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-rw-r--r--lib/impure/db_mysql.nim360
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/db_odbc.nim463
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/db_postgres.nim366
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/db_sqlite.nim291
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/nre.nim665
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/nre/private/util.nim26
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/osinfo_posix.nim10
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/osinfo_win.nim10
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/rdstdin.nim146
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/re.nim648
-rw-r--r--lib/impure/ssl.nim97
11 files changed, 786 insertions, 2296 deletions
diff --git a/lib/impure/db_mysql.nim b/lib/impure/db_mysql.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 170fee8b8..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/db_mysql.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,360 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Andreas Rumpf
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-## A higher level `mySQL`:idx: database wrapper. The same interface is
-## implemented for other databases too.
-##
-## Example:
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##
-##  import db_mysql, math
-##
-##  let theDb = open("localhost", "nim", "nim", "test")
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"Drop table if exists myTestTbl")
-##  theDb.exec(sql("create table myTestTbl (" &
-##      " Id    INT(11)     NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, " &
-##      " Name  VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, " &
-##      " i     INT(11), " &
-##      " f     DECIMAL(18,10))"))
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"START TRANSACTION")
-##  for i in 1..1000:
-##    theDb.exec(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##          "Item#" & $i, i, sqrt(i.float))
-##  theDb.exec(sql"COMMIT")
-##
-##  for x in theDb.fastRows(sql"select * from myTestTbl"):
-##    echo x
-##
-##  let id = theDb.tryInsertId(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##          "Item#1001", 1001, sqrt(1001.0))
-##  echo "Inserted item: ", theDb.getValue(sql"SELECT name FROM myTestTbl WHERE id=?", id)
-##
-##  theDb.close()
-
-
-import strutils, mysql
-
-import db_common
-export db_common
-
-type
-  DbConn* = PMySQL     ## encapsulates a database connection
-  Row* = seq[string]   ## a row of a dataset. NULL database values will be
-                       ## converted to nil.
-  InstantRow* = object ## a handle that can be used to get a row's
-                       ## column text on demand
-    row: cstringArray
-    len: int
-{.deprecated: [TRow: Row, TDbConn: DbConn].}
-
-proc dbError*(db: DbConn) {.noreturn.} =
-  ## raises a DbError exception.
-  var e: ref DbError
-  new(e)
-  e.msg = $mysql.error(db)
-  raise e
-
-when false:
-  proc dbQueryOpt*(db: DbConn, query: string, args: varargs[string, `$`]) =
-    var stmt = mysql_stmt_init(db)
-    if stmt == nil: dbError(db)
-    if mysql_stmt_prepare(stmt, query, len(query)) != 0:
-      dbError(db)
-    var
-      binding: seq[MYSQL_BIND]
-    discard mysql_stmt_close(stmt)
-
-proc dbQuote*(s: string): string =
-  ## DB quotes the string.
-  result = "'"
-  for c in items(s):
-    if c == '\'': add(result, "''")
-    else: add(result, c)
-  add(result, '\'')
-
-proc dbFormat(formatstr: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string]): string =
-  result = ""
-  var a = 0
-  for c in items(string(formatstr)):
-    if c == '?':
-      if args[a] == nil:
-        add(result, "NULL")
-      else:
-        add(result, dbQuote(args[a]))
-      inc(a)
-    else:
-      add(result, c)
-
-proc tryExec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]): bool {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## tries to execute the query and returns true if successful, false otherwise.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  return mysql.realQuery(db, q, q.len) == 0'i32
-
-proc rawExec(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]) =
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  if mysql.realQuery(db, q, q.len) != 0'i32: dbError(db)
-
-proc exec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and raises EDB if not successful.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  if mysql.realQuery(db, q, q.len) != 0'i32: dbError(db)
-
-proc newRow(L: int): Row =
-  newSeq(result, L)
-  for i in 0..L-1: result[i] = ""
-
-proc properFreeResult(sqlres: mysql.PRES, row: cstringArray) =
-  if row != nil:
-    while mysql.fetchRow(sqlres) != nil: discard
-  mysql.freeResult(sqlres)
-
-iterator fastRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                   args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and iterates over the result dataset.
-  ##
-  ## This is very fast, but potentially dangerous.  Use this iterator only
-  ## if you require **ALL** the rows.
-  ##
-  ## Breaking the fastRows() iterator during a loop will cause the next
-  ## database query to raise an [EDb] exception ``Commands out of sync``.
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var sqlres = mysql.useResult(db)
-  if sqlres != nil:
-    var L = int(mysql.numFields(sqlres))
-    var result = newRow(L)
-    var row: cstringArray
-    while true:
-      row = mysql.fetchRow(sqlres)
-      if row == nil: break
-      for i in 0..L-1:
-        setLen(result[i], 0)
-        if row[i] == nil:
-          result[i] = nil
-        else:
-          add(result[i], row[i])
-      yield result
-    properFreeResult(sqlres, row)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                      {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## Same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within the iterator body.
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var sqlres = mysql.useResult(db)
-  if sqlres != nil:
-    let L = int(mysql.numFields(sqlres))
-    var row: cstringArray
-    while true:
-      row = mysql.fetchRow(sqlres)
-      if row == nil: break
-      yield InstantRow(row: row, len: L)
-    properFreeResult(sqlres, row)
-
-proc setTypeName(t: var DbType; f: PFIELD) =
-  shallowCopy(t.name, $f.name)
-  t.maxReprLen = Natural(f.max_length)
-  if (NOT_NULL_FLAG and f.flags) != 0: t.notNull = true
-  case f.ftype
-  of TYPE_DECIMAL:
-    t.kind = dbDecimal
-  of TYPE_TINY:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 1
-  of TYPE_SHORT:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 2
-  of TYPE_LONG:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 4
-  of TYPE_FLOAT:
-    t.kind = dbFloat
-    t.size = 4
-  of TYPE_DOUBLE:
-    t.kind = dbFloat
-    t.size = 8
-  of TYPE_NULL:
-    t.kind = dbNull
-  of TYPE_TIMESTAMP:
-    t.kind = dbTimestamp
-  of TYPE_LONGLONG:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 8
-  of TYPE_INT24:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 3
-  of TYPE_DATE:
-    t.kind = dbDate
-  of TYPE_TIME:
-    t.kind = dbTime
-  of TYPE_DATETIME:
-    t.kind = dbDatetime
-  of TYPE_YEAR:
-    t.kind = dbDate
-  of TYPE_NEWDATE:
-    t.kind = dbDate
-  of TYPE_VARCHAR, TYPE_VAR_STRING, TYPE_STRING:
-    t.kind = dbVarchar
-  of TYPE_BIT:
-    t.kind = dbBit
-  of TYPE_NEWDECIMAL:
-    t.kind = dbDecimal
-  of TYPE_ENUM: t.kind = dbEnum
-  of TYPE_SET: t.kind = dbSet
-  of TYPE_TINY_BLOB, TYPE_MEDIUM_BLOB, TYPE_LONG_BLOB,
-     TYPE_BLOB: t.kind = dbBlob
-  of TYPE_GEOMETRY:
-    t.kind = dbGeometry
-
-proc setColumnInfo(columns: var DbColumns; res: PRES; L: int) =
-  setLen(columns, L)
-  for i in 0..<L:
-    let fp = mysql.fetch_field_direct(res, cint(i))
-    setTypeName(columns[i].typ, fp)
-    columns[i].name = $fp.name
-    columns[i].tableName = $fp.table
-    columns[i].primaryKey = (fp.flags and PRI_KEY_FLAG) != 0
-    #columns[i].foreignKey = there is no such thing in mysql
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn; columns: var DbColumns; query: SqlQuery;
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow =
-  ## Same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within the iterator body.
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var sqlres = mysql.useResult(db)
-  if sqlres != nil:
-    let L = int(mysql.numFields(sqlres))
-    setColumnInfo(columns, sqlres, L)
-    var row: cstringArray
-    while true:
-      row = mysql.fetchRow(sqlres)
-      if row == nil: break
-      yield InstantRow(row: row, len: L)
-    properFreeResult(sqlres, row)
-
-
-proc `[]`*(row: InstantRow, col: int): string {.inline.} =
-  ## Returns text for given column of the row.
-  $row.row[col]
-
-proc len*(row: InstantRow): int {.inline.} =
-  ## Returns number of columns in the row.
-  row.len
-
-proc getRow*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-             args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## Retrieves a single row. If the query doesn't return any rows, this proc
-  ## will return a Row with empty strings for each column.
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var sqlres = mysql.useResult(db)
-  if sqlres != nil:
-    var L = int(mysql.numFields(sqlres))
-    result = newRow(L)
-    var row = mysql.fetchRow(sqlres)
-    if row != nil:
-      for i in 0..L-1:
-        setLen(result[i], 0)
-        if row[i] == nil:
-          result[i] = nil
-        else:
-          add(result[i], row[i])
-    properFreeResult(sqlres, row)
-
-proc getAllRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                 args: varargs[string, `$`]): seq[Row] {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the whole result dataset.
-  result = @[]
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var sqlres = mysql.useResult(db)
-  if sqlres != nil:
-    var L = int(mysql.numFields(sqlres))
-    var row: cstringArray
-    var j = 0
-    while true:
-      row = mysql.fetchRow(sqlres)
-      if row == nil: break
-      setLen(result, j+1)
-      newSeq(result[j], L)
-      for i in 0..L-1:
-        if row[i] == nil:
-          result[j][i] = nil
-        else:
-          result[j][i] = $row[i]
-      inc(j)
-    mysql.freeResult(sqlres)
-
-iterator rows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as `fastRows`, but slower and safe.
-  for r in items(getAllRows(db, query, args)): yield r
-
-proc getValue*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): string {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the first column of the first row of the
-  ## result dataset. Returns "" if the dataset contains no rows or the database
-  ## value is NULL.
-  result = getRow(db, query, args)[0]
-
-proc tryInsertId*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                  args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.tags: [WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row or -1 in case of an error.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  if mysql.realQuery(db, q, q.len) != 0'i32:
-    result = -1'i64
-  else:
-    result = mysql.insertId(db)
-
-proc insertId*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.tags: [WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row.
-  result = tryInsertID(db, query, args)
-  if result < 0: dbError(db)
-
-proc execAffectedRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                       args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-                       tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## runs the query (typically "UPDATE") and returns the
-  ## number of affected rows
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  result = mysql.affectedRows(db)
-
-proc close*(db: DbConn) {.tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## closes the database connection.
-  if db != nil: mysql.close(db)
-
-proc open*(connection, user, password, database: string): DbConn {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## opens a database connection. Raises `EDb` if the connection could not
-  ## be established.
-  result = mysql.init(nil)
-  if result == nil: dbError("could not open database connection")
-  let
-    colonPos = connection.find(':')
-    host = if colonPos < 0: connection
-           else: substr(connection, 0, colonPos-1)
-    port: int32 = if colonPos < 0: 0'i32
-                  else: substr(connection, colonPos+1).parseInt.int32
-  if mysql.realConnect(result, host, user, password, database,
-                       port, nil, 0) == nil:
-    var errmsg = $mysql.error(result)
-    db_mysql.close(result)
-    dbError(errmsg)
-
-proc setEncoding*(connection: DbConn, encoding: string): bool {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## sets the encoding of a database connection, returns true for
-  ## success, false for failure.
-  result = mysql.set_character_set(connection, encoding) == 0
diff --git a/lib/impure/db_odbc.nim b/lib/impure/db_odbc.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 6af69d842..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/db_odbc.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,463 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Nim Contributors
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-## A higher level `ODBC` database wrapper.
-##
-## This is the same interface that is implemented for other databases.
-##
-## This has NOT yet been (extensively) tested agains ODBC drivers for
-## Teradata, Oracle, Sybase, MSSqlvSvr, et. al.  databases
-##
-## Currently all queries are ANSI calls, not Unicode.
-##
-## Example:
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##
-##  import db_odbc, math
-##
-##  let theDb = open("localhost", "nim", "nim", "test")
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"Drop table if exists myTestTbl")
-##  theDb.exec(sql("create table myTestTbl (" &
-##      " Id    INT(11)     NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, " &
-##      " Name  VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, " &
-##      " i     INT(11), " &
-##      " f     DECIMAL(18,10))"))
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"START TRANSACTION")
-##  for i in 1..1000:
-##    theDb.exec(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##          "Item#" & $i, i, sqrt(i.float))
-##  theDb.exec(sql"COMMIT")
-##
-##  for x in theDb.fastRows(sql"select * from myTestTbl"):
-##    echo x
-##
-##  let id = theDb.tryInsertId(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##          "Item#1001", 1001, sqrt(1001.0))
-##  echo "Inserted item: ", theDb.getValue(sql"SELECT name FROM myTestTbl WHERE id=?", id)
-##
-##  theDb.close()
-
-
-import strutils, odbcsql
-
-import db_common
-export db_common
-
-type
-  OdbcConnTyp = tuple[hDb: SqlHDBC, env: SqlHEnv, stmt: SqlHStmt]
-  DbConn* = OdbcConnTyp    ## encapsulates a database connection
-  Row* = seq[string]   ## a row of a dataset. NULL database values will be
-                       ## converted to nil.
-  InstantRow* = tuple[row: seq[string], len: int]  ## a handle that can be
-                                                    ## used to get a row's
-                                                    ## column text on demand
-
-{.deprecated: [TRow: Row, TSqlQuery: SqlQuery, TDbConn: DbConn].}
-
-var
-  buf: array[0..4096, char]
-
-proc properFreeResult(hType: int, sqlres: var SqlHandle) {.
-          tags: [WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  try:
-    discard SQLFreeHandle(hType.TSqlSmallInt, sqlres)
-    sqlres = nil
-  except: discard
-
-proc getErrInfo(db: var DbConn): tuple[res: int, ss, ne, msg: string] {.
-          tags: [ReadDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## Returns ODBC error information
-  var
-    sqlState: array[0..512, char]
-    nativeErr: array[0..512, char]
-    errMsg: array[0..512, char]
-    retSz: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-    res: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-  try:
-    sqlState[0] = '\0'
-    nativeErr[0] = '\0'
-    errMsg[0] = '\0'
-    res = SQLErr(db.env, db.hDb, db.stmt,
-              cast[PSQLCHAR](sqlState.addr),
-              cast[PSQLCHAR](nativeErr.addr),
-              cast[PSQLCHAR](errMsg.addr),
-              511.TSqlSmallInt, retSz.addr.PSQLSMALLINT)
-  except:
-    discard
-  return (res.int, $sqlState, $nativeErr, $errMsg)
-
-proc dbError*(db: var DbConn) {.
-          tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError] .} =
-  ## Raises an `[DbError]` exception with ODBC error information
-  var
-    e: ref DbError
-    ss, ne, msg: string = ""
-    isAnError = false
-    res: int = 0
-    prevSs = ""
-  while true:
-    prevSs = ss
-    (res, ss, ne, msg) = db.getErrInfo()
-    if prevSs == ss:
-      break
-    # sqlState of 00000 is not an error
-    elif ss == "00000":
-      break
-    elif ss == "01000":
-      echo "\nWarning: ", ss, " ", msg
-      continue
-    else:
-      isAnError = true
-      echo "\nError: ", ss, " ", msg
-  if isAnError:
-    new(e)
-    e.msg = "ODBC Error"
-    if db.stmt != nil:
-      properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-    properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, db.hDb)
-    properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, db.env)
-    raise e
-
-proc SqlCheck(db: var DbConn, resVal: TSqlSmallInt) {.raises: [DbError]} =
-  ## Wrapper that checks if ``resVal`` is not SQL_SUCCESS and if so, raises [EDb]
-  if resVal != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError(db)
-
-proc SqlGetDBMS(db: var DbConn): string {.
-        tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [] .} =
-  ## Returns the ODBC SQL_DBMS_NAME string
-  const
-    SQL_DBMS_NAME = 17.SqlUSmallInt
-  var
-    sz: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-  buf[0] = '\0'
-  try:
-    db.SqlCheck(SQLGetInfo(db.hDb, SQL_DBMS_NAME, cast[SqlPointer](buf.addr),
-                        4095.TSqlSmallInt, sz.addr))
-  except: discard
-  return $buf.cstring
-
-proc dbQuote*(s: string): string {.noSideEffect.} =
-  ## DB quotes the string.
-  result = "'"
-  for c in items(s):
-    if c == '\'': add(result, "''")
-    else: add(result, c)
-  add(result, '\'')
-
-proc dbFormat(formatstr: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string]): string {.
-                  noSideEffect.} =
-  ## Replace any ``?`` placeholders with `args`,
-  ## and quotes the arguments
-  result = ""
-  var a = 0
-  for c in items(string(formatstr)):
-    if c == '?':
-      if args[a] == nil:
-        add(result, "NULL")
-      else:
-        add(result, dbQuote(args[a]))
-      inc(a)
-    else:
-      add(result, c)
-
-proc prepareFetch(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-                tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  # Prepare a statement, execute it and fetch the data to the driver
-  # ready for retrieval of the data
-  # Used internally by iterators and retrieval procs
-  # requires calling
-  #      properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-  # when finished
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.hDb, db.stmt))
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLPrepare(db.stmt, q.PSQLCHAR, q.len.TSqlSmallInt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLExecute(db.stmt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLFetch(db.stmt))
-
-proc prepareFetchDirect(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-                tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  # Prepare a statement, execute it and fetch the data to the driver
-  # ready for retrieval of the data
-  # Used internally by iterators and retrieval procs
-  # requires calling
-  #      properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-  # when finished
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.hDb, db.stmt))
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLExecDirect(db.stmt, q.PSQLCHAR, q.len.TSqlSmallInt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLFetch(db.stmt))
-
-proc tryExec*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]): bool {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## Tries to execute the query and returns true if successful, false otherwise.
-  var
-    res:TSqlSmallInt = -1
-  try:
-    db.prepareFetchDirect(query, args)
-    var
-      rCnt = -1
-    res = SQLRowCount(db.stmt, rCnt)
-    if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError(db)
-    properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-  except: discard
-  return res == SQL_SUCCESS
-
-proc rawExec(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-            tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  db.prepareFetchDirect(query, args)
-
-proc exec*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-            tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Executes the query and raises EDB if not successful.
-  db.prepareFetchDirect(query, args)
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-
-proc newRow(L: int): Row {.noSideEFfect.} =
-  newSeq(result, L)
-  for i in 0..L-1: result[i] = ""
-
-iterator fastRows*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                   args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.
-                tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Executes the query and iterates over the result dataset.
-  ##
-  ## This is very fast, but potentially dangerous.  Use this iterator only
-  ## if you require **ALL** the rows.
-  ##
-  ## Breaking the fastRows() iterator during a loop may cause a driver error
-  ## for subsequenct queries
-  ##
-  ## Rows are retrieved from the server at each iteration.
-  var
-    rowRes: Row
-    sz: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-    cCnt: TSqlSmallInt = 0.TSqlSmallInt
-    rCnt = -1
-
-  db.prepareFetch(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLNumResultCols(db.stmt, cCnt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLRowCount(db.stmt, rCnt))
-  rowRes = newRow(cCnt)
-  for rNr in 1..rCnt:
-    for colId in 1..cCnt:
-      buf[0] = '\0'
-      db.SqlCheck(SQLGetData(db.stmt, colId.SqlUSmallInt, SQL_C_CHAR,
-                               cast[cstring](buf.addr), 4095.TSqlSmallInt, sz.addr))
-      rowRes[colId-1] = $buf.cstring
-    db.SqlCheck(SQLFetchScroll(db.stmt, SQL_FETCH_NEXT, 1))
-    yield rowRes
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                {.tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## Same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within the interator body.
-  var
-    rowRes: Row
-    sz: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-    cCnt: TSqlSmallInt = 0.TSqlSmallInt
-    rCnt = -1
-  db.prepareFetch(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLNumResultCols(db.stmt, cCnt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLRowCount(db.stmt, rCnt))
-  rowRes = newRow(cCnt)
-  for rNr in 1..rCnt:
-    for colId in 1..cCnt:
-      buf[0] = '\0'
-      db.SqlCheck(SQLGetData(db.stmt, colId.SqlUSmallInt, SQL_C_CHAR,
-                               cast[cstring](buf.addr), 4095.TSqlSmallInt, sz.addr))
-      rowRes[colId-1] = $buf.cstring
-    db.SqlCheck(SQLFetchScroll(db.stmt, SQL_FETCH_NEXT, 1))
-    yield (row: rowRes, len: cCnt.int)
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-
-proc `[]`*(row: InstantRow, col: int): string {.inline.} =
-  ## Returns text for given column of the row
-  row.row[col]
-
-proc len*(row: InstantRow): int {.inline.} =
-  ## Returns number of columns in the row
-  row.len
-
-proc getRow*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-             args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.
-          tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Retrieves a single row. If the query doesn't return any rows, this proc
-  ## will return a Row with empty strings for each column.
-  var
-    sz: TSqlSmallInt = 0.TSqlSmallInt
-    cCnt: TSqlSmallInt = 0.TSqlSmallInt
-    rCnt = -1
-  result = @[]
-  db.prepareFetch(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLNumResultCols(db.stmt, cCnt))
-
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLRowCount(db.stmt, rCnt))
-  for colId in 1..cCnt:
-    db.SqlCheck(SQLGetData(db.stmt, colId.SqlUSmallInt, SQL_C_CHAR,
-                             cast[cstring](buf.addr), 4095.TSqlSmallInt, sz.addr))
-    result.add($buf.cstring)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLFetchScroll(db.stmt, SQL_FETCH_NEXT, 1))
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-
-proc getAllRows*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                 args: varargs[string, `$`]): seq[Row] {.
-           tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Executes the query and returns the whole result dataset.
-  var
-    rowRes: Row
-    sz: TSqlSmallInt = 0
-    cCnt: TSqlSmallInt = 0.TSqlSmallInt
-    rCnt = -1
-  db.prepareFetch(query, args)
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLNumResultCols(db.stmt, cCnt))
-  db.SqlCheck(SQLRowCount(db.stmt, rCnt))
-  result = @[]
-  for rNr in 1..rCnt:
-    rowRes = @[]
-    buf[0] = '\0'
-    for colId in 1..cCnt:
-      db.SqlCheck(SQLGetData(db.stmt, colId.SqlUSmallInt, SQL_C_CHAR,
-                               cast[SqlPointer](buf.addr), 4095.TSqlSmallInt, sz.addr))
-      rowRes.add($buf.cstring)
-    db.SqlCheck(SQLFetchScroll(db.stmt, SQL_FETCH_NEXT, 1))
-    result.add(rowRes)
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-
-iterator rows*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.
-         tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Same as `fastRows`, but slower and safe.
-  ##
-  ## This retrieves ALL rows into memory before
-  ## iterating through the rows.
-  ## Large dataset queries will impact on memory usage.
-  for r in items(getAllRows(db, query, args)): yield r
-
-proc getValue*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): string {.
-           tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## Executes the query and returns the first column of the first row of the
-  ## result dataset. Returns "" if the dataset contains no rows or the database
-  ## value is NULL.
-  result = ""
-  try:
-    result = getRow(db, query, args)[0]
-  except: discard
-
-proc tryInsertId*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                  args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-            tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## Executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row or -1 in case of an error.
-  if not tryExec(db, query, args):
-    result = -1'i64
-  else:
-    echo "DBMS: ",SqlGetDBMS(db).toLower()
-    result = -1'i64
-    try:
-      case SqlGetDBMS(db).toLower():
-      of "postgresql":
-        result = getValue(db, sql"SELECT LASTVAL();", []).parseInt
-      of "mysql":
-        result = getValue(db, sql"SELECT LAST_INSERT_ID();", []).parseInt
-      of "sqlite":
-        result = getValue(db, sql"SELECT LAST_INSERT_ROWID();", []).parseInt
-      of "microsoft sql server":
-        result = getValue(db, sql"SELECT SCOPE_IDENTITY();", []).parseInt
-      of "oracle":
-        result = getValue(db, sql"SELECT id.currval FROM DUAL;", []).parseInt
-      else: result = -1'i64
-    except: discard
-
-proc insertId*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-         tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row.
-  result = tryInsertID(db, query, args)
-  if result < 0: dbError(db)
-
-proc execAffectedRows*(db: var DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                       args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-             tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Runs the query (typically "UPDATE") and returns the
-  ## number of affected rows
-  result = -1
-  var res = SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.hDb, db.stmt.SqlHandle)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError(db)
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  res = SQLPrepare(db.stmt, q.PSQLCHAR, q.len.TSqlSmallInt)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError(db)
