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<title>pcre2grep specification</title>
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<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#00005A" link="#0066FF" alink="#3399FF" vlink="#2222BB">
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<h1>pcre2grep man page</h1>
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Return to the <a href="index.html">PCRE2 index page</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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This page is part of the PCRE2 HTML documentation. It was generated
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automatically from the original man page. If there is any nonsense in it,
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please consult the man page, in case the conversion went wrong.
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<br>
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<ul>
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<li><a name="TOC1" href="#SEC1">SYNOPSIS</a>
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<li><a name="TOC2" href="#SEC2">DESCRIPTION</a>
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<li><a name="TOC3" href="#SEC3">SUPPORT FOR COMPRESSED FILES</a>
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<li><a name="TOC4" href="#SEC4">BINARY FILES</a>
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<li><a name="TOC5" href="#SEC5">OPTIONS</a>
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<li><a name="TOC6" href="#SEC6">ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES</a>
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<li><a name="TOC7" href="#SEC7">NEWLINES</a>
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<li><a name="TOC8" href="#SEC8">OPTIONS COMPATIBILITY</a>
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<li><a name="TOC9" href="#SEC9">OPTIONS WITH DATA</a>
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<li><a name="TOC10" href="#SEC10">MATCHING ERRORS</a>
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<li><a name="TOC11" href="#SEC11">DIAGNOSTICS</a>
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<li><a name="TOC12" href="#SEC12">SEE ALSO</a>
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<li><a name="TOC13" href="#SEC13">AUTHOR</a>
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<li><a name="TOC14" href="#SEC14">REVISION</a>
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</ul>
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<br><a name="SEC1" href="#TOC1">SYNOPSIS</a><br>
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<P>
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<b>pcre2grep [options] [long options] [pattern] [path1 path2 ...]</b>
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC2" href="#TOC1">DESCRIPTION</a><br>
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<P>
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<b>pcre2grep</b> searches files for character patterns, in the same way as other
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grep commands do, but it uses the PCRE2 regular expression library to support
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patterns that are compatible with the regular expressions of Perl 5. See
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<a href="pcre2syntax.html"><b>pcre2syntax</b>(3)</a>
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for a quick-reference summary of pattern syntax, or
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<a href="pcre2pattern.html"><b>pcre2pattern</b>(3)</a>
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for a full description of the syntax and semantics of the regular expressions
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that PCRE2 supports.
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</P>
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<P>
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Patterns, whether supplied on the command line or in a separate file, are given
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without delimiters. For example:
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<pre>
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pcre2grep Thursday /etc/motd
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</pre>
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If you attempt to use delimiters (for example, by surrounding a pattern with
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slashes, as is common in Perl scripts), they are interpreted as part of the
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pattern. Quotes can of course be used to delimit patterns on the command line
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because they are interpreted by the shell, and indeed quotes are required if a
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pattern contains white space or shell metacharacters.
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</P>
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<P>
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The first argument that follows any option settings is treated as the single
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pattern to be matched when neither <b>-e</b> nor <b>-f</b> is present.
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Conversely, when one or both of these options are used to specify patterns, all
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arguments are treated as path names. At least one of <b>-e</b>, <b>-f</b>, or an
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argument pattern must be provided.
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</P>
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<P>
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If no files are specified, <b>pcre2grep</b> reads the standard input. The
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standard input can also be referenced by a name consisting of a single hyphen.
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For example:
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<pre>
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pcre2grep some-pattern file1 - file3
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</pre>
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Input files are searched line by line. By default, each line that matches a
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pattern is copied to the standard output, and if there is more than one file,
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the file name is output at the start of each line, followed by a colon.
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However, there are options that can change how <b>pcre2grep</b> behaves. In
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particular, the <b>-M</b> option makes it possible to search for strings that
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span line boundaries. What defines a line boundary is controlled by the
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<b>-N</b> (<b>--newline</b>) option.
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</P>
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<P>
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The amount of memory used for buffering files that are being scanned is
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controlled by a parameter that can be set by the <b>--buffer-size</b> option.
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The default value for this parameter is specified when <b>pcre2grep</b> is
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built, with the default default being 20K. A block of memory three times this
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size is used (to allow for buffering "before" and "after" lines). An error
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occurs if a line overflows the buffer.
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</P>
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<P>
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Patterns can be no longer than 8K or BUFSIZ bytes, whichever is the greater.
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BUFSIZ is defined in <b><stdio.h></b>. When there is more than one pattern
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(specified by the use of <b>-e</b> and/or <b>-f</b>), each pattern is applied to
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each line in the order in which they are defined, except that all the <b>-e</b>
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patterns are tried before the <b>-f</b> patterns.
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</P>
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<P>
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By default, as soon as one pattern matches a line, no further patterns are
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considered. However, if <b>--colour</b> (or <b>--color</b>) is used to colour the
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matching substrings, or if <b>--only-matching</b>, <b>--file-offsets</b>, or
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<b>--line-offsets</b> is used to output only the part of the line that matched
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(either shown literally, or as an offset), scanning resumes immediately
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following the match, so that further matches on the same line can be found. If
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there are multiple patterns, they are all tried on the remainder of the line,
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but patterns that follow the one that matched are not tried on the earlier part
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of the line.
