PCRE
The Perl Compatible Regular Expression (PCRE) library is a free-for-any-use, open source, C-language regular expression library developed by Philip Hazel. PCRE has been incorporated into PHP, the Apache web server 2.0, KDE, Exim, Analog, and Postfix. Users of those programs can use the supported metacharacters listed in Table 43 through Table 47.
The PCRE library uses a Traditional NFA match engine. For an explanation of the rules behind an NFA engine, see "Introduction to Regexes and Pattern Matching.â
This reference covers PCRE Version 7.0, which aims to emulate Perl 5.8-style regular expressions, but also includes features from the upcoming Perl 5.10.
PCRE can be compiled with or without support for UTF-8 strings, and with or without support for Unicode character properties. The following lists and tables assume that both these features are available.
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