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-rw-r--r--[-rwxr-xr-x]lib/impure/re.nim766
1 files changed, 459 insertions, 307 deletions
diff --git a/lib/impure/re.nim b/lib/impure/re.nim
index 57dc3a313..053c6ab55 100755..100644
--- a/lib/impure/re.nim
+++ b/lib/impure/re.nim
@@ -1,126 +1,218 @@
 #
 #
-#            Nimrod's Runtime Library
+#            Nim's Runtime Library
 #        (c) Copyright 2012 Andreas Rumpf
 #
 #    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
 #    distribution, for details about the copyright.
 #
 
-## Regular expression support for Nimrod. Consider using the pegs module
-## instead.
+when defined(js):
+  {.error: "This library needs to be compiled with a c-like backend, and depends on PCRE; See jsre for JS backend.".}
+
+## Regular expression support for Nim.
+##
 ## This module is implemented by providing a wrapper around the
-## `PRCE (Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions) <http://www.pcre.org>`_
-## C library. This means that your application will depend on the PRCE
+## `PCRE (Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions) <http://www.pcre.org>`_
+## C library. This means that your application will depend on the PCRE
 ## library's licence when using this module, which should not be a problem
 ## though.
-## PRCE's licence follows:
 ##
-## .. include:: ../doc/regexprs.txt
+## .. note:: There are also alternative nimble packages such as [tinyre](https://github.com/khchen/tinyre)
+##   and [regex](https://github.com/nitely/nim-regex).
+##
+## PCRE's licence follows:
+##
+## .. include:: ../../doc/regexprs.txt
 ##
 
+runnableExamples:
+  ## Unless specified otherwise, `start` parameter in each proc indicates
+  ## where the scan starts, but outputs are relative to the start of the input
+  ## string, not to `start`:
+  doAssert find("uxabc", re"(?<=x|y)ab", start = 1) == 2 # lookbehind assertion
+  doAssert find("uxabc", re"ab", start = 3) == -1 # we're past `start` => not found
+  doAssert not match("xabc", re"^abc$", start = 1)
+    # can't match start of string since we're starting at 1
+
 import
-  pcre, strutils
+  std/[pcre, strutils, rtarrays]
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/syncio
 
 const
-  MaxSubpatterns* = 10
+  MaxSubpatterns* = 20
     ## defines the maximum number of subpatterns that can be captured.
-    ## More subpatterns cannot be captured!
+    ## This limit still exists for `replacef` and `parallelReplace`.
 
 type
-  TRegExFlag* = enum     ## options for regular expressions
-    reIgnoreCase = 0,    ## do caseless matching
-    reMultiLine = 1,     ## ``^`` and ``$`` match newlines within data 
-    reDotAll = 2,        ## ``.`` matches anything including NL
-    reExtended = 3,      ## ignore whitespace and ``#`` comments
-    reStudy = 4          ## study the expression (may be omitted if the
-                         ## expression will be used only once)
-    
-  TRegExDesc {.pure, final.}  = object 
-    h: PPcre
-    e: ptr TExtra
-    
-  TRegEx* = ref TRegExDesc ## a compiled regular expression
-    
-  EInvalidRegEx* = object of EInvalidValue
+  RegexFlag* = enum     ## options for regular expressions
+    reIgnoreCase = 0,   ## do caseless matching
+    reMultiLine = 1,    ## `^` and `$` match newlines within data
+    reDotAll = 2,       ## `.` matches anything including NL
+    reExtended = 3,     ## ignore whitespace and `#` comments
+    reStudy = 4         ## study the expression (may be omitted if the
+                        ## expression will be used only once)
+
+  RegexDesc = object
+    h: ptr Pcre
+    e: ptr ExtraData
+
+  Regex* = ref RegexDesc ## a compiled regular expression
+
+  RegexError* = object of ValueError
     ## is raised if the pattern is no valid regular expression.
 