-  rawExec(db, query, args)
-  var rCnt = -1
-  result = SQLRowCount(db.hDb, rCnt)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError(db)
-  properFreeResult(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-  result = rCnt
-
-proc close*(db: var DbConn) {.
-      tags: [WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## Closes the database connection.
-  if db.hDb != nil:
-    try:
-      var res = SQLDisconnect(db.hDb)
-      if db.stmt != nil:
-        res = SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT, db.stmt)
-      res = SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, db.hDb)
-      res = SQLFreeHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, db.env)
-      db = (hDb: nil, env: nil, stmt: nil)
-    except:
-      discard
-
-proc open*(connection, user, password, database: string): DbConn {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Opens a database connection.
-  ##
-  ## Raises `EDb` if the connection could not be established.
-  ##
-  ## Currently the database parameter is ignored,
-  ## but included to match ``open()`` in the other db_xxxxx library modules.
-  var
-    val: TSqlInteger = SQL_OV_ODBC3
-    resLen = 0
-  result = (hDb: nil, env: nil, stmt: nil)
-  # allocate environment handle
-  var res = SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_ENV, result.env, result.env)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError("Error: unable to initialise ODBC environment.")
-  res = SQLSetEnvAttr(result.env,
-                      SQL_ATTR_ODBC_VERSION.TSqlInteger,
-                      val, resLen.TSqlInteger)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError("Error: unable to set ODBC driver version.")
-  # allocate hDb handle
-  res = SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_DBC, result.env, result.hDb)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS: dbError("Error: unable to allocate connection handle.")
-
-  # Connect: connection = dsn str,
-  res = SQLConnect(result.hDb,
-                  connection.PSQLCHAR , connection.len.TSqlSmallInt,
-                  user.PSQLCHAR, user.len.TSqlSmallInt,
-                  password.PSQLCHAR, password.len.TSqlSmallInt)
-  if res != SQL_SUCCESS:
-    result.dbError()
-
-proc setEncoding*(connection: DbConn, encoding: string): bool {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect], raises: [DbError].} =
-  ## Currently not implemented for ODBC.
-  ##
-  ## Sets the encoding of a database connection, returns true for
-  ## success, false for failure.
-  #result = set_character_set(connection, encoding) == 0
-  dbError("setEncoding() is currently not implemented by the db_odbc module")
diff --git a/lib/impure/db_postgres.nim b/lib/impure/db_postgres.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 9bdbae4c2..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/db_postgres.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,366 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Andreas Rumpf
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-## A higher level `PostgreSQL`:idx: database wrapper. This interface
-## is implemented for other databases also.
-##
-## Parameter substitution
-## ----------------------
-##
-## All ``db_*`` modules support the same form of parameter substitution.
-## That is, using the ``?`` (question mark) to signify the place where a
-## value should be placed. For example:
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##     sql"INSERT INTO myTable (colA, colB, colC) VALUES (?, ?, ?)"
-##
-## **Note**: There are two approaches to parameter substitution support by
-## this module.
-##
-## 1.  ``SqlQuery`` using ``?, ?, ?, ...`` (same as all the ``db_*`` modules)
-##
-## 2. ``SqlPrepared`` using ``$1, $2, $3, ...``
-##
-##  .. code-block:: Nim
-##   prepare(db, "myExampleInsert",
-##           sql"""INSERT INTO myTable
-##                 (colA, colB, colC)
-##                 VALUES ($1, $2, $3)""",
-##           3)
-##
-## Examples
-## --------
-##
-## Opening a connection to a database
-## ==================================
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##     import db_postgres
-##     let db = open("localhost", "user", "password", "dbname")
-##     db.close()
-##
-## Creating a table
-## ================
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##      db.exec(sql"DROP TABLE IF EXISTS myTable")
-##      db.exec(sql("""CREATE TABLE myTable (
-##                       id integer,
-##                       name varchar(50) not null)"""))
-##
-## Inserting data
-## ==============
-##
-## .. code-block:: Nim
-##     db.exec(sql"INSERT INTO myTable (id, name) VALUES (0, ?)",
-##             "Dominik")
-import strutils, postgres
-
-import db_common
-export db_common
-
-type
-  DbConn* = PPGconn   ## encapsulates a database connection
-  Row* = seq[string]  ## a row of a dataset. NULL database values will be
-                      ## converted to nil.
-  InstantRow* = tuple[res: PPGresult, line: int32]  ## a handle that can be
-                                                    ## used to get a row's
-                                                    ## column text on demand
-  SqlPrepared* = distinct string ## a identifier for the prepared queries
-
-{.deprecated: [TRow: Row, TDbConn: DbConn,
-              TSqlPrepared: SqlPrepared].}
-
-proc dbError*(db: DbConn) {.noreturn.} =
-  ## raises a DbError exception.
-  var e: ref DbError
-  new(e)
-  e.msg = $pqErrorMessage(db)
-  raise e
-
-proc dbQuote*(s: string): string =
-  ## DB quotes the string.
-  result = "'"
-  for c in items(s):
-    if c == '\'': add(result, "''")
-    else: add(result, c)
-  add(result, '\'')
-
-proc dbFormat(formatstr: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string]): string =
-  result = ""
-  var a = 0
-  if args.len > 0 and not string(formatstr).contains("?"):
-    dbError("""parameter substitution expects "?" """)
-  for c in items(string(formatstr)):
-    if c == '?':
-      if args[a] == nil:
-        add(result, "NULL")
-      else:
-        add(result, dbQuote(args[a]))
-      inc(a)
-    else:
-      add(result, c)
-
-proc tryExec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-              args: varargs[string, `$`]): bool {.tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## tries to execute the query and returns true if successful, false otherwise.
-  var res = pqexecParams(db, dbFormat(query, args), 0, nil, nil,
-                        nil, nil, 0)
-  result = pqresultStatus(res) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc tryExec*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-              args: varargs[string, `$`]): bool {.tags: [
-              ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## tries to execute the query and returns true if successful, false otherwise.
-  var arr = allocCStringArray(args)
-  var res = pqexecPrepared(db, stmtName.string, int32(args.len), arr,
-                           nil, nil, 0)
-  deallocCStringArray(arr)
-  result = pqresultStatus(res) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc exec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`]) {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and raises EDB if not successful.
-  var res = pqexecParams(db, dbFormat(query, args), 0, nil, nil,
-                        nil, nil, 0)
-  if pqresultStatus(res) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK: dbError(db)
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc exec*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-          args: varargs[string]) {.tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  var arr = allocCStringArray(args)
-  var res = pqexecPrepared(db, stmtName.string, int32(args.len), arr,
-                           nil, nil, 0)
-  deallocCStringArray(arr)
-  if pqResultStatus(res) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK: dbError(db)
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc newRow(L: int): Row =
-  newSeq(result, L)
-  for i in 0..L-1: result[i] = ""
-
-proc setupQuery(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                args: varargs[string]): PPGresult =
-  result = pqexec(db, dbFormat(query, args))
-  if pqResultStatus(result) != PGRES_TUPLES_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc setupQuery(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-                 args: varargs[string]): PPGresult =
-  var arr = allocCStringArray(args)
-  result = pqexecPrepared(db, stmtName.string, int32(args.len), arr,
-                          nil, nil, 0)
-  deallocCStringArray(arr)
-  if pqResultStatus(result) != PGRES_TUPLES_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc prepare*(db: DbConn; stmtName: string, query: SqlQuery;
-              nParams: int): SqlPrepared =
-  if nParams > 0 and not string(query).contains("$1"):
-    dbError("""parameter substitution expects "$1" """)
-  var res = pqprepare(db, stmtName, query.string, int32(nParams), nil)
-  if pqResultStatus(res) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK: dbError(db)
-  return SqlPrepared(stmtName)
-
-proc setRow(res: PPGresult, r: var Row, line, cols: int32) =
-  for col in 0..cols-1:
-    setLen(r[col], 0)
-    let x = pqgetvalue(res, line, col)
-    if x.isNil:
-      r[col] = nil
-    else:
-      add(r[col], x)
-
-iterator fastRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                   args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and iterates over the result dataset. This is very
-  ## fast, but potenially dangerous: If the for-loop-body executes another
-  ## query, the results can be undefined. For Postgres it is safe though.
-  var res = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  var L = pqnfields(res)
-  var result = newRow(L)
-  for i in 0..pqntuples(res)-1:
-    setRow(res, result, i, L)
-    yield result
-  pqclear(res)
-
-iterator fastRows*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-                   args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the prepared query and iterates over the result dataset.
-  var res = setupQuery(db, stmtName, args)
-  var L = pqNfields(res)
-  var result = newRow(L)
-  for i in 0..pqNtuples(res)-1:
-    setRow(res, result, i, L)
-    yield result
-  pqClear(res)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                      {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within iterator body.
-  var res = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  for i in 0..pqNtuples(res)-1:
-    yield (res: res, line: i)
-  pqClear(res)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                      {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within iterator body.
-  var res = setupQuery(db, stmtName, args)
-  for i in 0..pqNtuples(res)-1:
-    yield (res: res, line: i)
-  pqClear(res)
-
-proc `[]`*(row: InstantRow, col: int32): string {.inline.} =
-  ## returns text for given column of the row
-  $pqgetvalue(row.res, row.line, col)
-
-proc len*(row: InstantRow): int32 {.inline.} =
-  ## returns number of columns in the row
-  pqNfields(row.res)
-
-proc getRow*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-             args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## retrieves a single row. If the query doesn't return any rows, this proc
-  ## will return a Row with empty strings for each column.
-  var res = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  var L = pqnfields(res)
-  result = newRow(L)
-  setRow(res, result, 0, L)
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc getRow*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-             args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  var res = setupQuery(db, stmtName, args)
-  var L = pqNfields(res)
-  result = newRow(L)
-  setRow(res, result, 0, L)
-  pqClear(res)
-
-proc getAllRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                 args: varargs[string, `$`]): seq[Row] {.
-                 tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the whole result dataset.
-  result = @[]
-  for r in fastRows(db, query, args):
-    result.add(r)
-
-proc getAllRows*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-                 args: varargs[string, `$`]): seq[Row] {.tags:
-                 [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the prepared query and returns the whole result dataset.
-  result = @[]
-  for r in fastRows(db, stmtName, args):
-    result.add(r)
-
-iterator rows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as `fastRows`, but slower and safe.
-  for r in items(getAllRows(db, query, args)): yield r
-
-iterator rows*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as `fastRows`, but slower and safe.
-  for r in items(getAllRows(db, stmtName, args)): yield r
-
-proc getValue*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): string {.
-               tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the first column of the first row of the
-  ## result dataset. Returns "" if the dataset contains no rows or the database
-  ## value is NULL.
-  var x = pqgetvalue(setupQuery(db, query, args), 0, 0)
-  result = if isNil(x): "" else: $x
-
-proc tryInsertID*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                  args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-                  tags: [WriteDbEffect].}=
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row or -1 in case of an error. For Postgre this adds
-  ## ``RETURNING id`` to the query, so it only works if your primary key is
-  ## named ``id``.
-  var x = pqgetvalue(setupQuery(db, SqlQuery(string(query) & " RETURNING id"),
-    args), 0, 0)
-  if not isNil(x):
-    result = parseBiggestInt($x)
-  else:
-    result = -1
-
-proc insertID*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-               tags: [WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row. For Postgre this adds
-  ## ``RETURNING id`` to the query, so it only works if your primary key is
-  ## named ``id``.
-  result = tryInsertID(db, query, args)
-  if result < 0: dbError(db)
-
-proc execAffectedRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                       args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.tags: [
-                       ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "UPDATE") and returns the
-  ## number of affected rows.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  var res = pqExec(db, q)
-  if pqresultStatus(res) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK: dbError(db)
-  result = parseBiggestInt($pqcmdTuples(res))
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc execAffectedRows*(db: DbConn, stmtName: SqlPrepared,
-                       args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.tags: [
-                       ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "UPDATE") and returns the
-  ## number of affected rows.
-  var arr = allocCStringArray(args)
-  var res = pqexecPrepared(db, stmtName.string, int32(args.len), arr,
-                           nil, nil, 0)
-  deallocCStringArray(arr)
-  if pqresultStatus(res) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK: dbError(db)
-  result = parseBiggestInt($pqcmdTuples(res))
-  pqclear(res)
-
-proc close*(db: DbConn) {.tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## closes the database connection.
-  if db != nil: pqfinish(db)
-
-proc open*(connection, user, password, database: string): DbConn {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## opens a database connection. Raises `EDb` if the connection could not
-  ## be established.
-  ##
-  ## Clients can also use Postgres keyword/value connection strings to
-  ## connect.
-  ##
-  ## Example:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##
-  ##      con = open("", "", "", "host=localhost port=5432 dbname=mydb")
-  ##
-  ## See http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/libpq-connect.html#LIBPQ-CONNSTRING
-  ## for more information.
-  ##
-  ## Note that the connection parameter is not used but exists to maintain
-  ## the nim db api.
-  result = pqsetdbLogin(nil, nil, nil, nil, database, user, password)
-  if pqStatus(result) != CONNECTION_OK: dbError(result) # result = nil
-
-proc setEncoding*(connection: DbConn, encoding: string): bool {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## sets the encoding of a database connection, returns true for
-  ## success, false for failure.
-  return pqsetClientEncoding(connection, encoding) == 0
-
-
-# Tests are in ../../tests/untestable/tpostgres.
diff --git a/lib/impure/db_sqlite.nim b/lib/impure/db_sqlite.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 5cfed1eba..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/db_sqlite.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,291 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Andreas Rumpf
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-## A higher level `SQLite`:idx: database wrapper. This interface
-## is implemented for other databases too.
-##
-## Example:
-##
-## .. code-block:: nim
-##
-##  import db_sqlite, math
-##
-##  let theDb = open("mytest.db", nil, nil, nil)
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"Drop table if exists myTestTbl")
-##  theDb.exec(sql("""create table myTestTbl (
-##       Id    INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
-##       Name  VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
-##       i     INT(11),
-##       f     DECIMAL(18,10))"""))
-##
-##  theDb.exec(sql"BEGIN")
-##  for i in 1..1000:
-##    theDb.exec(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##          "Item#" & $i, i, sqrt(i.float))
-##  theDb.exec(sql"COMMIT")
-##
-##  for x in theDb.fastRows(sql"select * from myTestTbl"):
-##    echo x
-##
-##  let id = theDb.tryInsertId(sql"INSERT INTO myTestTbl (name,i,f) VALUES (?,?,?)",
-##        "Item#1001", 1001, sqrt(1001.0))
-##  echo "Inserted item: ", theDb.getValue(sql"SELECT name FROM myTestTbl WHERE id=?", id)
-##
-##  theDb.close()
-
-import strutils, sqlite3
-
-import db_common
-export db_common
-
-type
-  DbConn* = PSqlite3  ## encapsulates a database connection
-  Row* = seq[string]  ## a row of a dataset. NULL database values will be
-                       ## converted to nil.
-  InstantRow* = Pstmt  ## a handle that can be used to get a row's column
-                       ## text on demand
-{.deprecated: [TRow: Row, TDbConn: DbConn].}
-
-proc dbError*(db: DbConn) {.noreturn.} =
-  ## raises a DbError exception.
-  var e: ref DbError
-  new(e)
-  e.msg = $sqlite3.errmsg(db)
-  raise e
-
-proc dbQuote*(s: string): string =
-  ## DB quotes the string.
-  if s.isNil: return "NULL"
-  result = "'"
-  for c in items(s):
-    if c == '\'': add(result, "''")
-    else: add(result, c)
-  add(result, '\'')
-
-proc dbFormat(formatstr: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string]): string =
-  result = ""
-  var a = 0
-  for c in items(string(formatstr)):
-    if c == '?':
-      add(result, dbQuote(args[a]))
-      inc(a)
-    else:
-      add(result, c)
-
-proc tryExec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-              args: varargs[string, `$`]): bool {.
-              tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## tries to execute the query and returns true if successful, false otherwise.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  var stmt: sqlite3.Pstmt
-  if prepare_v2(db, q, q.len.cint, stmt, nil) == SQLITE_OK:
-    if step(stmt) == SQLITE_DONE:
-      result = finalize(stmt) == SQLITE_OK
-
-proc exec*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery, args: varargs[string, `$`])  {.
-  tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and raises DbError if not successful.
-  if not tryExec(db, query, args): dbError(db)
-
-proc newRow(L: int): Row =
-  newSeq(result, L)
-  for i in 0..L-1: result[i] = ""
-
-proc setupQuery(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                args: varargs[string]): Pstmt =
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  if prepare_v2(db, q, q.len.cint, result, nil) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc setRow(stmt: Pstmt, r: var Row, cols: cint) =
-  for col in 0..cols-1:
-    setLen(r[col], column_bytes(stmt, col)) # set capacity
-    setLen(r[col], 0)
-    let x = column_text(stmt, col)
-    if not isNil(x): add(r[col], x)
-
-iterator fastRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                   args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## Executes the query and iterates over the result dataset.
-  ##
-  ## This is very fast, but potentially dangerous.  Use this iterator only
-  ## if you require **ALL** the rows.
-  ##
-  ## Breaking the fastRows() iterator during a loop will cause the next
-  ## database query to raise a DbError exception ``unable to close due to ...``.
-  var stmt = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  var L = (column_count(stmt))
-  var result = newRow(L)
-  while step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW:
-    setRow(stmt, result, L)
-    yield result
-  if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                      {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within the iterator body.
-  var stmt = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  while step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW:
-    yield stmt
-  if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc toTypeKind(t: var DbType; x: int32) =
-  case x
-  of SQLITE_INTEGER:
-    t.kind = dbInt
-    t.size = 8
-  of SQLITE_FLOAT:
-    t.kind = dbFloat
-    t.size = 8
-  of SQLITE_BLOB: t.kind = dbBlob
-  of SQLITE_NULL: t.kind = dbNull
-  of SQLITE_TEXT: t.kind = dbVarchar
-  else: t.kind = dbUnknown
-
-proc setColumns(columns: var DbColumns; x: PStmt) =
-  let L = column_count(x)
-  setLen(columns, L)
-  for i in 0'i32 ..< L:
-    columns[i].name = $column_name(x, i)
-    columns[i].typ.name = $column_decltype(x, i)
-    toTypeKind(columns[i].typ, column_type(x, i))
-    columns[i].tableName = $column_table_name(x, i)
-
-iterator instantRows*(db: DbConn; columns: var DbColumns; query: SqlQuery,
-                      args: varargs[string, `$`]): InstantRow
-                      {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as fastRows but returns a handle that can be used to get column text
-  ## on demand using []. Returned handle is valid only within the iterator body.
-  var stmt = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  setColumns(columns, stmt)
-  while step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW:
-    yield stmt
-  if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc `[]`*(row: InstantRow, col: int32): string {.inline.} =
-  ## returns text for given column of the row
-  $column_text(row, col)
-
-proc len*(row: InstantRow): int32 {.inline.} =
-  ## returns number of columns in the row
-  column_count(row)
-
-proc getRow*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-             args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## retrieves a single row. If the query doesn't return any rows, this proc
-  ## will return a Row with empty strings for each column.
-  var stmt = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  var L = (column_count(stmt))
-  result = newRow(L)
-  if step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW:
-    setRow(stmt, result, L)
-  if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc getAllRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                 args: varargs[string, `$`]): seq[Row] {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the whole result dataset.
-  result = @[]
-  for r in fastRows(db, query, args):
-    result.add(r)
-
-iterator rows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): Row {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## same as `FastRows`, but slower and safe.
-  for r in fastRows(db, query, args): yield r
-
-proc getValue*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): string {.tags: [ReadDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query and returns the first column of the first row of the
-  ## result dataset. Returns "" if the dataset contains no rows or the database
-  ## value is NULL.
-  var stmt = setupQuery(db, query, args)
-  if step(stmt) == SQLITE_ROW:
-    let cb = column_bytes(stmt, 0)
-    if cb == 0:
-      result = ""
-    else:
-      result = newStringOfCap(cb)
-      add(result, column_text(stmt, 0))
-  else:
-    result = ""
-  if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc tryInsertID*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                  args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64
-                  {.tags: [WriteDbEffect], raises: [].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row or -1 in case of an error.
-  var q = dbFormat(query, args)
-  var stmt: sqlite3.Pstmt
-  result = -1
-  if prepare_v2(db, q, q.len.cint, stmt, nil) == SQLITE_OK:
-    if step(stmt) == SQLITE_DONE:
-      result = last_insert_rowid(db)
-    if finalize(stmt) != SQLITE_OK:
-      result = -1
-
-proc insertID*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-               args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.tags: [WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "INSERT") and returns the
-  ## generated ID for the row. For Postgre this adds
-  ## ``RETURNING id`` to the query, so it only works if your primary key is
-  ## named ``id``.
-  result = tryInsertID(db, query, args)
-  if result < 0: dbError(db)
-
-proc execAffectedRows*(db: DbConn, query: SqlQuery,
-                       args: varargs[string, `$`]): int64 {.
-                       tags: [ReadDbEffect, WriteDbEffect].} =
-  ## executes the query (typically "UPDATE") and returns the
-  ## number of affected rows.
-  exec(db, query, args)
-  result = changes(db)
-
-proc close*(db: DbConn) {.tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## closes the database connection.
-  if sqlite3.close(db) != SQLITE_OK: dbError(db)
-
-proc open*(connection, user, password, database: string): DbConn {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## opens a database connection. Raises `EDb` if the connection could not
-  ## be established. Only the ``connection`` parameter is used for ``sqlite``.
-  var db: DbConn
-  if sqlite3.open(connection, db) == SQLITE_OK:
-    result = db
-  else:
-    dbError(db)
-
-proc setEncoding*(connection: DbConn, encoding: string): bool {.
-  tags: [DbEffect].} =
-  ## sets the encoding of a database connection, returns true for
-  ## success, false for failure.
-  ##
-  ## Note that the encoding cannot be changed once it's been set.
-  ## According to SQLite3 documentation, any attempt to change
-  ## the encoding after the database is created will be silently
-  ## ignored.
-  exec(connection, sql"PRAGMA encoding = ?", [encoding])
-  result = connection.getValue(sql"PRAGMA encoding") == encoding
-
-when not defined(testing) and isMainModule:
-  var db = open("db.sql", "", "", "")
-  exec(db, sql"create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)", [])
-  exec(db, sql"insert into tbl1 values('hello!',10)", [])
-  exec(db, sql"insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20)", [])
-  #db.query("create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)")
-  #db.query("insert into tbl1 values('hello!',10)")
-  #db.query("insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20)")
-  for r in db.rows(sql"select * from tbl1", []):
-    echo(r[0], r[1])
-  for r in db.instantRows(sql"select * from tbl1", []):
-    echo(r[0], r[1])
-
-  db_sqlite.close(db)
diff --git a/lib/impure/nre.nim b/lib/impure/nre.nim
index 973f1f2ee..39d238055 100644
--- a/lib/impure/nre.nim
+++ b/lib/impure/nre.nim
@@ -1,87 +1,95 @@
 #
 #            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Nim Contributers
+#        (c) Copyright 2015 Nim Contributors
 #
 #    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
 #    distribution, for details about the copyright.
 #
 