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</P>
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<P>
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This behaviour means that the order in which multiple patterns are specified
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can affect the output when one of the above options is used. This is no longer
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the same behaviour as GNU grep, which now manages to display earlier matches
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for later patterns (as long as there is no overlap).
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</P>
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<P>
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Patterns that can match an empty string are accepted, but empty string
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matches are never recognized. An example is the pattern "(super)?(man)?", in
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which all components are optional. This pattern finds all occurrences of both
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"super" and "man"; the output differs from matching with "super|man" when only
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the matching substrings are being shown.
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</P>
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<P>
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If the <b>LC_ALL</b> or <b>LC_CTYPE</b> environment variable is set,
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<b>pcre2grep</b> uses the value to set a locale when calling the PCRE2 library.
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The <b>--locale</b> option can be used to override this.
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC3" href="#TOC1">SUPPORT FOR COMPRESSED FILES</a><br>
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<P>
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It is possible to compile <b>pcre2grep</b> so that it uses <b>libz</b> or
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<b>libbz2</b> to read files whose names end in <b>.gz</b> or <b>.bz2</b>,
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respectively. You can find out whether your binary has support for one or both
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of these file types by running it with the <b>--help</b> option. If the
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appropriate support is not present, files are treated as plain text. The
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standard input is always so treated.
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC4" href="#TOC1">BINARY FILES</a><br>
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<P>
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By default, a file that contains a binary zero byte within the first 1024 bytes
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is identified as a binary file, and is processed specially. (GNU grep also
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identifies binary files in this manner.) See the <b>--binary-files</b> option
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for a means of changing the way binary files are handled.
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC5" href="#TOC1">OPTIONS</a><br>
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<P>
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The order in which some of the options appear can affect the output. For
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example, both the <b>-h</b> and <b>-l</b> options affect the printing of file
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names. Whichever comes later in the command line will be the one that takes
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effect. Similarly, except where noted below, if an option is given twice, the
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later setting is used. Numerical values for options may be followed by K or M,
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to signify multiplication by 1024 or 1024*1024 respectively.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>--</b>
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This terminates the list of options. It is useful if the next item on the
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command line starts with a hyphen but is not an option. This allows for the
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processing of patterns and file names that start with hyphens.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-A</b> <i>number</i>, <b>--after-context=</b><i>number</i>
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Output <i>number</i> lines of context after each matching line. If file names
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and/or line numbers are being output, a hyphen separator is used instead of a
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colon for the context lines. A line containing "--" is output between each
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group of lines, unless they are in fact contiguous in the input file. The value
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of <i>number</i> is expected to be relatively small. However, <b>pcre2grep</b>
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guarantees to have up to 8K of following text available for context output.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-a</b>, <b>--text</b>
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Treat binary files as text. This is equivalent to
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<b>--binary-files</b>=<i>text</i>.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-B</b> <i>number</i>, <b>--before-context=</b><i>number</i>
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Output <i>number</i> lines of context before each matching line. If file names
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and/or line numbers are being output, a hyphen separator is used instead of a
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colon for the context lines. A line containing "--" is output between each
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group of lines, unless they are in fact contiguous in the input file. The value
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of <i>number</i> is expected to be relatively small. However, <b>pcre2grep</b>
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guarantees to have up to 8K of preceding text available for context output.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>--binary-files=</b><i>word</i>
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Specify how binary files are to be processed. If the word is "binary" (the
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default), pattern matching is performed on binary files, but the only output is
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"Binary file <name> matches" when a match succeeds. If the word is "text",
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which is equivalent to the <b>-a</b> or <b>--text</b> option, binary files are
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processed in the same way as any other file. In this case, when a match
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succeeds, the output may be binary garbage, which can have nasty effects if
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sent to a terminal. If the word is "without-match", which is equivalent to the
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<b>-I</b> option, binary files are not processed at all; they are assumed not to
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be of interest and are skipped without causing any output or affecting the
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return code.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>--buffer-size=</b><i>number</i>
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Set the parameter that controls how much memory is used for buffering files
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that are being scanned.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-C</b> <i>number</i>, <b>--context=</b><i>number</i>
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Output <i>number</i> lines of context both before and after each matching line.
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This is equivalent to setting both <b>-A</b> and <b>-B</b> to the same value.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-c</b>, <b>--count</b>
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Do not output lines from the files that are being scanned; instead output the
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number of matches (or non-matches if <b>-v</b> is used) that would otherwise
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have caused lines to be shown. By default, this count is the same as the number
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of suppressed lines, but if the <b>-M</b> (multiline) option is used (without
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<b>-v</b>), there may be more suppressed lines than the number of matches.
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<br>
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<br>
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If no lines are selected, the number zero is output. If several files are are
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being scanned, a count is output for each of them. However, if the
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<b>--files-with-matches</b> option is also used, only those files whose counts
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are greater than zero are listed. When <b>-c</b> is used, the <b>-A</b>,
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<b>-B</b>, and <b>-C</b> options are ignored.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>--colour</b>, <b>--color</b>
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If this option is given without any data, it is equivalent to "--colour=auto".