-proc raiseInvalidRegex(msg: string) {.noinline, noreturn.} = 
-  var e: ref EInvalidRegEx
+when defined(gcDestructors):
+  when defined(nimAllowNonVarDestructor):
+    proc `=destroy`(x: RegexDesc) =
+      pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](x.h))
+      if not isNil(x.e):
+        pcre.free_study(x.e)
+  else:
+    proc `=destroy`(x: var RegexDesc) =
+      pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](x.h))
+      if not isNil(x.e):
+        pcre.free_study(x.e)
+
+proc raiseInvalidRegex(msg: string) {.noinline, noreturn.} =
+  var e: ref RegexError
   new(e)
   e.msg = msg
   raise e
-  
-proc rawCompile(pattern: string, flags: cint): PPcre =
+
+proc rawCompile(pattern: string, flags: cint): ptr Pcre =
   var
-    msg: CString
-    offset: cint
-  result = pcre.Compile(pattern, flags, addr(msg), addr(offset), nil)
+    msg: cstring = ""
+    offset: cint = 0
+  result = pcre.compile(pattern, flags, addr(msg), addr(offset), nil)
   if result == nil:
-    raiseInvalidRegEx($msg & "\n" & pattern & "\n" & repeatChar(offset) & "^\n")
+    raiseInvalidRegex($msg & "\n" & pattern & "\n" & spaces(offset) & "^\n")
 
-proc finalizeRegEx(x: TRegEx) = 
+proc finalizeRegEx(x: Regex) =
   # XXX This is a hack, but PCRE does not export its "free" function properly.
-  # Sigh. The hack relies on PCRE's implementation (see ``pcre_get.c``).
-  # Fortunately the implementation is unlikely to change. 
+  # Sigh. The hack relies on PCRE's implementation (see `pcre_get.c`).
+  # Fortunately the implementation is unlikely to change.
   pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](x.h))
   if not isNil(x.e):
-    pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](x.e))
+    pcre.free_study(x.e)
 
-proc re*(s: string, flags = {reExtended, reStudy}): TRegEx =
-  ## Constructor of regular expressions. Note that Nimrod's
-  ## extended raw string literals support this syntax ``re"[abc]"`` as
-  ## a short form for ``re(r"[abc]")``.
-  new(result, finalizeRegEx)
+proc re*(s: string, flags = {reStudy}): Regex =
+  ## Constructor of regular expressions.
+  ##
+  ## Note that Nim's
+  ## extended raw string literals support the syntax `re"[abc]"` as
+  ## a short form for `re(r"[abc]")`. Also note that since this
+  ## compiles the regular expression, which is expensive, you should
+  ## avoid putting it directly in the arguments of the functions like
+  ## the examples show below if you plan to use it a lot of times, as
+  ## this will hurt performance immensely. (e.g. outside a loop, ...)
+  when defined(gcDestructors):
+    result = Regex()
+  else:
+    new(result, finalizeRegEx)
   result.h = rawCompile(s, cast[cint](flags - {reStudy}))
   if reStudy in flags:
-    var msg: cstring
-    result.e = pcre.study(result.h, 0, msg)
+    var msg: cstring = ""
+    var options: cint = 0
+    var hasJit: cint = 0
+    if pcre.config(pcre.CONFIG_JIT, addr hasJit) == 0:
+      if hasJit == 1'i32:
+        options = pcre.STUDY_JIT_COMPILE
+    result.e = pcre.study(result.h, options, addr msg)
     if not isNil(msg): raiseInvalidRegex($msg)
 
