE2,
   1917 with the same code unit width, and must also have the same endianness, pointer
   1918 width and PCRE2_SIZE type. Before compiled patterns can be saved they must be
   1919 serialized, that is, converted to a stream of bytes. A single byte stream may
   1920 contain any number of compiled patterns, but they must all use the same
   1921 character tables. A single copy of the tables is included in the byte stream
   1922 (its size is 1088 bytes).
   1923 </P>
   1924 <P>
   1925 The functions whose names begin with <b>pcre2_serialize_</b> are used
   1926 for serializing and de-serializing. They are described in the
   1927 <a href="pcre2serialize.html"><b>pcre2serialize</b></a>
   1928 documentation. In this section we describe the features of <b>pcre2test</b> that
   1929 can be used to test these functions.
   1930 </P>
   1931 <P>
   1932 Note that "serialization" in PCRE2 does not convert compiled patterns to an
   1933 abstract format like Java or .NET. It just makes a reloadable byte code stream.
   1934 Hence the restrictions on reloading mentioned above.
   1935 </P>
   1936 <P>
   1937 In <b>pcre2test</b>, when a pattern with <b>push</b> modifier is successfully
   1938 compiled, it is pushed onto a stack of compiled patterns, and <b>pcre2test</b>
   1939 expects the next line to contain a new pattern (or command) instead of a
   1940 subject line. By contrast, the <b>pushcopy</b> modifier causes a copy of the
   1941 compiled pattern to be stacked, leaving the original available for immediate
   1942 matching. By using <b>push</b> and/or <b>pushcopy</b>, a number of patterns can
   1943 be compiled and retained. These modifiers are incompatible with <b>posix</b>,
   1944 and control modifiers that act at match time are ignored (with a message) for
   1945 the stacked patterns. The <b>jitverify</b> modifier applies only at compile
   1946 time.
   1947 </P>
   1948 <P>
   1949 The command
   1950 <pre>
   1951   #save &#60;filename&#62;
   1952 </pre>
   1953 causes all the stacked patterns to be serialized and the result written to the
   1954 named file. Afterwards, all the stacked patterns are freed. The command
   1955 <pre>
   1956   #load &#60;filename&#62;
   1957 </pre>
   1958 reads the data in the file, and then arranges for it to be de-serialized, with
   1959 the resulting compiled patterns added to the pattern stack. The pattern on the
   1960 top of the stack can be retrieved by the #pop command, which must be followed
   1961 by lines of subjects that are to be matched with the pattern, terminated as
   1962 usual by an empty line or end of file. This command may be followed by a
   1963 modifier list containing only
   1964 <a href="#controlmodifiers">control modifiers</a>
   1965 that act after a pattern has been compiled. In particular, <b>hex</b>,
   1966 <b>posix</b>, <b>posix_nosub</b>, <b>push</b>, and <b>pushcopy</b> are not allowed,
   1967 nor are any
   1968 <a href="#optionmodifiers">option-setting modifiers.</a>
   1969 The JIT modifiers are, however permitted. Here is an example that saves and
   1970 reloads two patterns.
   1971 <pre>
   1972   /abc/push
   1973   /xyz/push
   1974   #save tempfile
   1975   #load tempfile
   1976   #pop info
   1977   xyz
   1978 
   1979   #pop jit,bincode
   1980   abc
   1981 </pre>
   1982 If <b>jitverify</b> is used with #pop, it does not automatically imply
   1983 <b>jit</b>, which is different behaviour from when it is used on a pattern.
   1984 </P>
   1985 <P>
   1986 The #popcopy command is analagous to the <b>pushcopy</b> modifier in that it
   1987 makes current a copy of the topmost stack pattern, leaving the original still
   1988 on the stack.
   1989 </P>
   1990 <br><a name="SEC19" href="#TOC1">SEE ALSO</a><br>
   1991 <P>
   1992 <b>pcre2</b>(3), <b>pcre2api</b>(3), <b>pcre2callout</b>(3),
   1993 <b>pcre2jit</b>, <b>pcre2matching</b>(3), <b>pcre2partial</b>(d),
   1994 <b>pcre2pattern</b>(3), <b>pcre2serialize</b>(3).
   1995 </P>
   1996 <br><a name="SEC20" href="#TOC1">AUTHOR</a><br>
   1997 <P>
   1998 Philip Hazel
   1999 <br>
   2000 University Computing Service
   2001 <br>
   2002 Cambridge, England.
   2003 <br>
   2004 </P>
   2005 <br><a name="SEC21" href="#TOC1">REVISION</a><br>
   2006 <P>
   2007 Last updated: 21 July 2018
   2008 <br>
   2009 Copyright &copy; 1997-2018 University of Cambridge.
   2010 <br>
   2011 <p>
   2012 Return to the <a href="index.html">PCRE2 index page</a>.
   2013 </p>
   2014