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If data is required, it must be given in the same shell item, separated by an
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equals sign.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>--colour=</b><i>value</i>, <b>--color=</b><i>value</i>
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This option specifies under what circumstances the parts of a line that matched
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a pattern should be coloured in the output. By default, the output is not
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coloured. The value (which is optional, see above) may be "never", "always", or
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"auto". In the latter case, colouring happens only if the standard output is
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connected to a terminal. More resources are used when colouring is enabled,
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because <b>pcre2grep</b> has to search for all possible matches in a line, not
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just one, in order to colour them all.
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<br>
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<br>
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The colour that is used can be specified by setting the environment variable
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PCRE2GREP_COLOUR or PCRE2GREP_COLOR. The value of this variable should be a
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string of two numbers, separated by a semicolon. They are copied directly into
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the control string for setting colour on a terminal, so it is your
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responsibility to ensure that they make sense. If neither of the environment
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variables is set, the default is "1;31", which gives red.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-D</b> <i>action</i>, <b>--devices=</b><i>action</i>
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If an input path is not a regular file or a directory, "action" specifies how
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it is to be processed. Valid values are "read" (the default) or "skip"
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(silently skip the path).
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-d</b> <i>action</i>, <b>--directories=</b><i>action</i>
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If an input path is a directory, "action" specifies how it is to be processed.
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Valid values are "read" (the default in non-Windows environments, for
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compatibility with GNU grep), "recurse" (equivalent to the <b>-r</b> option), or
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"skip" (silently skip the path, the default in Windows environments). In the
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"read" case, directories are read as if they were ordinary files. In some
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operating systems the effect of reading a directory like this is an immediate
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end-of-file; in others it may provoke an error.
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</P>
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<P>
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<b>-e</b> <i>pattern</i>, <b>--regex=</b><i>pattern</i>, <b>--regexp=</b><i>pattern</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Specify a pattern to be matched. This option can be used multiple times in
|
|
|
|
|
order to specify several patterns. It can also be used as a way of specifying a
|
|
|
|
|
single pattern that starts with a hyphen. When <b>-e</b> is used, no argument
|
|
|
|
|
pattern is taken from the command line; all arguments are treated as file
|
|
|
|
|
names. There is no limit to the number of patterns. They are applied to each
|
|
|
|
|
line in the order in which they are defined until one matches.
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
If <b>-f</b> is used with <b>-e</b>, the command line patterns are matched first,
|
|
|
|
|
followed by the patterns from the file(s), independent of the order in which
|
|
|
|
|
these options are specified. Note that multiple use of <b>-e</b> is not the same
|
|
|
|
|
as a single pattern with alternatives. For example, X|Y finds the first
|
|
|
|
|
character in a line that is X or Y, whereas if the two patterns are given
|
|
|
|
|
separately, with X first, <b>pcre2grep</b> finds X if it is present, even if it
|
|
|
|
|
follows Y in the line. It finds Y only if there is no X in the line. This
|
|
|
|
|
matters only if you are using <b>-o</b> or <b>--colo(u)r</b> to show the part(s)
|
|
|
|
|
of the line that matched.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude</b>=<i>pattern</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Files (but not directories) whose names match the pattern are skipped without
|
|
|
|
|
being processed. This applies to all files, whether listed on the command line,
|
|
|
|
|
obtained from <b>--file-list</b>, or by scanning a directory. The pattern is a
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
PCRE2 regular expression, and is matched against the final component of the
|
|
|
|
|
file name, not the entire path. The <b>-F</b>, <b>-w</b>, and <b>-x</b> options do
|
|
|
|
|
not apply to this pattern. The option may be given any number of times in order
|
|
|
|
|
to specify multiple patterns. If a file name matches both an <b>--include</b>
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
and an <b>--exclude</b> pattern, it is excluded. There is no short form for this
|
|
|
|
|
option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude-from=</b><i>filename</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Treat each non-empty line of the file as the data for an <b>--exclude</b>
|
|
|
|
|
option. What constitutes a newline when reading the file is the operating
|
|
|
|
|
system's default. The <b>--newline</b> option has no effect on this option. This
|
|
|
|
|
option may be given more than once in order to specify a number of files to
|
|
|
|
|
read.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude-dir</b>=<i>pattern</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Directories whose names match the pattern are skipped without being processed,
|
|
|
|
|
whatever the setting of the <b>--recursive</b> option. This applies to all
|
|
|
|
|
directories, whether listed on the command line, obtained from
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--file-list</b>, or by scanning a parent directory. The pattern is a PCRE2
|
|
|
|
|
regular expression, and is matched against the final component of the directory
|
|
|
|
|
name, not the entire path. The <b>-F</b>, <b>-w</b>, and <b>-x</b> options do not
|
|
|
|
|
apply to this pattern. The option may be given any number of times in order to
|
|
|
|
|
specify more than one pattern. If a directory matches both <b>--include-dir</b>
|
|
|
|
|
and <b>--exclude-dir</b>, it is excluded. There is no short form for this
|
|
|
|
|
option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-F</b>, <b>--fixed-strings</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Interpret each data-matching pattern as a list of fixed strings, separated by
|
|
|
|
|
newlines, instead of as a regular expression. What constitutes a newline for
|
|
|
|
|
this purpose is controlled by the <b>--newline</b> option. The <b>-w</b> (match
|
|
|
|
|
as a word) and <b>-x</b> (match whole line) options can be used with <b>-F</b>.