-proc matchOrFind(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openarray[string],
-                 start, flags: cint): cint =
+proc rex*(s: string, flags = {reStudy, reExtended}): Regex =
+  ## Constructor for extended regular expressions.
+  ##
+  ## The extended means that comments starting with `#` and
+  ## whitespace are ignored.
+  result = re(s, flags)
+
+proc bufSubstr(b: cstring, sPos, ePos: int): string {.inline.} =
+  ## Return a Nim string built from a slice of a cstring buffer.
+  ## Don't assume cstring is '\0' terminated
+  let sz = ePos - sPos
+  result = newString(sz+1)
+  copyMem(addr(result[0]), unsafeAddr(b[sPos]), sz)
+  result.setLen(sz)
+
+proc matchOrFind(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+                 start, bufSize, flags: cint): cint =
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start, flags,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize, start, flags,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), (matches.len+1).cint*3)
   if res < 0'i32: return res
   for i in 1..int(res)-1:
     var a = rawMatches[i * 2]
     var b = rawMatches[i * 2 + 1]
-    if a >= 0'i32: matches[i-1] = substr(s, int(a), int(b)-1)
+    if a >= 0'i32:
+      matches[i-1] = bufSubstr(buf, int(a), int(b))
     else: matches[i-1] = ""
   return rawMatches[1] - rawMatches[0]
-  
-proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openarray[string],
-                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] =
-  ## returns the starting position and end position of `pattern` in `s` 
+
+const MaxReBufSize* = high(cint)
+  ## Maximum PCRE (API 1) buffer start/size equal to `high(cint)`, which even
+  ## for 64-bit systems can be either 2`31`:sup:-1 or 2`63`:sup:-1.
+
+proc findBounds*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+                 start = 0, bufSize: int): tuple[first, last: int] =
+  ## returns the starting position and end position of `pattern` in `buf`
+  ## (where `buf` has length `bufSize` and is not necessarily `'\0'` terminated),
   ## and the captured
   ## substrings in the array `matches`. If it does not match, nothing
-  ## is written into `matches` and ``(-1,0)`` is returned.
+  ## is written into `matches` and `(-1,0)` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## Note: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is
+  ## called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), (matches.len+1).cint*3)
   if res < 0'i32: return (-1, 0)
   for i in 1..int(res)-1:
     var a = rawMatches[i * 2]
     var b = rawMatches[i * 2 + 1]
-    if a >= 0'i32: matches[i-1] = substr(s, int(a), int(b)-1)
+    if a >= 0'i32: matches[i-1] = bufSubstr(buf, int(a), int(b))
     else: matches[i-1] = ""
   return (rawMatches[0].int, rawMatches[1].int - 1)
-  
-proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, 
-                 matches: var openarray[tuple[first, last: int]],
-                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] =
-  ## returns the starting position and end position of ``pattern`` in ``s`` 
-  ## and the captured substrings in the array `matches`. 
+
+proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] {.inline.} =
+  ## returns the starting position and end position of `pattern` in `s`
+  ## and the captured substrings in the array `matches`.
+  ## If it does not match, nothing
+  ## is written into `matches` and `(-1,0)` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  runnableExamples:
+    var matches = newSeq[string](1)
+    let (first, last) = findBounds("Hello World", re"(W\w+)", matches)
+    doAssert first == 6
+    doAssert last == 10
+    doAssert matches[0] == "World"
+  result = findBounds(cstring(s), pattern, matches,
+      min(start, MaxReBufSize), min(s.len, MaxReBufSize))
+
+proc findBounds*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex,
+                 matches: var openArray[tuple[first, last: int]],
+                 start = 0, bufSize: int): tuple[first, last: int] =
+  ## returns the starting position and end position of `pattern` in `buf`
+  ## (where `buf` has length `bufSize` and is not necessarily `'\0'` terminated),
+  ## and the captured substrings in the array `matches`.
   ## If it does not match, nothing is written into `matches` and
-  ## ``(-1,0)`` is returned.
+  ## `(-1,0)` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), (matches.len+1).cint*3)
   if res < 0'i32: return (-1, 0)
   for i in 1..int(res)-1:
     var a = rawMatches[i * 2]
@@ -129,206 +221,322 @@ proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx,
     else: matches[i-1] = (-1,0)
   return (rawMatches[0].int, rawMatches[1].int - 1)
 
-proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, 
-                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] =
-  ## returns the starting position of `pattern` in `s`. If it does not
-  ## match, ``(-1,0)`` is returned.
+proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: Regex,
+                 matches: var openArray[tuple[first, last: int]],
+                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] {.inline.} =
+  ## returns the starting position and end position of `pattern` in `s`
+  ## and the captured substrings in the array `matches`.
+  ## If it does not match, nothing is written into `matches` and
+  ## `(-1,0)` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  runnableExamples:
+    var matches = newSeq[tuple[first, last: int]](1)
+    let (first, last) = findBounds("Hello World", re"(\w+)", matches)
+    doAssert first == 0
+    doAssert last == 4
+    doAssert matches[0] == (0, 4)
+  result = findBounds(cstring(s), pattern, matches,
+      min(start, MaxReBufSize), min(s.len, MaxReBufSize))
+
+proc findBoundsImpl(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex,
+                    start = 0, bufSize = 0, flags = 0): tuple[first, last: int] =
+  var rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+  let rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+  let res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, flags.int32,
+                cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
+
+  if res < 0'i32:
+    result = (-1, 0)
+  else:
+    result = (int(rawMatches[0]), int(rawMatches[1]-1))
+
+proc findBounds*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex,
+                 start = 0, bufSize: int): tuple[first, last: int] =
+  ## returns the `first` and `last` position of `pattern` in `buf`,
+  ## where `buf` has length `bufSize` (not necessarily `'\0'` terminated).
+  ## If it does not match, `(-1,0)` is returned.
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, nil, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
   if res < 0'i32: return (int(res), 0)
   return (int(rawMatches[0]), int(rawMatches[1]-1))
-  
-proc matchOrFind(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start, flags: cint): cint =
-  var rawMatches: array [0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
-  result = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start, flags,
-                    cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+
+proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: Regex,
+                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] {.inline.} =
+  ## returns the `first` and `last` position of `pattern` in `s`.
+  ## If it does not match, `(-1,0)` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## Note: there is a speed improvement if the matches do not need to be captured.
+  runnableExamples:
+    assert findBounds("01234abc89", re"abc") == (5,7)
+  result = findBounds(cstring(s), pattern,
+      min(start, MaxReBufSize), min(s.len, MaxReBufSize))
+
+proc matchOrFind(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, start, bufSize: int, flags: cint): cint =
+  var
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+  result = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, flags,
+                    cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
   if result >= 0'i32:
     result = rawMatches[1] - rawMatches[0]
 