-
-from pcre import nil
-import nre.private.util
-import tables
-import unsigned
-from strutils import toLower, `%`
-from math import ceil
-import options
-from unicode import runeLenAt
-
+when defined(js):
+  {.error: "This library needs to be compiled with a c-like backend, and depends on PCRE; See jsre for JS backend.".}
 
 ## What is NRE?
 ## ============
 ##
 ## A regular expression library for Nim using PCRE to do the hard work.
 ##
+## For documentation on how to write patterns, there exists `the official PCRE
+## pattern documentation
+## <https://www.pcre.org/original/doc/html/pcrepattern.html>`_. You can also
+## search the internet for a wide variety of third-party documentation and
+## tools.
+##
+## .. warning:: If you love `sequtils.toSeq` we have bad news for you. This
+##   library doesn't work with it due to documented compiler limitations. As
+##   a workaround, use this:
+runnableExamples:
+  # either `import std/nre except toSeq` or fully qualify `sequtils.toSeq`:
+  import std/sequtils
+  iterator iota(n: int): int =
+    for i in 0..<n: yield i
+  assert sequtils.toSeq(iota(3)) == @[0, 1, 2]
+## .. note:: There are also alternative nimble packages such as [tinyre](https://github.com/khchen/tinyre)
+##   and [regex](https://github.com/nitely/nim-regex).
 ## Licencing
 ## ---------
 ##
-## PCRE has some additional terms that you must comply with if you use this module.::
+## PCRE has `some additional terms`_ that you must agree to in order to use
+## this module.
 ##
-## > Copyright (c) 1997-2001 University of Cambridge
-## >
-## > Permission is granted to anyone to use this software for any purpose on any
-## > computer system, and to redistribute it freely, subject to the following
-## > restrictions:
-## >
-## > 1. This software is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-## >    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-## >    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
-## >
-## > 2. The origin of this software must not be misrepresented, either by
-## >    explicit claim or by omission. In practice, this means that if you use
-## >    PCRE in software that you distribute to others, commercially or
-## >    otherwise, you must put a sentence like this
-## >
-## >      Regular expression support is provided by the PCRE library package,
-## >      which is open source software, written by Philip Hazel, and copyright
-## >      by the University of Cambridge, England.
-## >
-## >    somewhere reasonably visible in your documentation and in any relevant
-## >    files or online help data or similar. A reference to the ftp site for
-## >    the source, that is, to
-## >
-## >      ftp://ftp.csx.cam.ac.uk/pub/software/programming/pcre/
-## >
-## >    should also be given in the documentation. However, this condition is not
-## >    intended to apply to whole chains of software. If package A includes PCRE,
-## >    it must acknowledge it, but if package B is software that includes package
-## >    A, the condition is not imposed on package B (unless it uses PCRE
-## >    independently).
-## >
-## > 3. Altered versions must be plainly marked as such, and must not be
-## >    misrepresented as being the original software.
-## >
-## > 4. If PCRE is embedded in any software that is released under the GNU
-## >    General Purpose Licence (GPL), or Lesser General Purpose Licence (LGPL),
-## >    then the terms of that licence shall supersede any condition above with
-## >    which it is incompatible.
-
-
-# Type definitions {{{
+## .. _`some additional terms`: http://pcre.sourceforge.net/license.txt
+runnableExamples:
+  import std/sugar
+  let vowels = re"[aeoui]"
+  let bounds = collect:
+    for match in "moiga".findIter(vowels): match.matchBounds
+  assert bounds == @[1 .. 1, 2 .. 2, 4 .. 4]
+  from std/sequtils import toSeq
+  let s = sequtils.toSeq("moiga".findIter(vowels))
+    # fully qualified to avoid confusion with nre.toSeq
+  assert s.len == 3
+
+  let firstVowel = "foo".find(vowels)
+  let hasVowel = firstVowel.isSome()
+  assert hasVowel
+  let matchBounds = firstVowel.get().captureBounds[-1]
+  assert matchBounds.a == 1
+
+  # as with module `re`, 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`:
+  assert find("uxabc", re"(?<=x|y)ab", start = 1).get.captures[-1] == "ab"
+  assert find("uxabc", re"ab", start = 3).isNone
+
+from std/pcre import nil
+import nre/private/util
+import std/tables
+from std/strutils import `%`
+import std/options
+from std/unicode import runeLenAt
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+export options
+
 type
   Regex* = ref object
     ## Represents the pattern that things are matched against, constructed with
-    ## ``re(string)``. Examples: ``re"foo"``, ``re(r"(*ANYCRLF)(?x)foo #
-    ## comment".``
+    ## `re(string)`. Examples: `re"foo"`, `re(r"(*ANYCRLF)(?x)foo #
+    ## comment".`
     ##
-    ## ``pattern: string``
-    ##     the string that was used to create the pattern.
+    ## `pattern: string`
+    ## :   the string that was used to create the pattern. For details on how
+    ##     to write a pattern, please see `the official PCRE pattern
+    ##     documentation.
+    ##     <https://www.pcre.org/original/doc/html/pcrepattern.html>`_
     ##
-    ## ``captureCount: int``
-    ##     the number of captures that the pattern has.
+    ## `captureCount: int`
+    ## :   the number of captures that the pattern has.
     ##
-    ## ``captureNameId: Table[string, int]``
-    ##     a table from the capture names to their numeric id.
+    ## `captureNameId: Table[string, int]`
+    ## :   a table from the capture names to their numeric id.
     ##
     ##
     ## Options
@@ -90,30 +98,30 @@ type
     ## The following options may appear anywhere in the pattern, and they affect
     ## the rest of it.
     ##
-    ## -  ``(?i)`` - case insensitive
-    ## -  ``(?m)`` - multi-line: ``^`` and ``$`` match the beginning and end of
+    ## -  `(?i)` - case insensitive
+    ## -  `(?m)` - multi-line: `^` and `$` match the beginning and end of
     ##    lines, not of the subject string
-    ## -  ``(?s)`` - ``.`` also matches newline (*dotall*)
-    ## -  ``(?U)`` - expressions are not greedy by default. ``?`` can be added
+    ## -  `(?s)` - `.` also matches newline (*dotall*)
+    ## -  `(?U)` - expressions are not greedy by default. `?` can be added
     ##    to a qualifier to make it greedy
-    ## -  ``(?x)`` - whitespace and comments (``#``) are ignored (*extended*)
-    ## -  ``(?X)`` - character escapes without special meaning (``\w`` vs.
-    ##    ``\a``) are errors (*extra*)
+    ## -  `(?x)` - whitespace and comments (`#`) are ignored (*extended*)
+    ## -  `(?X)` - character escapes without special meaning (`\w` vs.
+    ##    `\a`) are errors (*extra*)
     ##
     ## One or a combination of these options may appear only at the beginning
     ## of the pattern:
     ##
-    ## -  ``(*UTF8)`` - treat both the pattern and subject as UTF-8
-    ## -  ``(*UCP)`` - Unicode character properties; ``\w`` matches ``я``
-    ## -  ``(*U)`` - a combination of the two options above
-    ## -  ``(*FIRSTLINE*)`` - fails if there is not a match on the first line
-    ## -  ``(*NO_AUTO_CAPTURE)`` - turn off auto-capture for groups;
-    ##    ``(?<name>...)`` can be used to capture
-    ## -  ``(*CR)`` - newlines are separated by ``\r``
-    ## -  ``(*LF)`` - newlines are separated by ``\n`` (UNIX default)
-    ## -  ``(*CRLF)`` - newlines are separated by ``\r\n`` (Windows default)
-    ## -  ``(*ANYCRLF)`` - newlines are separated by any of the above
-    ## -  ``(*ANY)`` - newlines are separated by any of the above and Unicode
+    ## -  `(*UTF8)` - treat both the pattern and subject as UTF-8
+    ## -  `(*UCP)` - Unicode character properties; `\w` matches `я`
+    ## -  `(*U)` - a combination of the two options above
+    ## -  `(*FIRSTLINE*)` - fails if there is not a match on the first line
+    ## -  `(*NO_AUTO_CAPTURE)` - turn off auto-capture for groups;
+    ##    `(?<name>...)` can be used to capture
+    ## -  `(*CR)` - newlines are separated by `\r`
+    ## -  `(*LF)` - newlines are separated by `\n` (UNIX default)
+    ## -  `(*CRLF)` - newlines are separated by `\r\n` (Windows default)
+    ## -  `(*ANYCRLF)` - newlines are separated by any of the above
+    ## -  `(*ANY)` - newlines are separated by any of the above and Unicode
     ##    newlines:
     ##
     ##     single characters VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF (form feed, U+000C),
@@ -122,16 +130,22 @@ type
     ##     are recognized only in UTF-8 mode.
     ##     —  man pcre
     ##
-    ## -  ``(*JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT)`` - JavaScript compatibility
-    ## -  ``(*NO_STUDY)`` - turn off studying; study is enabled by default
+    ## -  `(*JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT)` - JavaScript compatibility
+    ## -  `(*NO_STUDY)` - turn off studying; study is enabled by default
     ##
     ## For more details on the leading option groups, see the `Option
-    ## Setting <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html#OPTION_SETTING>`__
+    ## Setting <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html#OPTION_SETTING>`_
     ## and the `Newline
-    ## Convention <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html#NEWLINE_CONVENTION>`__
+    ## Convention <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html#NEWLINE_CONVENTION>`_
     ## sections of the `PCRE syntax
-    ## manual <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html>`__.
-    pattern*: string  ## not nil
+    ## manual <http://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/pcresyntax.3.html>`_.
+    ##
+    ## Some of these options are not part of PCRE and are converted by nre
+    ## into PCRE flags. These include `NEVER_UTF`, `ANCHORED`,
+    ## `DOLLAR_ENDONLY`, `FIRSTLINE`, `NO_AUTO_CAPTURE`,
+    ## `JAVASCRIPT_COMPAT`, `U`, `NO_STUDY`. In other PCRE wrappers, you
+    ## will need to pass these as separate flags to PCRE.
+    pattern*: string
     pcreObj: ptr pcre.Pcre  ## not nil
     pcreExtra: ptr pcre.ExtraData  ## nil
 