|
|
|
|
|
They apply to each of the fixed strings. A line is selected if any of the fixed
|
|
|
|
|
strings are found in it (subject to <b>-w</b> or <b>-x</b>, if present). This
|
|
|
|
|
option applies only to the patterns that are matched against the contents of
|
|
|
|
|
files; it does not apply to patterns specified by any of the <b>--include</b> or
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude</b> options.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-f</b> <i>filename</i>, <b>--file=</b><i>filename</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Read patterns from the file, one per line, and match them against
|
|
|
|
|
each line of input. What constitutes a newline when reading the file is the
|
|
|
|
|
operating system's default. The <b>--newline</b> option has no effect on this
|
|
|
|
|
option. Trailing white space is removed from each line, and blank lines are
|
|
|
|
|
ignored. An empty file contains no patterns and therefore matches nothing. See
|
|
|
|
|
also the comments about multiple patterns versus a single pattern with
|
|
|
|
|
alternatives in the description of <b>-e</b> above.
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
If this option is given more than once, all the specified files are
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
read. A data line is output if any of the patterns match it. A file name can
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
be given as "-" to refer to the standard input. When <b>-f</b> is used, patterns
|
|
|
|
|
specified on the command line using <b>-e</b> may also be present; they are
|
|
|
|
|
tested before the file's patterns. However, no other pattern is taken from the
|
|
|
|
|
command line; all arguments are treated as the names of paths to be searched.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--file-list</b>=<i>filename</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Read a list of files and/or directories that are to be scanned from the given
|
|
|
|
|
file, one per line. Trailing white space is removed from each line, and blank
|
|
|
|
|
lines are ignored. These paths are processed before any that are listed on the
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
command line. The file name can be given as "-" to refer to the standard input.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
If <b>--file</b> and <b>--file-list</b> are both specified as "-", patterns are
|
|
|
|
|
read first. This is useful only when the standard input is a terminal, from
|
|
|
|
|
which further lines (the list of files) can be read after an end-of-file
|
|
|
|
|
indication. If this option is given more than once, all the specified files are
|
|
|
|
|
read.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--file-offsets</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Instead of showing lines or parts of lines that match, show each match as an
|
|
|
|
|
offset from the start of the file and a length, separated by a comma. In this
|
|
|
|
|
mode, no context is shown. That is, the <b>-A</b>, <b>-B</b>, and <b>-C</b>
|
|
|
|
|
options are ignored. If there is more than one match in a line, each of them is
|
|
|
|
|
shown separately. This option is mutually exclusive with <b>--line-offsets</b>
|
|
|
|
|
and <b>--only-matching</b>.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-H</b>, <b>--with-filename</b>
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
Force the inclusion of the file name at the start of output lines when
|
|
|
|
|
searching a single file. By default, the file name is not shown in this case.
|
|
|
|
|
For matching lines, the file name is followed by a colon; for context lines, a
|
|
|
|
|
hyphen separator is used. If a line number is also being output, it follows the
|
|
|
|
|
file name. When the <b>-M</b> option causes a pattern to match more than one
|
|
|
|
|
line, only the first is preceded by the file name.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-h</b>, <b>--no-filename</b>
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
Suppress the output file names when searching multiple files. By default,
|
|
|
|
|
file names are shown when multiple files are searched. For matching lines, the
|
|
|
|
|
file name is followed by a colon; for context lines, a hyphen separator is used.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
If a line number is also being output, it follows the file name.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--help</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Output a help message, giving brief details of the command options and file
|
|
|
|
|
type support, and then exit. Anything else on the command line is
|
|
|
|
|
ignored.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-I</b>
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
Ignore binary files. This is equivalent to
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<b>--binary-files</b>=<i>without-match</i>.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-i</b>, <b>--ignore-case</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Ignore upper/lower case distinctions during comparisons.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include</b>=<i>pattern</i>
|
|
|
|
|
If any <b>--include</b> patterns are specified, the only files that are
|
|
|
|
|
processed are those that match one of the patterns (and do not match an
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude</b> pattern). This option does not affect directories, but it
|
|
|
|
|
applies to all files, whether listed on the command line, obtained from
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--file-list</b>, or by scanning a directory. The pattern is a PCRE2 regular
|
|
|
|
|
expression, and is matched against the final component of the file name, not
|
|
|
|
|
the entire path. The <b>-F</b>, <b>-w</b>, and <b>-x</b> options do not apply to
|
|
|
|
|
this pattern. The option may be given any number of times. If a file name
|
|
|
|
|
matches both an <b>--include</b> and an <b>--exclude</b> pattern, it is excluded.