-proc match*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openarray[string],
-           start = 0): bool =
-  ## returns ``true`` if ``s[start..]`` matches the ``pattern`` and
-  ## the captured substrings in the array ``matches``. If it does not
-  ## match, nothing is written into ``matches`` and ``false`` is
-  ## returned.
-  return matchOrFind(s, pattern, matches, start.cint, 
-                     pcre.ANCHORED) == cint(s.len - start)
+proc matchLen*(s: string, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+              start = 0): int {.inline.} =
+  ## the same as `match`, but it returns the length of the match,
+  ## if there is no match, `-1` is returned. Note that a match length
+  ## of zero can happen.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  result = matchOrFind(cstring(s), pattern, matches, start.cint, s.len.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
+
+proc matchLen*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+              start = 0, bufSize: int): int {.inline.} =
+  ## the same as `match`, but it returns the length of the match,
+  ## if there is no match, `-1` is returned. Note that a match length
+  ## of zero can happen.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  return matchOrFind(buf, pattern, matches, start.cint, bufSize.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
 
-proc match*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): bool =
-  ## returns ``true`` if ``s[start..]`` matches the ``pattern``.
-  return matchOrFind(s, pattern, start.cint, pcre.ANCHORED) == cint(s.len-start)
+proc matchLen*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): int {.inline.} =
+  ## the same as `match`, but it returns the length of the match,
+  ## if there is no match, `-1` is returned. Note that a match length
+  ## of zero can happen.
+  ##
+  runnableExamples:
+    doAssert matchLen("abcdefg", re"cde", 2) == 3
+    doAssert matchLen("abcdefg", re"abcde") == 5
+    doAssert matchLen("abcdefg", re"cde") == -1
+  result = matchOrFind(cstring(s), pattern, start.cint, s.len.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
 
-proc matchLen*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openarray[string],
-              start = 0): int =
-  ## the same as ``match``, but it returns the length of the match,
-  ## if there is no match, -1 is returned. Note that a match length
+proc matchLen*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, start = 0, bufSize: int): int {.inline.} =
+  ## the same as `match`, but it returns the length of the match,
+  ## if there is no match, `-1` is returned. Note that a match length
   ## of zero can happen.
-  return matchOrFind(s, pattern, matches, start.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
-
-proc matchLen*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): int =
-  ## the same as ``match``, but it returns the length of the match,
-  ## if there is no match, -1 is returned. Note that a match length
-  ## of zero can happen. 
-  return matchOrFind(s, pattern, start.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
-
-proc find*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openarray[string],
-           start = 0): int =
-  ## returns the starting position of ``pattern`` in ``s`` and the captured
-  ## substrings in the array ``matches``. If it does not match, nothing
-  ## is written into ``matches`` and -1 is returned.
+  result = matchOrFind(buf, pattern, start.cint, bufSize, pcre.ANCHORED)
+
+proc match*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## returns `true` if `s[start..]` matches the `pattern`.
+  result = matchLen(cstring(s), pattern, start, s.len) != -1
+
+proc match*(s: string, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+           start = 0): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## returns `true` if `s[start..]` matches the `pattern` and
+  ## the captured substrings in the array `matches`. If it does not
+  ## match, nothing is written into `matches` and `false` is
+  ## returned.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  runnableExamples:
+    import std/sequtils
+    var matches: array[2, string]
+    if match("abcdefg", re"c(d)ef(g)", matches, 2):
+      doAssert toSeq(matches) == @["d", "g"]
+  result = matchLen(cstring(s), pattern, matches, start, s.len) != -1
+
+proc match*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+           start = 0, bufSize: int): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## returns `true` if `buf[start..<bufSize]` matches the `pattern` and
+  ## the captured substrings in the array `matches`. If it does not
+  ## match, nothing is written into `matches` and `false` is
+  ## returned.
+  ## `buf` has length `bufSize` (not necessarily `'\0'` terminated).
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  result = matchLen(buf, pattern, matches, start, bufSize) != -1
+
+proc find*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+           start = 0, bufSize: int): int =
+  ## returns the starting position of `pattern` in `buf` and the captured
+  ## substrings in the array `matches`. If it does not match, nothing
+  ## is written into `matches` and `-1` is returned.
+  ## `buf` has length `bufSize` (not necessarily `'\0'` terminated).
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), (matches.len+1).cint*3)
   if res < 0'i32: return res
   for i in 1..int(res)-1:
     var a = rawMatches[i * 2]
     var b = rawMatches[i * 2 + 1]
-    if a >= 0'i32: matches[i-1] = substr(s, int(a), int(b)-1)
+    if a >= 0'i32: matches[i-1] = bufSubstr(buf, int(a), int(b))
     else: matches[i-1] = ""
   return rawMatches[0]
 