@@ -141,57 +155,48 @@ type
     ## Usually seen as Option[RegexMatch], it represents the result of an
     ## execution. On failure, it is none, on success, it is some.
     ##
-    ## ``pattern: Regex``
-    ##     the pattern that is being matched
+    ## `pattern: Regex`
+    ## :   the pattern that is being matched
     ##
-    ## ``str: string``
-    ##     the string that was matched against
+    ## `str: string`
+    ## :   the string that was matched against
     ##
-    ## ``captures[]: string``
-    ##     the string value of whatever was captured at that id. If the value
-    ##     is invalid, then behavior is undefined. If the id is ``-1``, then
+    ## `captures[]: string`
+    ## :   the string value of whatever was captured at that id. If the value
+    ##     is invalid, then behavior is undefined. If the id is `-1`, then
     ##     the whole match is returned. If the given capture was not matched,
-    ##     ``nil`` is returned.
+    ##     `nil` is returned. See examples for `match`.
     ##
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"(\w)").captures[0] == "a"``
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"(?<letter>\w)").captures["letter"] == "a"``
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"(\w)\w").captures[-1] == "ab"``
+    ## `captureBounds[]: HSlice[int, int]`
+    ## :   gets the bounds of the given capture according to the same rules as
+    ##     the above. If the capture is not filled, then `None` is returned.
+    ##     The bounds are both inclusive.  See examples for `match`.
     ##
-    ## ``captureBounds[]: Option[Slice[int]]``
-    ##     gets the bounds of the given capture according to the same rules as
-    ##     the above. If the capture is not filled, then ``None`` is returned.
-    ##     The bounds are both inclusive.
+    ## `match: string`
+    ## :   the full text of the match.
     ##
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"(\w)").captureBounds[0] == 0 .. 0``
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"").captureBounds[-1] == 0 .. -1``
-    ##     -  ``"abc".match(re"abc").captureBounds[-1] == 0 .. 2``
+    ## `matchBounds: HSlice[int, int]`
+    ## :   the bounds of the match, as in `captureBounds[]`
     ##
-    ## ``match: string``
-    ##     the full text of the match.
+    ## `(captureBounds|captures).toTable`
+    ## :   returns a table with each named capture as a key.
     ##
-    ## ``matchBounds: Slice[int]``
-    ##     the bounds of the match, as in ``captureBounds[]``
+    ## `(captureBounds|captures).toSeq`
+    ## :   returns all the captures by their number.
     ##
-    ## ``(captureBounds|captures).toTable``
-    ##     returns a table with each named capture as a key.
-    ##
-    ## ``(captureBounds|captures).toSeq``
-    ##     returns all the captures by their number.
-    ##
-    ## ``$: string``
-    ##     same as ``match``
+    ## `$: string`
+    ## :   same as `match`
     pattern*: Regex  ## The regex doing the matching.
                      ## Not nil.
     str*: string  ## The string that was matched against.
-                  ## Not nil.
-    pcreMatchBounds: seq[Slice[cint]] ## First item is the bounds of the match
-                                      ## Other items are the captures
-                                      ## `a` is inclusive start, `b` is exclusive end
+    pcreMatchBounds: seq[HSlice[cint, cint]] ## First item is the bounds of the match
+                                            ## Other items are the captures
+                                            ## `a` is inclusive start, `b` is exclusive end
 
