From: Simon Strandgaard <neoneye@...>
Date: 2004-05-14T23:49:45+09:00
Subject: Re: Regexp Error?

ts <decoux@moulon.inra.fr> wrote:
> >>>>> "S" == Simon Strandgaard <neoneye@adslhome.dk> writes:
> 
> S> Lets break it down
> 
> svg% ruby -rjj -e '"abc".match(/(.*).*/)'
> Regexp /(.*).*/
>   0     start_memory    $1
>   1     anychar_repeat
>   2     stop_memory     $1
>   3     anychar_repeat
>   4     end
> subexpressions : 1
> Fastmap supplied : \000-\011\013-\377
> 
> String <<abc>> pos=0
> 
>   0 start_memory                 |abc                     | 
>   1 anychar_repeat               |abc                     |  >2[0] >2[1] >2[2] >2[3] F2[3]
>   2 stop_memory               abc|                        |  $1=abc
>   3 anychar_repeat            abc|                        |  >4[0] F4[0] SUCCESS
> svg% 
> 
>  What I want to say is that if the second .* can't match the empty string
>  because it's included in the first match, then the result will be
>  different. 

I wasn't aware that GNU or Oniguruma represented the empty string as a token, but it 
makes sense.  I have made my engine sligthly different, where I have to do loop
detection instead.

-- 
Simon Strandgaard