-proc find*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): int =
-  ## returns the starting position of ``pattern`` in ``s``. If it does not
-  ## match, -1 is returned.
+proc find*(s: string, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+           start = 0): int {.inline.} =
+  ## returns the starting position of `pattern` in `s` and the captured
+  ## substrings in the array `matches`. If it does not match, nothing
+  ## is written into `matches` and `-1` is returned.
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
+  result = find(cstring(s), pattern, matches, start, s.len)
+
+proc find*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, start = 0, bufSize: int): int =
+  ## returns the starting position of `pattern` in `buf`,
+  ## where `buf` has length `bufSize` (not necessarily `'\0'` terminated).
+  ## If it does not match, `-1` is returned.
   var
-    rawMatches: array[0..3 - 1, cint]
-    res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, nil, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), 3)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
   if res < 0'i32: return res
   return rawMatches[0]
-  
-iterator findAll*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): string = 
-  ## yields all matching *substrings* of `s` that match `pattern`.
-  var i = int32(start)
-  var rawMatches: array[0..maxSubpatterns * 3 - 1, cint]
+
+proc find*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): int {.inline.} =
+  ## returns the starting position of `pattern` in `s`. If it does not
+  ## match, `-1` is returned. We start the scan at `start`.
+  runnableExamples:
+    doAssert find("abcdefg", re"cde") == 2
+    doAssert find("abcdefg", re"abc") == 0
+    doAssert find("abcdefg", re"zz") == -1 # not found
+    doAssert find("abcdefg", re"cde", start = 2) == 2 # still 2
+    doAssert find("abcdefg", re"cde", start = 3) == -1 # we're past the start position
+    doAssert find("xabc", re"(?<=x|y)abc", start = 1) == 1
+      # lookbehind assertion `(?<=x|y)` can look behind `start`
+  result = find(cstring(s), pattern, start, s.len)
+
+iterator findAll*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): string =
+  ## Yields all matching *substrings* of `s` that match `pattern`.
+  ##
+  ## Note that since this is an iterator you should not modify the string you
+  ## are iterating over: bad things could happen.
+  var
+    i = int32(start)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
   while true:
-    let res = pcre.Exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, i, 0'i32,
-      cast[ptr cint](addr(rawMatches)), maxSubpatterns * 3)
+    let res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, i, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
     if res < 0'i32: break
     let a = rawMatches[0]
     let b = rawMatches[1]
+    if a == b and a == i: break
     yield substr(s, int(a), int(b)-1)
     i = b
 
-proc findAll*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): seq[string] = 
-  ## returns all matching *substrings* of `s` that match `pattern`.
-  ## If it does not match, @[] is returned.
-  accumulateResult(findAll(s, pattern, start))
+iterator findAll*(buf: cstring, pattern: Regex, start = 0, bufSize: int): string =
+  ## Yields all matching `substrings` of `s` that match `pattern`.
+  ##
+  ## Note that since this is an iterator you should not modify the string you
+  ## are iterating over: bad things could happen.
+  var
+    i = int32(start)
+    rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
+    rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
+  while true:
+    let res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, buf, bufSize.cint, i, 0'i32,
+      cast[ptr cint](rawMatches), 3)
+    if res < 0'i32: break
+    let a = rawMatches[0]
+    let b = rawMatches[1]
+    if a == b and a == i: break
+    var str = newString(b-a)
+    copyMem(str[0].addr, unsafeAddr(buf[a]), b-a)
+    yield str
+    i = b
 
-when not defined(nimhygiene):
-  {.pragma: inject.}
+proc findAll*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): seq[string] {.inline.} =
+  ## returns all matching `substrings` of `s` that match `pattern`.
+  ## If it does not match, `@[]` is returned.
+  result = @[]
+  for x in findAll(s, pattern, start): result.add x
 