|
|
|
|
|
There is no short form for this option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include-from=</b><i>filename</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Treat each non-empty line of the file as the data for an <b>--include</b>
|
|
|
|
|
option. What constitutes a newline for this purpose is the operating system's
|
|
|
|
|
default. The <b>--newline</b> option has no effect on this option. This option
|
|
|
|
|
may be given any number of times; all the files are read.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include-dir</b>=<i>pattern</i>
|
|
|
|
|
If any <b>--include-dir</b> patterns are specified, the only directories that
|
|
|
|
|
are processed are those that match one of the patterns (and do not match an
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude-dir</b> pattern). This applies to all directories, whether listed
|
|
|
|
|
on the command line, obtained from <b>--file-list</b>, or by scanning a parent
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
directory. The pattern is a PCRE2 regular expression, and is matched against
|
|
|
|
|
the final component of the directory name, not the entire path. The <b>-F</b>,
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<b>-w</b>, and <b>-x</b> options do not apply to this pattern. The option may be
|
|
|
|
|
given any number of times. If a directory matches both <b>--include-dir</b> and
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude-dir</b>, it is excluded. There is no short form for this option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-L</b>, <b>--files-without-match</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Instead of outputting lines from the files, just output the names of the files
|
|
|
|
|
that do not contain any lines that would have been output. Each file name is
|
|
|
|
|
output once, on a separate line.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-l</b>, <b>--files-with-matches</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Instead of outputting lines from the files, just output the names of the files
|
|
|
|
|
containing lines that would have been output. Each file name is output
|
|
|
|
|
once, on a separate line. Searching normally stops as soon as a matching line
|
|
|
|
|
is found in a file. However, if the <b>-c</b> (count) option is also used,
|
|
|
|
|
matching continues in order to obtain the correct count, and those files that
|
|
|
|
|
have at least one match are listed along with their counts. Using this option
|
|
|
|
|
with <b>-c</b> is a way of suppressing the listing of files with no matches.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--label</b>=<i>name</i>
|
|
|
|
|
This option supplies a name to be used for the standard input when file names
|
|
|
|
|
are being output. If not supplied, "(standard input)" is used. There is no
|
|
|
|
|
short form for this option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--line-buffered</b>
|
|
|
|
|
When this option is given, input is read and processed line by line, and the
|
|
|
|
|
output is flushed after each write. By default, input is read in large chunks,
|
|
|
|
|
unless <b>pcre2grep</b> can determine that it is reading from a terminal (which
|
|
|
|
|
is currently possible only in Unix-like environments). Output to terminal is
|
|
|
|
|
normally automatically flushed by the operating system. This option can be
|
|
|
|
|
useful when the input or output is attached to a pipe and you do not want
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
<b>pcre2grep</b> to buffer up large amounts of data. However, its use will
|
|
|
|
|
affect performance, and the <b>-M</b> (multiline) option ceases to work.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--line-offsets</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Instead of showing lines or parts of lines that match, show each match as a
|
|
|
|
|
line number, the offset from the start of the line, and a length. The line
|
|
|
|
|
number is terminated by a colon (as usual; see the <b>-n</b> option), and the
|
|
|
|
|
offset and length are separated by a comma. In this mode, no context is shown.
|
|
|
|
|
That is, the <b>-A</b>, <b>-B</b>, and <b>-C</b> options are ignored. If there is
|
|
|
|
|
more than one match in a line, each of them is shown separately. This option is
|
|
|
|
|
mutually exclusive with <b>--file-offsets</b> and <b>--only-matching</b>.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--locale</b>=<i>locale-name</i>
|
|
|
|
|
This option specifies a locale to be used for pattern matching. It overrides
|
|
|
|
|
the value in the <b>LC_ALL</b> or <b>LC_CTYPE</b> environment variables. If no
|
|
|
|
|
locale is specified, the PCRE2 library's default (usually the "C" locale) is
|
|
|
|
|
used. There is no short form for this option.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--match-limit</b>=<i>number</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Processing some regular expression patterns can require a very large amount of
|
|
|
|
|
memory, leading in some cases to a program crash if not enough is available.
|
|
|
|
|
Other patterns may take a very long time to search for all possible matching
|
2014-11-23 19:38:38 +01:00
|
|
|
strings. The <b>pcre2_match()</b> function that is called by <b>pcre2grep</b> to
|
|
|
|
|
do the matching has two parameters that can limit the resources that it uses.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
The <b>--match-limit</b> option provides a means of limiting resource usage
|
|
|
|
|
when processing patterns that are not going to match, but which have a very
|
|
|
|
|
large number of possibilities in their search trees. The classic example is a
|
|
|
|
|
pattern that uses nested unlimited repeats. Internally, PCRE2 uses a function
|
|
|
|
|
called <b>match()</b> which it calls repeatedly (sometimes recursively). The
|
|
|
|
|
limit set by <b>--match-limit</b> is imposed on the number of times this
|
|
|
|
|
function is called during a match, which has the effect of limiting the amount
|
|
|
|
|
of backtracking that can take place.
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
The <b>--recursion-limit</b> option is similar to <b>--match-limit</b>, but
|
|
|
|
|
instead of limiting the total number of times that <b>match()</b> is called, it
|
|
|
|
|
limits the depth of recursive calls, which in turn limits the amount of memory
|
|
|
|
|
that can be used. The recursion depth is a smaller number than the total number
|
|
|
|
|
of calls, because not all calls to <b>match()</b> are recursive. This limit is
|
|
|
|
|
of use only if it is set smaller than <b>--match-limit</b>.