   Captures* = distinct RegexMatch
   CaptureBounds* = distinct RegexMatch
 
-  RegexError* = ref object of Exception
+  RegexError* = ref object of CatchableError
 
   RegexInternalError* = ref object of RegexError
     ## Internal error in the module, this probably means that there is a bug
@@ -207,19 +212,71 @@ type
     pattern*: string  ## the pattern that caused the problem
 
   StudyError* = ref object of RegexError
-    ## Thrown when studying the regular expression failes
+    ## Thrown when studying the regular expression fails
     ## for whatever reason. The message contains the error
     ## code.
-# }}}
+
+proc destroyRegex(pattern: Regex) =
+  `=destroy`(pattern.pattern)
+  pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](pattern.pcreObj))
+  if pattern.pcreExtra != nil:
+    pcre.free_study(pattern.pcreExtra)
+  `=destroy`(pattern.captureNameToId)
 
 proc getinfo[T](pattern: Regex, opt: cint): T =
   let retcode = pcre.fullinfo(pattern.pcreObj, pattern.pcreExtra, opt, addr result)
 
   if retcode < 0:
     # XXX Error message that doesn't expose implementation details
-    raise newException(FieldError, "Invalid getinfo for $1, errno $2" % [$opt, $retcode])
+    raise newException(FieldDefect, "Invalid getinfo for $1, errno $2" % [$opt, $retcode])
+
+proc getNameToNumberTable(pattern: Regex): Table[string, int] =
+  let entryCount = getinfo[cint](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMECOUNT)
+  let entrySize = getinfo[cint](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE)
+  let table = cast[ptr UncheckedArray[uint8]](
+                getinfo[int](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMETABLE))
+
+  result = initTable[string, int]()
+
+  for i in 0 ..< entryCount:
+    let pos = i * entrySize
+    let num = (int(table[pos]) shl 8) or int(table[pos + 1]) - 1
+    var name = ""
+
+    var idx = 2
+    while table[pos + idx] != 0:
+      name.add(char(table[pos + idx]))
+      idx += 1
+
+    result[name] = num
+
+proc initRegex(pattern: string, flags: int, study = true): Regex =
+  new(result, destroyRegex)
+  result.pattern = pattern
+
+  var errorMsg: cstring
+  var errOffset: cint
+
+  result.pcreObj = pcre.compile(cstring(pattern),
+                                # better hope int is at least 4 bytes..
+                                cint(flags), addr errorMsg,
+                                addr errOffset, nil)
+  if result.pcreObj == nil:
+    # failed to compile
+    raise SyntaxError(msg: $errorMsg, pos: errOffset, pattern: pattern)
+
+  if study:
+    var options: cint = 0
+    var hasJit: cint
+    if pcre.config(pcre.CONFIG_JIT, addr hasJit) == 0:
+      if hasJit == 1'i32:
+        options = pcre.STUDY_JIT_COMPILE
+    result.pcreExtra = pcre.study(result.pcreObj, options, addr errorMsg)
+    if errorMsg != nil:
+      raise StudyError(msg: $errorMsg)
+
+  result.captureNameToId = result.getNameToNumberTable()
 
-# Regex accessors {{{
 proc captureCount*(pattern: Regex): int =
   return getinfo[cint](pattern, pcre.INFO_CAPTURECOUNT)
 
@@ -231,7 +288,7 @@ proc matchesCrLf(pattern: Regex): bool =
   let newlineFlags = flags and (pcre.NEWLINE_CRLF or
                                 pcre.NEWLINE_ANY or
                                 pcre.NEWLINE_ANYCRLF)
-  if newLineFlags > 0u32:
+  if newlineFlags > 0u32:
     return true
 
   # get flags from build config
@@ -246,101 +303,122 @@ proc matchesCrLf(pattern: Regex): bool =
   of -2: return true
   of -1: return true
   else: return false
-# }}}
 
-# Capture accessors {{{
-proc captureBounds*(pattern: RegexMatch): CaptureBounds = return CaptureBounds(pattern)
 
-proc captures*(pattern: RegexMatch): Captures = return Captures(pattern)
+func captureBounds*(pattern: RegexMatch): CaptureBounds = return CaptureBounds(pattern)
+
+func captures*(pattern: RegexMatch): Captures = return Captures(pattern)
 
-proc `[]`*(pattern: CaptureBounds, i: int): Option[Slice[int]] =
+func contains*(pattern: CaptureBounds, i: int): bool =
   let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
-  if pattern.pcreMatchBounds[i + 1].a != -1:
-    let bounds = pattern.pcreMatchBounds[i + 1]
-    return some(int(bounds.a) .. int(bounds.b-1))
-  else:
-    return none(Slice[int])
+  pattern.pcreMatchBounds[i + 1].a != -1
+
+func contains*(pattern: Captures, i: int): bool =
+  i in CaptureBounds(pattern)
 
-proc `[]`*(pattern: Captures, i: int): string =
+func `[]`*(pattern: CaptureBounds, i: int): HSlice[int, int] =
+  let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
+  if not (i in pattern.captureBounds):
+    raise newException(IndexDefect, "Group '" & $i & "' was not captured")
+
+  let bounds = pattern.pcreMatchBounds[i + 1]
+  int(bounds.a)..int(bounds.b-1)
+
+func `[]`*(pattern: Captures, i: int): string =
   let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
   let bounds = pattern.captureBounds[i]
 
-  if bounds.isSome:
-    let bounds = bounds.get
-    return pattern.str.substr(bounds.a, bounds.b)
-  else:
-    return nil
+  pattern.str.substr(bounds.a, bounds.b)
 
-proc match*(pattern: RegexMatch): string =
+func match*(pattern: RegexMatch): string =
   return pattern.captures[-1]
 
-proc matchBounds*(pattern: RegexMatch): Slice[int] =
-  return pattern.captureBounds[-1].get
+func matchBounds*(pattern: RegexMatch): HSlice[int, int] =
+  return pattern.captureBounds[-1]
 
-proc `[]`*(pattern: CaptureBounds, name: string): Option[Slice[int]] =
+func contains*(pattern: CaptureBounds, name: string): bool =
   let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
-  return pattern.captureBounds[pattern.pattern.captureNameToId.fget(name)]
+  let nameToId = pattern.pattern.captureNameToId
+  if not (name in nameToId):
+      return false
+  nameToId[name] in pattern.captureBounds
 
-proc `[]`*(pattern: Captures, name: string): string =
+func contains*(pattern: Captures, name: string): bool =
+  name in CaptureBounds(pattern)
+
+func checkNamedCaptured(pattern: RegexMatch, name: string) =
+  if not (name in pattern.captureBounds):
+    raise newException(KeyError, "Group '" & name & "' was not captured")
+
+func `[]`*(pattern: CaptureBounds, name: string): HSlice[int, int] =
+  let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
+  checkNamedCaptured(pattern, name)
+  {.noSideEffect.}:
+    result = pattern.captureBounds[pattern.pattern.captureNameToId[name]]
+
+func `[]`*(pattern: Captures, name: string): string =
   let pattern = RegexMatch(pattern)
-  return pattern.captures[pattern.pattern.captureNameToId.fget(name)]
+  checkNamedCaptured(pattern, name)
+  {.noSideEffect.}:
+    result = pattern.captures[pattern.pattern.captureNameToId[name]]
 