-template `=~` *(s: string, pattern: TRegEx): expr = 
-  ## This calls ``match`` with an implicit declared ``matches`` array that 
-  ## can be used in the scope of the ``=~`` call: 
-  ## 
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##
-  ##   if line =~ re"\s*(\w+)\s*\=\s*(\w+)": 
-  ##     # matches a key=value pair:
-  ##     echo("Key: ", matches[0])
-  ##     echo("Value: ", matches[1])
-  ##   elif line =~ re"\s*(\#.*)":
-  ##     # matches a comment
-  ##     # note that the implicit ``matches`` array is different from the
-  ##     # ``matches`` array of the first branch
-  ##     echo("comment: ", matches[0])
-  ##   else:
-  ##     echo("syntax error")
-  ##
-  when not definedInScope(matches):
-    var matches {.inject.}: array[0..re.maxSubPatterns-1, string]
+template `=~` *(s: string, pattern: Regex): untyped =
+  ## This calls `match` with an implicit declared `matches` array that
+  ## can be used in the scope of the `=~` call:
+  runnableExamples:
+    proc parse(line: string): string =
+      if line =~ re"\s*(\w+)\s*\=\s*(\w+)": # matches a key=value pair:
+        result = $(matches[0], matches[1])
+      elif line =~ re"\s*(\#.*)": # matches a comment
+        # note that the implicit `matches` array is different from 1st branch
+        result = $(matches[0],)
+      else: raiseAssert "unreachable"
+      doAssert not declared(matches)
+    doAssert parse("NAME = LENA") == """("NAME", "LENA")"""
+    doAssert parse("   # comment ... ") == """("# comment ... ",)"""
+  bind MaxSubpatterns
+  when not declaredInScope(matches):
+    var matches {.inject.}: array[MaxSubpatterns, string]
   match(s, pattern, matches)
 
 # ------------------------- more string handling ------------------------------
 
-proc contains*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, start = 0): bool =
-  ## same as ``find(s, pattern, start) >= 0``
+proc contains*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## same as `find(s, pattern, start) >= 0`
   return find(s, pattern, start) >= 0
 
-proc contains*(s: string, pattern: TRegEx, matches: var openArray[string],
-              start = 0): bool =
-  ## same as ``find(s, pattern, matches, start) >= 0``
+proc contains*(s: string, pattern: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
+              start = 0): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## same as `find(s, pattern, matches, start) >= 0`
+  ##
+  ## .. note:: The memory for `matches` needs to be allocated before this function is called, otherwise it will just remain empty.
   return find(s, pattern, matches, start) >= 0
 
-proc startsWith*(s: string, prefix: TRegEx): bool =
+proc startsWith*(s: string, prefix: Regex): bool {.inline.} =
   ## returns true if `s` starts with the pattern `prefix`
   result = matchLen(s, prefix) >= 0
 
-proc endsWith*(s: string, suffix: TRegEx): bool =
-  ## returns true if `s` ends with the pattern `prefix`
+proc endsWith*(s: string, suffix: Regex): bool {.inline.} =
+  ## returns true if `s` ends with the pattern `suffix`
   for i in 0 .. s.len-1:
     if matchLen(s, suffix, i) == s.len - i: return true
 
