Test Method (REGEX)

The Test method is used to check for a matching substring using a provided.regular expression for a PL/B REGEX object. This method uses the following format:

Where:

label

Optional. A Program Execution Label.

object

Required. A REGEX object previously declared.

return

Optional. A Numeric Variable that returns one when a match found or zero otherwise.

pattern

Required. A Character String Variable or literal that specifies a valid regular expression.

text

Required. A Character String Variable or literal that specifies the text to examine.

options

Optional. A decimal number or Numeric Variable that has a bit mask value described below.

Flags Affected: EOS, OVER, ZERO

Notes:

1. If the value returned is zero, the ZERO Condition Flag is set.

2. The OVER flag is set TRUE if the 'return' variable is too small and cannot contain the 'return' value without being truncated. Otherwise, the OVER flag is set to FALSE.

3. The EOS flag is always cleared.

4. The {pattern} parameter contains the regular expression to be compiled and used.

5. The {text} parameter contains the character string to be searched.

6. The {return} value is one when a match found or zero otherwise.

7. This is a one-shot evaluation and does not replace the object's compiled pattern.

8. A zero-length match counts as a match.

9. If no matches are found the GetMatch method will return an empty string.

10. If a match is found the GetMatch method will return the match found.

11. The {options} bit mask values found in plbmeth.inc are defined as follows:

 

Equate	Value	Description
$REGEX_OPT_NOCASE	1	Case-insensitive (ASCII A-Z only)
$REGEX_OPT_MULTILINE	8	^ and $ also match at line breaks
$REGEX_OPT_DOTALL	16	. also matches CR and LF
$REGEX_OPT_NOTEMPTY	32	Reject empty (zero-length) matches.

Example 1:

      RegEx1.Test Giving N Using "^Thi","This is Alice",0

See Also: Method Syntax, REGEX, Regular Expression Support