-template toTableImpl(cond: bool): stmt {.immediate, dirty.} =
+template toTableImpl() {.dirty.} =
   for key in RegexMatch(pattern).pattern.captureNameId.keys:
-    let nextVal = pattern[key]
-    if cond:
-      result[key] = default
-    else:
-      result[key] = nextVal
+    if key in pattern:
+      result[key] = pattern[key]
 
-proc toTable*(pattern: Captures, default: string = nil): Table[string, string] =
+func toTable*(pattern: Captures): Table[string, string] =
   result = initTable[string, string]()
-  toTableImpl(nextVal == nil)
+  toTableImpl()
 
-proc toTable*(pattern: CaptureBounds, default = none(Slice[int])):
-    Table[string, Option[Slice[int]]] =
-  result = initTable[string, Option[Slice[int]]]()
-  toTableImpl(nextVal.isNone)
+func toTable*(pattern: CaptureBounds): Table[string, HSlice[int, int]] =
+  result = initTable[string, HSlice[int, int]]()
+  toTableImpl()
 
-template itemsImpl(cond: bool): stmt {.immediate, dirty.} =
-  for i in 0 .. <RegexMatch(pattern).pattern.captureCount:
-    let nextVal = pattern[i]
+template itemsImpl() {.dirty.} =
+  for i in 0 ..< RegexMatch(pattern).pattern.captureCount:
     # done in this roundabout way to avoid multiple yields (potential code
     # bloat)
-    let nextYieldVal = if cond: default else: nextVal
-    yield nextYieldVal
+    let nextYieldVal = if i in pattern:
+      some(pattern[i])
+    else:
+      default
 
+    yield nextYieldVal
 
-iterator items*(pattern: CaptureBounds, default = none(Slice[int])): Option[Slice[int]] =
-  itemsImpl(nextVal.isNone)
+iterator items*(pattern: CaptureBounds,
+                default = none(HSlice[int, int])): Option[HSlice[int, int]] =
+  itemsImpl()
 
-iterator items*(pattern: Captures, default: string = nil): string =
-  itemsImpl(nextVal == nil)
+iterator items*(pattern: Captures,
+                default: Option[string] = none(string)): Option[string] =
+  itemsImpl()
 
-proc toSeq*(pattern: CaptureBounds, default = none(Slice[int])): seq[Option[Slice[int]]] =
-  accumulateResult(pattern.items(default))
+proc toSeq*(pattern: CaptureBounds,
+            default = none(HSlice[int, int])): seq[Option[HSlice[int, int]]] =
+  result = @[]
+  for it in pattern.items(default): result.add it
 
-proc toSeq*(pattern: Captures, default: string = nil): seq[string] =
-  accumulateResult(pattern.items(default))
+proc toSeq*(pattern: Captures,
+            default: Option[string] = none(string)): seq[Option[string]] =
+  result = @[]
+  for it in pattern.items(default): result.add it
 
 proc `$`*(pattern: RegexMatch): string =
   return pattern.captures[-1]
 
 proc `==`*(a, b: Regex): bool =
   if not a.isNil and not b.isNil:
-    return a.pattern   == b.pattern and
-           a.pcreObj   == b.pcreObj and
+    return a.pattern == b.pattern and
+           a.pcreObj == b.pcreObj and
            a.pcreExtra == b.pcreExtra
   else:
     return system.`==`(a, b)
 
 proc `==`*(a, b: RegexMatch): bool =
   return a.pattern == b.pattern and
-         a.str     == b.str
-# }}}
+         a.str == b.str
 
-# Creation & Destruction {{{
-# PCRE Options {{{
 const PcreOptions = {
   "NEVER_UTF": pcre.NEVER_UTF,
   "ANCHORED": pcre.ANCHORED,
@@ -396,73 +474,19 @@ proc extractOptions(pattern: string): tuple[pattern: string, flags: int, study:
 
   result.pattern.add pattern[optionStart .. pattern.high]
 
-# }}}
-
-type UncheckedArray {.unchecked.}[T] = array[0 .. 0, T]
-
-proc destroyRegex(pattern: Regex) =
-  pcre.free_substring(cast[cstring](pattern.pcreObj))
-  pattern.pcreObj = nil
-  if pattern.pcreExtra != nil:
-    pcre.free_study(pattern.pcreExtra)
-
-proc getNameToNumberTable(pattern: Regex): Table[string, int] =
-  let entryCount = getinfo[cint](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMECOUNT)
-  let entrySize = getinfo[cint](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMEENTRYSIZE)
-  let table = cast[ptr UncheckedArray[uint8]](
-                getinfo[int](pattern, pcre.INFO_NAMETABLE))
-
-  result = initTable[string, int]()
-
-  for i in 0 .. <entryCount:
-    let pos = i * entrySize
-    let num = (int(table[pos]) shl 8) or int(table[pos + 1]) - 1
-    var name = ""
-
-    var idx = 2
-    while table[pos + idx] != 0:
-      name.add(char(table[pos + idx]))
-      idx += 1
-
-    result[name] = num
-
-proc initRegex(pattern: string, flags: int, study = true): Regex =
-  new(result, destroyRegex)
-  result.pattern = pattern
-
-  var errorMsg: cstring
-  var errOffset: cint
-
-  result.pcreObj = pcre.compile(cstring(pattern),
-                                # better hope int is at least 4 bytes..
-                                cint(flags), addr errorMsg,
-                                addr errOffset, nil)
-  if result.pcreObj == nil:
-    # failed to compile
-    raise SyntaxError(msg: $errorMsg, pos: errOffset, pattern: pattern)
-
-  if study:
-    # XXX investigate JIT
-    result.pcreExtra = pcre.study(result.pcreObj, 0x0, addr errorMsg)
-    if errorMsg != nil:
-      raise StudyError(msg: $errorMsg)
-
-  result.captureNameToId = result.getNameToNumberTable()
-
 proc re*(pattern: string): Regex =
   let (pattern, flags, study) = extractOptions(pattern)
   initRegex(pattern, flags, study)
-# }}}
 
-# Operations {{{
 proc matchImpl(str: string, pattern: Regex, start, endpos: int, flags: int): Option[RegexMatch] =
-  var myResult = RegexMatch(pattern : pattern, str : str)
+  var myResult = RegexMatch(pattern: pattern, str: str)
   # See PCRE man pages.
   # 2x capture count to make room for start-end pairs
   # 1x capture count as slack space for PCRE
   let vecsize = (pattern.captureCount() + 1) * 3
   # div 2 because each element is 2 cints long
-  myResult.pcreMatchBounds = newSeq[Slice[cint]](ceil(vecsize / 2).int)
+  # plus 1 because we need the ceiling, not the floor
+  myResult.pcreMatchBounds = newSeq[HSlice[cint, cint]]((vecsize + 1) div 2)
   myResult.pcreMatchBounds.setLen(vecsize div 3)
 
   let strlen = if endpos == int.high: str.len else: endpos+1
@@ -483,54 +507,67 @@ proc matchImpl(str: string, pattern: Regex, start, endpos: int, flags: int): Opt
     of pcre.ERROR_NOMATCH:
       return none(RegexMatch)
     of pcre.ERROR_NULL:
-      raise newException(AccessViolationError, "Expected non-null parameters")
+      raise newException(AccessViolationDefect, "Expected non-null parameters")
     of pcre.ERROR_BADOPTION:
-      raise RegexInternalError(msg : "Unknown pattern flag. Either a bug or " &
+      raise RegexInternalError(msg: "Unknown pattern flag. Either a bug or " &
         "outdated PCRE.")
     of pcre.ERROR_BADUTF8, pcre.ERROR_SHORTUTF8, pcre.ERROR_BADUTF8_OFFSET:
-      raise InvalidUnicodeError(msg : "Invalid unicode byte sequence",
-        pos : myResult.pcreMatchBounds[0].a)
+      raise InvalidUnicodeError(msg: "Invalid unicode byte sequence",
+        pos: myResult.pcreMatchBounds[0].a)
     else:
-      raise RegexInternalError(msg : "Unknown internal error: " & $execRet)
+      raise RegexInternalError(msg: "Unknown internal error: " & $execRet)
 
 proc match*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): Option[RegexMatch] =
-  ## Like ```find(...)`` <#proc-find>`__, but anchored to the start of the
-  ## string. This means that ``"foo".match(re"f") == true``, but
-  ## ``"foo".match(re"o") == false``.
+  ## Like `find(...)<#find,string,Regex,int>`_, but anchored to the start of the
+  ## string.
+  runnableExamples:
+    assert "foo".match(re"f").isSome
+    assert "foo".match(re"o").isNone
+
+    assert "abc".match(re"(\w)").get.captures[0] == "a"
+    assert "abc".match(re"(?<letter>\w)").get.captures["letter"] == "a"
+    assert "abc".match(re"(\w)\w").get.captures[-1] == "ab"
+
+    assert "abc".match(re"(\w)").get.captureBounds[0] == 0 .. 0
+    assert 0 in "abc".match(re"(\w)").get.captureBounds
+    assert "abc".match(re"").get.captureBounds[-1] == 0 .. -1
+    assert "abc".match(re"abc").get.captureBounds[-1] == 0 .. 2
   return str.matchImpl(pattern, start, endpos, pcre.ANCHORED)
 
 iterator findIter*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): RegexMatch =
-  ## Works the same as ```find(...)`` <#proc-find>`__, but finds every
-  ## non-overlapping match. ``"2222".find(re"22")`` is ``"22", "22"``, not
-  ## ``"22", "22", "22"``.
-  ##
-  ## Arguments are the same as ```find(...)`` <#proc-find>`__
+  ## Works the same as `find(...)<#find,string,Regex,int>`_, but finds every
+  ## non-overlapping match:
+  runnableExamples:
+    import std/sugar
+    assert collect(for a in "2222".findIter(re"22"): a.match) == @["22", "22"]
+     # not @["22", "22", "22"]
+  ## Arguments are the same as `find(...)<#find,string,Regex,int>`_
   ##
   ## Variants:
   ##
-  ## -  ``proc findAll(...)`` returns a ``seq[string]``
-  # see pcredemo for explaination
+  ## -  `proc findAll(...)` returns a `seq[string]`
+  # see pcredemo for explanation => https://www.pcre.org/original/doc/html/pcredemo.html
   let matchesCrLf = pattern.matchesCrLf()
   let unicode = uint32(getinfo[culong](pattern, pcre.INFO_OPTIONS) and
     pcre.UTF8) > 0u32
   let strlen = if endpos == int.high: str.len else: endpos+1
-
   var offset = start
   var match: Option[RegexMatch]
+  var neverMatched = true
+
   while true:
     var flags = 0
-
     if match.isSome and
        match.get.matchBounds.a > match.get.matchBounds.b:
       # 0-len match
       flags = pcre.NOTEMPTY_ATSTART
-
     match = str.matchImpl(pattern, offset, endpos, flags)
 
     if match.isNone:
       # either the end of the input or the string
-      # cannot be split here
-      if offset >= strlen:
+      # cannot be split here - we also need to bail
+      # if we've never matched and we've already tried to...
+      if flags == 0 or offset >= strlen or neverMatched: # All matches found
         break
 
       if matchesCrLf and offset < (str.len - 1) and
@@ -544,21 +581,20 @@ iterator findIter*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): R
       else:
         offset += 1
     else:
+      neverMatched = false
       offset = match.get.matchBounds.b + 1
-
       yield match.get
 
-
 proc find*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): Option[RegexMatch] =
   ## Finds the given pattern in the string between the end and start
   ## positions.
   ##
-  ## ``start``
-  ##     The start point at which to start matching. ``|abc`` is ``0``;
-  ##     ``a|bc`` is ``1``
+  ## `start`
+  ## :   The start point at which to start matching. `|abc` is `0`;
+  ##     `a|bc` is `1`
   ##
-  ## ``endpos``
-  ##     The maximum index for a match; ``int.high`` means the end of the
+  ## `endpos`
+  ## :   The maximum index for a match; `int.high` means the end of the
   ##     string, otherwise it’s an inclusive upper bound.
   return str.matchImpl(pattern, start, endpos, 0)
 
@@ -567,22 +603,36 @@ proc findAll*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): seq[st
   for match in str.findIter(pattern, start, endpos):
     result.add(match.match)
 