-proc replace*(s: string, sub: TRegEx, by = ""): string =
-  ## Replaces `sub` in `s` by the string `by`. Captures cannot be 
-  ## accessed in `by`. Examples:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##   "var1=key; var2=key2".replace(re"(\w+)'='(\w+)")
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##
-  ##   "; "
+proc replace*(s: string, sub: Regex, by = ""): string =
+  ## Replaces `sub` in `s` by the string `by`. Captures cannot be
+  ## accessed in `by`.
+  runnableExamples:
+    doAssert "var1=key; var2=key2".replace(re"(\w+)=(\w+)") == "; "
+    doAssert "var1=key; var2=key2".replace(re"(\w+)=(\w+)", "?") == "?; ?"
   result = ""
   var prev = 0
-  while true:
-    var match = findBounds(s, sub, prev)
+  var flags = int32(0)
+  while prev < s.len:
+    var match = findBoundsImpl(s.cstring, sub, prev, s.len, flags)
+    flags = 0
     if match.first < 0: break
     add(result, substr(s, prev, match.first-1))
     add(result, by)
+    if match.first > match.last:
+      # 0-len match
+      flags = pcre.NOTEMPTY_ATSTART
     prev = match.last + 1
   add(result, substr(s, prev))
-  
-proc replacef*(s: string, sub: TRegEx, by: string): string =
+
+proc replacef*(s: string, sub: Regex, by: string): string =
   ## Replaces `sub` in `s` by the string `by`. Captures can be accessed in `by`
-  ## with the notation ``$i`` and ``$#`` (see strutils.`%`). Examples:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ## "var1=key; var2=key2".replacef(re"(\w+)'='(\w+)", "$1<-$2$2")
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##
-  ## "var1<-keykey; val2<-key2key2"
+  ## with the notation `$i` and `$#` (see strutils.\`%\`).
+  runnableExamples:
+    doAssert "var1=key; var2=key2".replacef(re"(\w+)=(\w+)", "$1<-$2$2") ==
+      "var1<-keykey; var2<-key2key2"
   result = ""
-  var caps: array[0..maxSubpatterns-1, string]
+  var caps: array[MaxSubpatterns, string]
   var prev = 0
-  while true:
+  while prev < s.len:
     var match = findBounds(s, sub, caps, prev)
     if match.first < 0: break
     add(result, substr(s, prev, match.first-1))
     addf(result, by, caps)
+    if match.last + 1 == prev: break
     prev = match.last + 1
   add(result, substr(s, prev))
-  when false:
-    result = ""
-    var i = 0
-    var caps: array[0..maxSubpatterns-1, string]
-    while i < s.len:
-      var x = matchLen(s, sub, caps, i)
-      if x <= 0:
-        add(result, s[i])
-        inc(i)
-      else:
-        addf(result, by, caps)
-        inc(i, x)
-    # substr the rest:
-    add(result, substr(s, i))
-  
-proc parallelReplace*(s: string, subs: openArray[
-                      tuple[pattern: TRegEx, repl: string]]): string = 
+
+proc multiReplace*(s: string, subs: openArray[
+                   tuple[pattern: Regex, repl: string]]): string =
   ## Returns a modified copy of `s` with the substitutions in `subs`
   ## applied in parallel.
   result = ""
   var i = 0
-  var caps: array[0..maxSubpatterns-1, string]
+  var caps: array[MaxSubpatterns, string]
   while i < s.len:
     block searchSubs:
       for j in 0..high(subs):
@@ -340,120 +548,64 @@ proc parallelReplace*(s: string, subs: openArray[
       add(result, s[i])
       inc(i)
   # copy the rest:
-  add(result, substr(s, i))  
-  
+  add(result, substr(s, i))
+
 proc transformFile*(infile, outfile: string,
-                    subs: openArray[tuple[pattern: TRegEx, repl: string]]) =
+                    subs: openArray[tuple[pattern: Regex, repl: string]]) =
   ## reads in the file `infile`, performs a parallel replacement (calls
-  ## `parallelReplace`) and writes back to `outfile`. Raises ``EIO`` if an
+  ## `parallelReplace`) and writes back to `outfile`. Raises `IOError` if an
   ## error occurs. This is supposed to be used for quick scripting.
-  var x = readFile(infile).string
-  writeFile(outfile, x.parallelReplace(subs))
-  
-iterator split*(s: string, sep: TRegEx): string =
+  var x = readFile(infile)
+  writeFile(outfile, x.multiReplace(subs))
+
+iterator split*(s: string, sep: Regex; maxsplit = -1): string =
   ## Splits the string `s` into substrings.
   ##
-  ## Substrings are separated by the regular expression `sep`.
-  ## Examples:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##   for word in split("00232this02939is39an22example111", re"\d+"):
-  ##     writeln(stdout, word)
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nimrod
-  ##   "this"
-  ##   "is"
-  ##   "an"
-  ##   "example"
-  ##
-  var
-    first = 0
-    last = 0
-  while last < len(s):
-    var x = matchLen(s, sep, last)
-    if x > 0: inc(last, x)
-    first = last
-    while last < len(s):
+  ## Substrings are separated by the regular expression `sep`
+  ## (and the portion matched by `sep` is not returned).
+  runnableExamples:
+    import std/sequtils
+    doAssert toSeq(split("00232this02939is39an22example111", re"\d+")) ==
+      @["", "this", "is", "an", "example", ""]
+  var last = 0
+  var splits = maxsplit
+  var x = -1
+  if len(s) == 0:
+    last = 1
+  if matchLen(s, sep, 0) == 0:
+    x = 0
+  while last <= len(s):
+    var first = last
+    var sepLen = 1
+    if x == 0:
       inc(last)
+    while last < len(s):
       x = matchLen(s, sep, last)
-      if x > 0: break
-    if first < last:
-      yield substr(s, first, last-1)
+      if x >= 0:
+        sepLen = x
+        break
+      inc(last)
+    if splits == 0: last = len(s)
+    yield substr(s, first, last-1)
+    if splits == 0: break
+    dec(splits)
+    inc(last, sepLen)
 