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
There are no short forms for these options. The default settings are specified
|
|
|
|
|
when the PCRE2 library is compiled, with the default default being 10 million.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-M</b>, <b>--multiline</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Allow patterns to match more than one line. When this option is given, patterns
|
|
|
|
|
may usefully contain literal newline characters and internal occurrences of ^
|
|
|
|
|
and $ characters. The output for a successful match may consist of more than
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
one line. The first is the line in which the match started, and the last is the
|
|
|
|
|
line in which the match ended. If the matched string ends with a newline
|
|
|
|
|
sequence the output ends at the end of that line.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
When this option is set, the PCRE2 library is called in "multiline" mode.
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
However, <b>pcre2grep</b> still processes the input line by line. The difference
|
|
|
|
|
is that a matched string may extend past the end of a line and continue on
|
|
|
|
|
one or more subsequent lines. The newline sequence must be matched as part of
|
|
|
|
|
the pattern. For example, to find the phrase "regular expression" in a file
|
|
|
|
|
where "regular" might be at the end of a line and "expression" at the start of
|
|
|
|
|
the next line, you could use this command:
|
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
|
|
|
pcre2grep -M 'regular\s+expression' <file>
|
|
|
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
|
The \s escape sequence matches any white space character, including newlines,
|
|
|
|
|
and is followed by + so as to match trailing white space on the first line as
|
|
|
|
|
well as possibly handling a two-character newline sequence.
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
There is a limit to the number of lines that can be matched, imposed by the way
|
|
|
|
|
that <b>pcre2grep</b> buffers the input file as it scans it. However,
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
<b>pcre2grep</b> ensures that at least 8K characters or the rest of the file
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
(whichever is the shorter) are available for forward matching, and similarly
|
|
|
|
|
the previous 8K characters (or all the previous characters, if fewer than 8K)
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
are guaranteed to be available for lookbehind assertions. The <b>-M</b> option
|
|
|
|
|
does not work when input is read line by line (see \fP--line-buffered\fP.)
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-N</b> <i>newline-type</i>, <b>--newline</b>=<i>newline-type</i>
|
|
|
|
|
The PCRE2 library supports five different conventions for indicating
|
|
|
|
|
the ends of lines. They are the single-character sequences CR (carriage return)
|
|
|
|
|
and LF (linefeed), the two-character sequence CRLF, an "anycrlf" convention,
|
|
|
|
|
which recognizes any of the preceding three types, and an "any" convention, in
|
|
|
|
|
which any Unicode line ending sequence is assumed to end a line. The Unicode
|
|
|
|
|
sequences are the three just mentioned, plus VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF
|
|
|
|
|
(form feed, U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and
|
|
|
|
|
PS (paragraph separator, U+2029).
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
When the PCRE2 library is built, a default line-ending sequence is specified.
|
|
|
|
|
This is normally the standard sequence for the operating system. Unless
|
|
|
|
|
otherwise specified by this option, <b>pcre2grep</b> uses the library's default.
|
|
|
|
|
The possible values for this option are CR, LF, CRLF, ANYCRLF, or ANY. This
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
makes it possible to use <b>pcre2grep</b> to scan files that have come from
|
|
|
|
|
other environments without having to modify their line endings. If the data
|
|
|
|
|
that is being scanned does not agree with the convention set by this option,
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<b>pcre2grep</b> may behave in strange ways. Note that this option does not
|
|
|
|
|
apply to files specified by the <b>-f</b>, <b>--exclude-from</b>, or
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include-from</b> options, which are expected to use the operating system's
|
|
|
|
|
standard newline sequence.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-n</b>, <b>--line-number</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Precede each output line by its line number in the file, followed by a colon
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
for matching lines or a hyphen for context lines. If the file name is also
|
|
|
|
|
being output, it precedes the line number. When the <b>-M</b> option causes a
|
|
|
|
|
pattern to match more than one line, only the first is preceded by its line
|
|
|
|
|
number. This option is forced if <b>--line-offsets</b> is used.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--no-jit</b>
|
|
|
|
|
If the PCRE2 library is built with support for just-in-time compiling (which
|
|
|
|
|
speeds up matching), <b>pcre2grep</b> automatically makes use of this, unless it
|
|
|
|
|
was explicitly disabled at build time. This option can be used to disable the
|
|
|
|
|
use of JIT at run time. It is provided for testing and working round problems.