+proc contains*(str: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0, endpos = int.high): bool =
+  ## Determine if the string contains the given pattern between the end and
+  ## start positions:
+  ## This function is equivalent to `isSome(str.find(pattern, start, endpos))`.
+  runnableExamples:
+    assert "abc".contains(re"bc")
+    assert not "abc".contains(re"cd")
+    assert not "abc".contains(re"a", start = 1)
+
+  return isSome(str.find(pattern, start, endpos))
+
 proc split*(str: string, pattern: Regex, maxSplit = -1, start = 0): seq[string] =
   ## Splits the string with the given regex. This works according to the
-  ## rules that Perl and Javascript use:
+  ## rules that Perl and Javascript use.
   ##
-  ## -  If the match is zero-width, then the string is still split:
-  ##    ``"123".split(r"") == @["1", "2", "3"]``.
+  ## `start` behaves the same as in `find(...)<#find,string,Regex,int>`_.
   ##
-  ## -  If the pattern has a capture in it, it is added after the string
-  ##    split: ``"12".split(re"(\d)") == @["", "1", "", "2", ""]``.
-  ##
-  ## -  If ``maxsplit != -1``, then the string will only be split
-  ##    ``maxsplit - 1`` times. This means that there will be ``maxsplit``
-  ##    strings in the output seq.
-  ##    ``"1.2.3".split(re"\.", maxsplit = 2) == @["1", "2.3"]``
-  ##
-  ## ``start`` behaves the same as in ```find(...)`` <#proc-find>`__.
+  runnableExamples:
+    # -  If the match is zero-width, then the string is still split:
+    assert "123".split(re"") == @["1", "2", "3"]
+
+    # -  If the pattern has a capture in it, it is added after the string
+    #    split:
+    assert "12".split(re"(\d)") == @["", "1", "", "2", ""]
+
+    # -  If `maxsplit != -1`, then the string will only be split
+    #    `maxsplit - 1` times. This means that there will be `maxsplit`
+    #    strings in the output seq.
+    assert "1.2.3".split(re"\.", maxsplit = 2) == @["1", "2.3"]
+
   result = @[]
   var lastIdx = start
   var splits = 0
@@ -610,7 +660,8 @@ proc split*(str: string, pattern: Regex, maxSplit = -1, start = 0): seq[string]
 
     for cap in match.captures:
       # if there are captures, include them in the result
-      result.add(cap)
+      if cap.isSome:
+        result.add(cap.get)
 
     if splits == maxSplit - 1:
       break
@@ -626,7 +677,7 @@ proc split*(str: string, pattern: Regex, maxSplit = -1, start = 0): seq[string]
     result.add(str.substr(bounds.b + 1, str.high))
 
 template replaceImpl(str: string, pattern: Regex,
-                     replacement: expr): stmt {.immediate, dirty.} =
+                     replacement: untyped) {.dirty.} =
   # XXX seems very similar to split, maybe I can reduce code duplication
   # somehow?
   result = ""
@@ -635,7 +686,6 @@ template replaceImpl(str: string, pattern: Regex,
     let bounds = match.matchBounds
     result.add(str.substr(lastIdx, bounds.a - 1))
     let nextVal = replacement
-    assert(nextVal != nil)
     result.add(nextVal)
 
     lastIdx = bounds.b + 1
@@ -645,27 +695,27 @@ template replaceImpl(str: string, pattern: Regex,
 
 proc replace*(str: string, pattern: Regex,
               subproc: proc (match: RegexMatch): string): string =
-  ## Replaces each match of Regex in the string with ``sub``, which should
-  ## never be or return ``nil``.
+  ## Replaces each match of Regex in the string with `subproc`, which should
+  ## never be or return `nil`.
   ##
-  ## If ``sub`` is a ``proc (RegexMatch): string``, then it is executed with
+  ## If `subproc` is a `proc (RegexMatch): string`, then it is executed with
   ## each match and the return value is the replacement value.
   ##
-  ## If ``sub`` is a ``proc (string): string``, then it is executed with the
-  ## full text of the match and and the return value is the replacement
-  ## value.
+  ## If `subproc` is a `proc (string): string`, then it is executed with the
+  ## full text of the match and the return value is the replacement value.
   ##
-  ## If ``sub`` is a string, the syntax is as follows:
+  ## If `subproc` is a string, the syntax is as follows:
   ##
-  ## -  ``$$`` - literal ``$``
-  ## -  ``$123`` - capture number ``123``
-  ## -  ``$foo`` - named capture ``foo``
-  ## -  ``${foo}`` - same as above
-  ## -  ``$1$#`` - first and second captures
-  ## -  ``$#`` - first capture
-  ## -  ``$0`` - full match
+  ## -  `$$` - literal `$`
+  ## -  `$123` - capture number `123`
+  ## -  `$foo` - named capture `foo`
+  ## -  `${foo}` - same as above
+  ## -  `$1$#` - first and second captures
+  ## -  `$#` - first capture
+  ## -  `$0` - full match
   ##
-  ## If a given capture is missing, a ``ValueError`` exception is thrown.
+  ## If a given capture is missing, `IndexDefect` thrown for un-named captures
+  ## and `KeyError` for named captures.
   replaceImpl(str, pattern, subproc(match))
 
 proc replace*(str: string, pattern: Regex,
@@ -677,10 +727,25 @@ proc replace*(str: string, pattern: Regex, sub: string): string =
   replaceImpl(str, pattern,
     formatStr(sub, match.captures[name], match.captures[id - 1]))
 
-# }}}
-
-let SpecialCharMatcher = re"([\\+*?[^\]$(){}=!<>|:-])"
-proc escapeRe*(str: string): string =
-  ## Escapes the string so it doesn’t match any special characters.
-  ## Incompatible with the Extra flag (``X``).
-  str.replace(SpecialCharMatcher, "\\$1")
+proc escapeRe*(str: string): string {.gcsafe.} =
+  ## Escapes the string so it doesn't match any special characters.
+  ## Incompatible with the Extra flag (`X`).
+  ##
+  ## Escaped char: `\ + * ? [ ^ ] $ ( ) { } = ! < > | : -`
+  runnableExamples:
+    assert escapeRe("fly+wind") == "fly\\+wind"
+    assert escapeRe("!") == "\\!"
+    assert escapeRe("nim*") == "nim\\*"
+
+  #([\\+*?[^\]$(){}=!<>|:-])
+  const SpecialCharMatcher = {'\\', '+', '*', '?', '[', '^', ']', '$', '(',
+                              ')', '{', '}', '=', '!', '<', '>', '|', ':',
+                              '-'}
+
+  for c in items(str):
+    case c
+    of SpecialCharMatcher:
+      result.add("\\")
+      result.add(c)
+    else:
+      result.add(c)
diff --git a/lib/impure/nre/private/util.nim b/lib/impure/nre/private/util.nim
index 253bfada7..ed8420776 100644
--- a/lib/impure/nre/private/util.nim
+++ b/lib/impure/nre/private/util.nim
@@ -1,22 +1,10 @@
 ## INTERNAL FILE FOR USE ONLY BY nre.nim.
-import tables
-
-proc fget*[K, V](self: Table[K, V], key: K): V =
-  if self.hasKey(key):
-    return self[key]
-  else:
-    raise newException(KeyError, "Key does not exist in table: " & $key)
+import std/tables
 
 const Ident = {'a'..'z', 'A'..'Z', '0'..'9', '_', '\128'..'\255'}
 const StartIdent = Ident - {'0'..'9'}
 
-proc checkNil(arg: string): string =
-  if arg == nil:
-    raise newException(ValueError, "Cannot use nil capture")
-  else:
-    return arg
-
-template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter: expr): expr =
+template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter): untyped =
   let how = howExpr
   var val = newStringOfCap(how.len)
   var i = 0
@@ -32,7 +20,7 @@ template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter: expr): expr =
         i += 2
       elif how[i + 1] == '#':
         var id {.inject.} = lastNum
-        val.add(checkNil(idgetter))
+        val.add(idgetter)
         lastNum += 1
         i += 2
       elif how[i + 1] in {'0'..'9'}:
@@ -41,7 +29,7 @@ template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter: expr): expr =
         while i < how.len and how[i] in {'0'..'9'}:
           id += (id * 10) + (ord(how[i]) - ord('0'))
           i += 1
-        val.add(checkNil(idgetter))
+        val.add(idgetter)
         lastNum = id + 1
       elif how[i + 1] in StartIdent:
         i += 1
@@ -49,7 +37,7 @@ template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter: expr): expr =
         while i < how.len and how[i] in Ident:
           name.add(how[i])
           i += 1
-        val.add(checkNil(namegetter))
+        val.add(namegetter)
       elif how[i + 1] == '{':
         i += 2
         var name {.inject.} = ""
@@ -57,7 +45,7 @@ template formatStr*(howExpr, namegetter, idgetter: expr): expr =
           name.add(how[i])
           i += 1
         i += 1
-        val.add(checkNil(namegetter))
+        val.add(namegetter)
       else:
-        raise newException(Exception, "Syntax error in format string at " & $i)
+        raise newException(ValueError, "Syntax error in format string at " & $i)
   val
diff --git a/lib/impure/osinfo_posix.nim b/lib/impure/osinfo_posix.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 0362fca12..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/osinfo_posix.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Dominik Picheta
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-{.error: "This module has been moved to the 'osinfo' nimble package.".}
diff --git a/lib/impure/osinfo_win.nim b/lib/impure/osinfo_win.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 0362fca12..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/osinfo_win.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2015 Dominik Picheta
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-{.error: "This module has been moved to the 'osinfo' nimble package.".}
diff --git a/lib/impure/rdstdin.nim b/lib/impure/rdstdin.nim
index b373859f4..f4fc26380 100644
--- a/lib/impure/rdstdin.nim
+++ b/lib/impure/rdstdin.nim
@@ -9,134 +9,66 @@
 
 ## This module contains code for reading from `stdin`:idx:. On UNIX the
 ## linenoise library is wrapped and set up to provide default key bindings
-## (e.g. you can navigate with the arrow keys). On Windows ``system.readLine``
+## (e.g. you can navigate with the arrow keys). On Windows `system.readLine`
 ## is used. This suffices because Windows' console already provides the
 ## wanted functionality.
 
-{.deadCodeElim: on.}
+runnableExamples("-r:off"):
+  echo readLineFromStdin("Is Nim awesome? (Y/n): ")
+  var line: string
+  while true:
+    let ok = readLineFromStdin("How are you? ", line)
+    if not ok: break # ctrl-C or ctrl-D will cause a break
+    if line.len > 0: echo line
+  echo "exiting"
 
-when defined(Windows):
-  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string): TaintedString {.
+
+when defined(windows):
+  when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+    import std/syncio
+
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string): string {.
                           tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
     ## Reads a line from stdin.
     stdout.write(prompt)
+    stdout.flushFile()
     result = readLine(stdin)
 
-  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string, line: var TaintedString): bool {.
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string, line: var string): bool {.
                           tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
     ## Reads a `line` from stdin. `line` must not be
-    ## ``nil``! May throw an IO exception.
-    ## A line of text may be delimited by ``CR``, ``LF`` or
-    ## ``CRLF``. The newline character(s) are not part of the returned string.
-    ## Returns ``false`` if the end of the file has been reached, ``true``
-    ## otherwise. If ``false`` is returned `line` contains no new data.
+    ## `nil`! May throw an IO exception.
+    ## A line of text may be delimited by `CR`, `LF` or
+    ## `CRLF`. The newline character(s) are not part of the returned string.
+    ## Returns `false` if the end of the file has been reached, `true`
+    ## otherwise. If `false` is returned `line` contains no new data.
     stdout.write(prompt)
     result = readLine(stdin, line)
 
-  import winlean
-
-  const
-    VK_SHIFT* = 16
-    VK_CONTROL* = 17
-    VK_MENU* = 18
-    KEY_EVENT* = 1
-
-  type
-    KEY_EVENT_RECORD = object
-      bKeyDown: WinBool
-      wRepeatCount: uint16
-      wVirtualKeyCode: uint16
-      wVirtualScanCode: uint16
-      unicodeChar: uint16
-      dwControlKeyState: uint32
-    INPUT_RECORD = object
-      eventType*: int16
-      reserved*: int16
-      event*: KEY_EVENT_RECORD
-      safetyBuffer: array[0..5, DWORD]
-
-  proc readConsoleInputW*(hConsoleInput: THANDLE, lpBuffer: var INPUTRECORD,
-                          nLength: uint32,
-                          lpNumberOfEventsRead: var uint32): WINBOOL{.
-      stdcall, dynlib: "kernel32", importc: "ReadConsoleInputW".}
-
-  proc getch(): uint16 =
-    let hStdin = getStdHandle(STD_INPUT_HANDLE)
-    var
-      irInputRecord: INPUT_RECORD
-      dwEventsRead: uint32
-
-    while readConsoleInputW(hStdin, irInputRecord, 1, dwEventsRead) != 0:
-      if irInputRecord.eventType == KEY_EVENT and
-          irInputRecord.event.wVirtualKeyCode notin {VK_SHIFT, VK_MENU, VK_CONTROL}:
-         result = irInputRecord.event.unicodeChar
-         discard readConsoleInputW(hStdin, irInputRecord, 1, dwEventsRead)
-         return result
-
-  from unicode import toUTF8, Rune, runeLenAt
+elif defined(genode):
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string): string {.
+                          tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
+    stdin.readLine()
 
-  proc readPasswordFromStdin*(prompt: string, password: var TaintedString):
-                              bool {.tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
-    ## Reads a `password` from stdin without printing it. `password` must not
-    ## be ``nil``! Returns ``false`` if the end of the file has been reached,
-    ## ``true`` otherwise.
-    password.setLen(0)
-    stdout.write(prompt)
-    while true:
-      let c = getch()
-      case c.char
-      of '\r', chr(0xA):
-        break
-      of '\b':
-        # ensure we delete the whole UTF-8 character:
-        var i = 0
-        var x = 1
-        while i < password.len:
-          x = runeLenAt(password, i)
-          inc i, x
-        password.setLen(max(password.len - x, 0))
-      else:
-        password.add(toUTF8(c.Rune))
-    stdout.write "\n"
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string, line: var string): bool {.
+                          tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
+    stdin.readLine(line)
 
 else:
-  import linenoise, termios, unsigned
-
-  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string): TaintedString {.
-                          tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
-    var buffer = linenoise.readLine(prompt)
-    if isNil(buffer): quit(0)
-    result = TaintedString($buffer)
-    if result.string.len > 0:
-      historyAdd(buffer)
-    linenoise.free(buffer)
+  import std/linenoise
 
-  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string, line: var TaintedString): bool {.
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string, line: var string): bool {.
                           tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
     var buffer = linenoise.readLine(prompt)
-    if isNil(buffer): quit(0)
-    line = TaintedString($buffer)
-    if line.string.len > 0:
+    if isNil(buffer):
+      line.setLen(0)
+      return false
+    line = $buffer
+    if line.len > 0:
       historyAdd(buffer)
     linenoise.free(buffer)
-    # XXX how to determine CTRL+D?
     result = true
 