-proc split*(s: string, sep: TRegEx): seq[string] =
-  ## Splits the string `s` into substrings.
-  accumulateResult(split(s, sep))
-  
-proc escapeRe*(s: string): string = 
-  ## escapes `s` so that it is matched verbatim when used as a regular 
+proc split*(s: string, sep: Regex, maxsplit = -1): seq[string] {.inline.} =
+  ## Splits the string `s` into a seq of substrings.
+  ##
+  ## The portion matched by `sep` is not returned.
+  result = @[]
+  for x in split(s, sep, maxsplit): result.add x
+
+proc escapeRe*(s: string): string =
+  ## escapes `s` so that it is matched verbatim when used as a regular
   ## expression.
   result = ""
   for c in items(s):
     case c
     of 'a'..'z', 'A'..'Z', '0'..'9', '_':
       result.add(c)
-    else: 
+    else:
       result.add("\\x")
       result.add(toHex(ord(c), 2))
-  
-const ## common regular expressions
-  reIdentifier* = r"\b[a-zA-Z_]+[a-zA-Z_0-9]*\b"  ## describes an identifier
-  reNatural* = r"\b\d+\b" ## describes a natural number
-  reInteger* = r"\b[-+]?\d+\b" ## describes an integer
-  reHex* = r"\b0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+\b" ## describes a hexadecimal number
-  reBinary* = r"\b0[bB][01]+\b" ## describes a binary number (example: 0b11101)
-  reOctal* = r"\b0[oO][0-7]+\b" ## describes an octal number (example: 0o777)
-  reFloat* = r"\b[-+]?[0-9]*\.?[0-9]+([eE][-+]?[0-9]+)?\b"
-    ## describes a floating point number
-  reEmail* = r"\b[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~\-]+(?:\. &" &
-             r"[a-zA-Z0-9!#$%&'*+/=?^_`{|}~-]+)" &
-             r"*@(?:[a-zA-Z0-9](?:[a-zA-Z0-9-]*[a-zA-Z0-9])?\.)+" &
-             r"(?:[a-zA-Z]{2}|com|org|" &
-             r"net|gov|mil|biz|info|mobi|name|aero|jobs|museum)\b"
-    ## describes a common email address
-  reURL* = r"\b(http(s)?|ftp|gopher|telnet|file|notes|ms\-help):" &
-           r"((//)|(\\\\))+[\w\d:#@%/;$()~_?\+\-\=\\\.\&]*\b"
-    ## describes an URL
-
-when isMainModule:
-  assert match("(a b c)", re"\( .* \)")
-  assert match("WHiLe", re("while", {reIgnoreCase}))
-  
-  assert "0158787".match(re"\d+")
-  assert "ABC 0232".match(re"\w+\s+\d+")
-  assert "ABC".match(re"\d+ | \w+")
-
-  assert matchLen("key", re(reIdentifier)) == 3
-
-  var pattern = re"[a-z0-9]+\s*=\s*[a-z0-9]+"
-  assert matchLen("key1=  cal9", pattern) == 11
-  
-  assert find("_____abc_______", re"abc") == 5
-  
-  var matches: array[0..5, string]
-  if match("abcdefg", re"c(d)ef(g)", matches, 2): 
-    assert matches[0] == "d"
-    assert matches[1] == "g"
-  else:
-    assert false
-  
-  if "abc" =~ re"(a)bcxyz|(\w+)":
-    assert matches[1] == "abc"
-  else:
-    assert false
-    
-  assert "var1=key; var2=key2".endsWith(re"\w+=\w+")
-  assert("var1=key; var2=key2".replacef(re"(\w+)=(\w+)", "$1<-$2$2") ==
-         "var1<-keykey; var2<-key2key2")
-  assert("var1=key; var2=key2".replace(re"(\w+)=(\w+)", "$1<-$2$2") ==
-         "$1<-$2$2; $1<-$2$2")
-
-  for word in split("00232this02939is39an22example111", re"\d+"):
-    writeln(stdout, word)
-
-  for x in findAll("abcdef", re"^{.}", 3):
-    assert x == "d"
-  for x in findAll("abcdef", re".", 3):
-    echo x