|
|
|
|
|
It should never be needed in normal use.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-o</b>, <b>--only-matching</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Show only the part of the line that matched a pattern instead of the whole
|
|
|
|
|
line. In this mode, no context is shown. That is, the <b>-A</b>, <b>-B</b>, and
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-C</b> options are ignored. If there is more than one match in a line, each
|
|
|
|
|
of them is shown separately. If <b>-o</b> is combined with <b>-v</b> (invert the
|
|
|
|
|
sense of the match to find non-matching lines), no output is generated, but the
|
|
|
|
|
return code is set appropriately. If the matched portion of the line is empty,
|
|
|
|
|
nothing is output unless the file name or line number are being printed, in
|
|
|
|
|
which case they are shown on an otherwise empty line. This option is mutually
|
|
|
|
|
exclusive with <b>--file-offsets</b> and <b>--line-offsets</b>.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-o</b><i>number</i>, <b>--only-matching</b>=<i>number</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Show only the part of the line that matched the capturing parentheses of the
|
|
|
|
|
given number. Up to 32 capturing parentheses are supported, and -o0 is
|
|
|
|
|
equivalent to <b>-o</b> without a number. Because these options can be given
|
|
|
|
|
without an argument (see above), if an argument is present, it must be given in
|
|
|
|
|
the same shell item, for example, -o3 or --only-matching=2. The comments given
|
|
|
|
|
for the non-argument case above also apply to this case. If the specified
|
|
|
|
|
capturing parentheses do not exist in the pattern, or were not set in the
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
match, nothing is output unless the file name or line number are being output.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
<br>
|
|
|
|
|
If this option is given multiple times, multiple substrings are output, in the
|
|
|
|
|
order the options are given. For example, -o3 -o1 -o3 causes the substrings
|
|
|
|
|
matched by capturing parentheses 3 and 1 and then 3 again to be output. By
|
|
|
|
|
default, there is no separator (but see the next option).
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--om-separator</b>=<i>text</i>
|
|
|
|
|
Specify a separating string for multiple occurrences of <b>-o</b>. The default
|
|
|
|
|
is an empty string. Separating strings are never coloured.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-q</b>, <b>--quiet</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Work quietly, that is, display nothing except error messages. The exit
|
|
|
|
|
status indicates whether or not any matches were found.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-r</b>, <b>--recursive</b>
|
|
|
|
|
If any given path is a directory, recursively scan the files it contains,
|
|
|
|
|
taking note of any <b>--include</b> and <b>--exclude</b> settings. By default, a
|
|
|
|
|
directory is read as a normal file; in some operating systems this gives an
|
|
|
|
|
immediate end-of-file. This option is a shorthand for setting the <b>-d</b>
|
|
|
|
|
option to "recurse".
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--recursion-limit</b>=<i>number</i>
|
|
|
|
|
See <b>--match-limit</b> above.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-s</b>, <b>--no-messages</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Suppress error messages about non-existent or unreadable files. Such files are
|
|
|
|
|
quietly skipped. However, the return code is still 2, even if matches were
|
|
|
|
|
found in other files.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-u</b>, <b>--utf-8</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Operate in UTF-8 mode. This option is available only if PCRE2 has been compiled
|
|
|
|
|
with UTF-8 support. All patterns (including those for any <b>--exclude</b> and
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include</b> options) and all subject lines that are scanned must be valid
|
|
|
|
|
strings of UTF-8 characters.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-V</b>, <b>--version</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Write the version numbers of <b>pcre2grep</b> and the PCRE2 library to the
|
|
|
|
|
standard output and then exit. Anything else on the command line is
|
|
|
|
|
ignored.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-v</b>, <b>--invert-match</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Invert the sense of the match, so that lines which do <i>not</i> match any of
|
|
|
|
|
the patterns are the ones that are found.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-w</b>, <b>--word-regex</b>, <b>--word-regexp</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Force the patterns to match only whole words. This is equivalent to having \b
|
|
|
|
|
at the start and end of the pattern. This option applies only to the patterns
|
|
|
|
|
that are matched against the contents of files; it does not apply to patterns
|
|
|
|
|
specified by any of the <b>--include</b> or <b>--exclude</b> options.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-x</b>, <b>--line-regex</b>, <b>--line-regexp</b>
|
|
|
|
|
Force the patterns to be anchored (each must start matching at the beginning of
|
|
|
|
|
a line) and in addition, require them to match entire lines. This is equivalent
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
to having ^ and $ characters at the start and end of each alternative top-level
|
|
|
|
|
branch in every pattern. This option applies only to the patterns that are
|
|
|
|
|
matched against the contents of files; it does not apply to patterns specified
|
|
|
|
|
by any of the <b>--include</b> or <b>--exclude</b> options.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC6" href="#TOC1">ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
The environment variables <b>LC_ALL</b> and <b>LC_CTYPE</b> are examined, in that
|
|
|
|
|
order, for a locale. The first one that is set is used. This can be overridden
|
|
|
|
|
by the <b>--locale</b> option. If no locale is set, the PCRE2 library's default
|
|
|
|
|
(usually the "C" locale) is used.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC7" href="#TOC1">NEWLINES</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
The <b>-N</b> (<b>--newline</b>) option allows <b>pcre2grep</b> to scan files with
|
|
|
|
|
different newline conventions from the default. Any parts of the input files
|
|
|
|
|
that are written to the standard output are copied identically, with whatever
|
|
|
|
|
newline sequences they have in the input. However, the setting of this option
|
|
|
|
|
does not affect the interpretation of files specified by the <b>-f</b>,
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--exclude-from</b>, or <b>--include-from</b> options, which are assumed to use
|
|
|
|
|
the operating system's standard newline sequence, nor does it affect the way in
|
|
|
|
|
which <b>pcre2grep</b> writes informational messages to the standard error and
|
|
|
|
|
output streams. For these it uses the string "\n" to indicate newlines,
|
|
|
|
|
relying on the C I/O library to convert this to an appropriate sequence.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC8" href="#TOC1">OPTIONS COMPATIBILITY</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
Many of the short and long forms of <b>pcre2grep</b>'s options are the same
|
|
|
|
|
as in the GNU <b>grep</b> program. Any long option of the form
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--xxx-regexp</b> (GNU terminology) is also available as <b>--xxx-regex</b>
|
|
|
|
|
(PCRE2 terminology). However, the <b>--file-list</b>, <b>--file-offsets</b>,
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--include-dir</b>, <b>--line-offsets</b>, <b>--locale</b>, <b>--match-limit</b>,
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-M</b>, <b>--multiline</b>, <b>-N</b>, <b>--newline</b>, <b>--om-separator</b>,
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--recursion-limit</b>, <b>-u</b>, and <b>--utf-8</b> options are specific to
|
|
|
|
|
<b>pcre2grep</b>, as is the use of the <b>--only-matching</b> option with a
|
|
|
|
|
capturing parentheses number.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
Although most of the common options work the same way, a few are different in
|
|
|
|
|
<b>pcre2grep</b>. For example, the <b>--include</b> option's argument is a glob
|
|
|
|
|
for GNU <b>grep</b>, but a regular expression for <b>pcre2grep</b>. If both the
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-c</b> and <b>-l</b> options are given, GNU grep lists only file names,
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
without counts, but <b>pcre2grep</b> gives the counts as well.