-  proc readPasswordFromStdin*(prompt: string, password: var TaintedString):
-                              bool {.tags: [ReadIOEffect, WriteIOEffect].} =
-    password.setLen(0)
-    let fd = stdin.getFileHandle()
-    var cur, old: Termios
-    discard fd.tcgetattr(cur.addr)
-    old = cur
-    cur.c_lflag = cur.c_lflag and not Cflag(ECHO)
-    discard fd.tcsetattr(TCSADRAIN, cur.addr)
-    stdout.write prompt
-    result = stdin.readLine(password)
-    stdout.write "\n"
-    discard fd.tcsetattr(TCSADRAIN, old.addr)
-
-proc readPasswordFromStdin*(prompt: string): TaintedString =
-  ## Reads a password from stdin without printing it.
-  result = TaintedString("")
-  discard readPasswordFromStdin(prompt, result)
+  proc readLineFromStdin*(prompt: string): string {.inline.} =
+    if not readLineFromStdin(prompt, result):
+      raise newException(IOError, "Linenoise returned nil")
diff --git a/lib/impure/re.nim b/lib/impure/re.nim
index 60bb6c77f..053c6ab55 100644
--- a/lib/impure/re.nim
+++ b/lib/impure/re.nim
@@ -7,42 +7,53 @@
 #    distribution, for details about the copyright.
 #
 
-## Regular expression support for Nim. Deprecated. Consider using the ``nre``
-## or ``pegs`` modules instead.
-##
-## **Note:** The 're' proc defaults to the **extended regular expression
-## syntax** which lets you use whitespace freely to make your regexes readable.
-## However, this means to match whitespace ``\s`` or something similar has
-## to be used.
+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, rtarrays
+  std/[pcre, strutils, rtarrays]
 
-{.deprecated.}
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/syncio
 
 const
   MaxSubpatterns* = 20
     ## defines the maximum number of subpatterns that can be captured.
-    ## This limit still exists for ``replacef`` and ``parallelReplace``.
+    ## This limit still exists for `replacef` and `parallelReplace`.
 
 type
   RegexFlag* = enum     ## options for regular expressions
-    reIgnoreCase = 0,    ## do caseless matching
-    reMultiLine = 1,     ## ``^`` and ``$`` match newlines within data
-    reDotAll = 2,        ## ``.`` matches anything including NL
-    reExtended = 3,      ## ignore whitespace and ``#`` comments
-    reStudy = 4          ## study the expression (may be omitted if the
-                         ## expression will be used only once)
+    reIgnoreCase = 0,   ## do caseless matching
+    reMultiLine = 1,    ## `^` and `$` 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
@@ -53,8 +64,17 @@ type
   RegexError* = object of ValueError
     ## is raised if the pattern is no valid regular expression.
 
-{.deprecated: [TRegexFlag: RegexFlag, TRegexDesc: RegexDesc, TRegex: Regex,
-    EInvalidRegEx: RegexError].}
+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
@@ -64,76 +84,134 @@ proc raiseInvalidRegex(msg: string) {.noinline, noreturn.} =
 
 proc rawCompile(pattern: string, flags: cint): ptr Pcre =
   var
-    msg: cstring
-    offset: cint
+    msg: cstring = ""
+    offset: cint = 0
   result = pcre.compile(pattern, flags, addr(msg), addr(offset), nil)
   if result == nil:
     raiseInvalidRegex($msg & "\n" & pattern & "\n" & spaces(offset) & "^\n")
 
 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``).
+  # 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}): Regex {.deprecated.} =
-  ## Constructor of regular expressions. Note that Nim'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, addr 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: Regex, 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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start, flags,
+    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)
-    else: matches[i-1] = nil
+    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: Regex, 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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+    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)
-    else: matches[i-1] = nil
+    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: Regex,
+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): tuple[first, last: int] =
-  ## returns the starting position and end position of ``pattern`` in ``s``
+                 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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+    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:
@@ -144,80 +222,188 @@ proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: Regex,
   return (rawMatches[0].int, rawMatches[1].int - 1)
 
 proc findBounds*(s: string, pattern: Regex,
-                 start = 0): tuple[first, last: int] =
-  ## returns the starting position and end position of ``pattern`` in ``s``.
-  ## If it does not match, ``(-1,0)`` is returned.
+                 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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, nil, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+    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: Regex, start, flags: cint): cint =
+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, s, len(s).cint, start, flags,
+  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 matchLen*(s: string, pattern: Regex, 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
+              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.
-  return matchOrFind(s, pattern, matches, start.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
+  ##
+  ## .. 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*(s: string, pattern: Regex, 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, 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 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*(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, start.cint, pcre.ANCHORED)
+  result = matchOrFind(buf, pattern, start.cint, bufSize, pcre.ANCHORED)
 
-proc match*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): bool =
-  ## returns ``true`` if ``s[start..]`` matches the ``pattern``.
-  result = matchLen(s, pattern, start) != -1
+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 =
-  ## 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
+           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.
-  result = matchLen(s, pattern, matches, start) != -1
+  ## `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*(s: string, pattern: Regex, 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.
+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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint]((matches.len+1)*3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, pattern.e, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+    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)
-    else: matches[i-1] = nil
+    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: Regex, 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
     rtarray = initRtArray[cint](3)
     rawMatches = rtarray.getRawData
-    res = pcre.exec(pattern.h, nil, s, len(s).cint, start.cint, 0'i32,
+    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]
 
+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`.
   ##
@@ -237,32 +423,47 @@ iterator findAll*(s: string, pattern: Regex, start = 0): string =
     yield substr(s, int(a), int(b)-1)
     i = b
 
-proc findAll*(s: string, pattern: Regex, 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))
-
-when not defined(nimhygiene):
-  {.pragma: inject.}
-
-template `=~` *(s: string, pattern: Regex): expr =
-  ## This calls ``match`` with an implicit declared ``matches`` array that
-  ## can be used in the scope of the ``=~`` call:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##
-  ##   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")
+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
+
+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: 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]
@@ -270,73 +471,67 @@ template `=~` *(s: string, pattern: Regex): expr =
 
 # ------------------------- more string handling ------------------------------
 
-proc contains*(s: string, pattern: Regex, 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: Regex, matches: var openArray[string],
-              start = 0): bool =
-  ## same as ``find(s, pattern, matches, start) >= 0``
+              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: Regex): 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: Regex): 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: Regex, by = ""): string =
   ## Replaces `sub` in `s` by the string `by`. Captures cannot be
-  ## accessed in `by`. Examples:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##   "var1=key; var2=key2".replace(re"(\w+)=(\w+)")
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##
-  ##   "; "
+  ## 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: 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:: nim
-  ##   "var1=key; var2=key2".replacef(re"(\w+)=(\w+)", "$1<-$2$2")
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##
-  ## "var1<-keykey; val2<-key2key2"
+  ## with the notation `$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[MaxSubpatterns, string]
   var prev = 0
-  while true:
+  while prev < s.len:
     var match = findBounds(s, sub, caps, prev)
     if match.first < 0: break
-    assert result != nil
-    assert s != nil
     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))
 
-proc parallelReplace*(s: string, subs: openArray[
-                      tuple[pattern: Regex, 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 = ""
@@ -358,49 +553,50 @@ proc parallelReplace*(s: string, subs: openArray[
 proc transformFile*(infile, outfile: 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))
+  var x = readFile(infile)
+  writeFile(outfile, x.multiReplace(subs))
 
-iterator split*(s: string, sep: Regex): string =
+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:: nim
-  ##   for word in split("00232this02939is39an22example111", re"\d+"):
-  ##     writeLine(stdout, word)
-  ##
-  ## Results in:
-  ##
-  ## .. code-block:: nim
-  ##   ""
-  ##   "this"
-  ##   "is"
-  ##   "an"
-  ##   "example"
-  ##   ""
-  ##
-  var
-    first = -1
-    last = -1
-  while last < len(s):
-    var x = matchLen(s, sep, last)
-    if x > 0: inc(last, x)
-    first = last
-    if x == 0: inc(last)
+  ## 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 x >= 0:
+        sepLen = x
+        break
       inc(last)
-    if first <= last:
-      yield substr(s, first, last-1)
-
-proc split*(s: string, sep: Regex): seq[string] =
-  ## Splits the string `s` into substrings.
-  accumulateResult(split(s, sep))
+    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: 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
@@ -413,97 +609,3 @@ proc escapeRe*(s: string): string =
     else:
       result.add("\\x")
       result.add(toHex(ord(c), 2))
-
-const ## common regular expressions
-  reIdentifier* {.deprecated.} = r"\b[a-zA-Z_]+[a-zA-Z_0-9]*\b"
-    ## describes an identifier
-  reNatural* {.deprecated.} = r"\b\d+\b"
-    ## describes a natural number
-  reInteger* {.deprecated.} = r"\b[-+]?\d+\b"
-    ## describes an integer
-  reHex* {.deprecated.} = r"\b0[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+\b"
-    ## describes a hexadecimal number
-  reBinary* {.deprecated.} = r"\b0[bB][01]+\b"
-    ## describes a binary number (example: 0b11101)
-  reOctal* {.deprecated.} = r"\b0[oO][0-7]+\b"
-    ## describes an octal number (example: 0o777)
-  reFloat* {.deprecated.} = r"\b[-+]?[0-9]*\.?[0-9]+([eE][-+]?[0-9]+)?\b"
-    ## describes a floating point number
-  reEmail* {.deprecated.} = 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|net|gov|mil|biz|" &
-                            r"info|mobi|name|aero|jobs|museum)\b"
-    ## describes a common email address
-  reURL* {.deprecated.} = 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[6, 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
-
-  if "abc" =~ re"(cba)?.*":
-    assert matches[0] == nil
-  else: assert false
-
-  if "abc" =~ re"().*":
-    assert matches[0] == ""
-  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")
-
-  var accum: seq[string] = @[]
-  for word in split("00232this02939is39an22example111", re"\d+"):
-    accum.add(word)
-  assert(accum == @["", "this", "is", "an", "example", ""])
-
-  accum = @[]
-  for word in split("AAA :   : BBB", re"\s*:\s*"):
-    accum.add(word)
-  assert(accum == @["AAA", "", "BBB"])
-
-  for x in findAll("abcdef", re"^{.}", 3):
-    assert x == "d"
-  accum = @[]
-  for x in findAll("abcdef", re".", 3):
-    accum.add(x)
-  assert(accum == @["d", "e", "f"])
-
-  assert("XYZ".find(re"^\d*") == 0)
-  assert("XYZ".match(re"^\d*") == true)
-
-  block:
-    var matches: array[16, string]
-    if match("abcdefghijklmnop", re"(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)(l)(m)(n)(o)(p)", matches):
-      for i in 0..matches.high:
-        assert matches[i] == $chr(i + 'a'.ord)
-    else:
-      assert false
diff --git a/lib/impure/ssl.nim b/lib/impure/ssl.nim
deleted file mode 100644
index 721e5ce51..000000000
--- a/lib/impure/ssl.nim
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,97 +0,0 @@
-#
-#
-#            Nim's Runtime Library
-#        (c) Copyright 2012 Dominik Picheta
-#
-#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
-#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
-#
-
-## This module provides an easy to use sockets-style
-## nim interface to the OpenSSL library.
-
-{.deprecated.}
-
-import openssl, strutils, os
-
-type
-  SecureSocket* = object
-    ssl: SslPtr
-    bio: BIO
-{.deprecated: [TSecureSocket: SecureSocket].}
-
-proc connect*(sock: var SecureSocket, address: string,
-    port: int): int =
-  ## Connects to the specified `address` on the specified `port`.
-  ## Returns the result of the certificate validation.
-  SslLoadErrorStrings()
-  ERR_load_BIO_strings()
-
-  if SSL_library_init() != 1:
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-  var ctx = SSL_CTX_new(SSLv23_client_method())
-  if ctx == nil:
-    ERR_print_errors_fp(stderr)
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-  #if SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations(ctx,
-  #   "/tmp/openssl-0.9.8e/certs/vsign1.pem", NIL) == 0:
-  #  echo("Failed load verify locations")
-  #  ERR_print_errors_fp(stderr)
-
-  sock.bio = BIO_new_ssl_connect(ctx)
-  if BIO_get_ssl(sock.bio, addr(sock.ssl)) == 0:
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-  if BIO_set_conn_hostname(sock.bio, address & ":" & $port) != 1:
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-  if BIO_do_connect(sock.bio) <= 0:
-    ERR_print_errors_fp(stderr)
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-  result = SSL_get_verify_result(sock.ssl)
-
-proc recvLine*(sock: SecureSocket, line: var TaintedString): bool =
-  ## Acts in a similar fashion to the `recvLine` in the sockets module.
-  ## Returns false when no data is available to be read.
-  ## `Line` must be initialized and not nil!
-  setLen(line.string, 0)
-  while true:
-    var c: array[0..0, char]
-    var n = BIO_read(sock.bio, c, c.len.cint)
-    if n <= 0: return false
-    if c[0] == '\r':
-      n = BIO_read(sock.bio, c, c.len.cint)
-      if n > 0 and c[0] == '\L':
-        return true
-      elif n <= 0:
-        return false
-    elif c[0] == '\L': return true
-    add(line.string, c)
-
-
-proc send*(sock: SecureSocket, data: string) =
-  ## Writes `data` to the socket.
-  if BIO_write(sock.bio, data, data.len.cint) <= 0:
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-proc close*(sock: SecureSocket) =
-  ## Closes the socket
-  if BIO_free(sock.bio) <= 0:
-    ERR_print_errors_fp(stderr)
-    raiseOSError(osLastError())
-
-when not defined(testing) and isMainModule:
-  var s: SecureSocket
-  echo connect(s, "smtp.gmail.com", 465)
-
-  #var buffer: array[0..255, char]
-  #echo BIO_read(bio, buffer, buffer.len)
-  var buffer: string = ""
-
-  echo s.recvLine(buffer)
-  echo buffer
-  echo buffer.len
-