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC9" href="#TOC1">OPTIONS WITH DATA</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
There are four different ways in which an option with data can be specified.
|
|
|
|
|
If a short form option is used, the data may follow immediately, or (with one
|
|
|
|
|
exception) in the next command line item. For example:
|
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
|
|
|
-f/some/file
|
|
|
|
|
-f /some/file
|
|
|
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
|
The exception is the <b>-o</b> option, which may appear with or without data.
|
|
|
|
|
Because of this, if data is present, it must follow immediately in the same
|
|
|
|
|
item, for example -o3.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
If a long form option is used, the data may appear in the same command line
|
|
|
|
|
item, separated by an equals character, or (with two exceptions) it may appear
|
|
|
|
|
in the next command line item. For example:
|
|
|
|
|
<pre>
|
|
|
|
|
--file=/some/file
|
|
|
|
|
--file /some/file
|
|
|
|
|
</pre>
|
|
|
|
|
Note, however, that if you want to supply a file name beginning with ~ as data
|
|
|
|
|
in a shell command, and have the shell expand ~ to a home directory, you must
|
|
|
|
|
separate the file name from the option, because the shell does not treat ~
|
|
|
|
|
specially unless it is at the start of an item.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
The exceptions to the above are the <b>--colour</b> (or <b>--color</b>) and
|
|
|
|
|
<b>--only-matching</b> options, for which the data is optional. If one of these
|
|
|
|
|
options does have data, it must be given in the first form, using an equals
|
|
|
|
|
character. Otherwise <b>pcre2grep</b> will assume that it has no data.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC10" href="#TOC1">MATCHING ERRORS</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
It is possible to supply a regular expression that takes a very long time to
|
|
|
|
|
fail to match certain lines. Such patterns normally involve nested indefinite
|
|
|
|
|
repeats, for example: (a+)*\d when matched against a line of a's with no final
|
|
|
|
|
digit. The PCRE2 matching function has a resource limit that causes it to abort
|
|
|
|
|
in these circumstances. If this happens, <b>pcre2grep</b> outputs an error
|
|
|
|
|
message and the line that caused the problem to the standard error stream. If
|
|
|
|
|
there are more than 20 such errors, <b>pcre2grep</b> gives up.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
|
|
|
The <b>--match-limit</b> option of <b>pcre2grep</b> can be used to set the
|
|
|
|
|
overall resource limit; there is a second option called <b>--recursion-limit</b>
|
|
|
|
|
that sets a limit on the amount of memory (usually stack) that is used (see the
|
2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
|
|
|
discussion of these options above).
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
|
<br><a name="SEC11" href="#TOC1">DIAGNOSTICS</a><br>
|
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
|
Exit status is 0 if any matches were found, 1 if no matches were found, and 2
|
|
|
|
|
for syntax errors, overlong lines, non-existent or inaccessible files (even if
|
|
|
|
|
matches were found in other files) or too many matching errors. Using the
|
|
|
|
|
<b>-s</b> option to suppress error messages about inaccessible files does not
|
|
|
|
|
affect the return code.
|
|
|
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
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|
<br><a name="SEC12" href="#TOC1">SEE ALSO</a><br>
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<P>
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2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
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<b>pcre2pattern</b>(3), <b>pcre2syntax</b>(3).
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC13" href="#TOC1">AUTHOR</a><br>
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<P>
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Philip Hazel
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<br>
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University Computing Service
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<br>
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2014-11-21 17:45:06 +01:00
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Cambridge, England.
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2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
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<br>
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</P>
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<br><a name="SEC14" href="#TOC1">REVISION</a><br>
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<P>
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2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
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Last updated: 03 January 2015
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2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
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<br>
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2015-01-03 18:40:06 +01:00
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Copyright © 1997-2015 University of Cambridge.
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2014-09-28 19:39:28 +02:00
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<br>
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<p>
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Return to the <a href="index.html">PCRE2 index page</a>.
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</p>
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