From 437835559168a5945a1196161660c439266eb59d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: George Hazan
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+
+This page is part of the PCRE HTML documentation. It was generated automatically
+from the original man page. If there is any nonsense in it, please consult the
+man page, in case the conversion went wrong.
+
+pcregrep [options] [long options] [pattern] [path1 path2 ...]
+
+pcregrep searches files for character patterns, in the same way as other
+grep commands do, but it uses the PCRE regular expression library to support
+patterns that are compatible with the regular expressions of Perl 5. See
+pcresyntax(3)
+for a quick-reference summary of pattern syntax, or
+pcrepattern(3)
+for a full description of the syntax and semantics of the regular expressions
+that PCRE supports.
+
+Patterns, whether supplied on the command line or in a separate file, are given
+without delimiters. For example:
+pcregrep man page
+
+
+
+
SYNOPSIS
+
DESCRIPTION
+
+ pcregrep Thursday /etc/motd
+
+If you attempt to use delimiters (for example, by surrounding a pattern with
+slashes, as is common in Perl scripts), they are interpreted as part of the
+pattern. Quotes can of course be used to delimit patterns on the command line
+because they are interpreted by the shell, and indeed quotes are required if a
+pattern contains white space or shell metacharacters.
+
+The first argument that follows any option settings is treated as the single +pattern to be matched when neither -e nor -f is present. +Conversely, when one or both of these options are used to specify patterns, all +arguments are treated as path names. At least one of -e, -f, or an +argument pattern must be provided. +
++If no files are specified, pcregrep reads the standard input. The +standard input can also be referenced by a name consisting of a single hyphen. +For example: +
+ pcregrep some-pattern /file1 - /file3 ++By default, each line that matches a pattern is copied to the standard +output, and if there is more than one file, the file name is output at the +start of each line, followed by a colon. However, there are options that can +change how pcregrep behaves. In particular, the -M option makes it +possible to search for patterns that span line boundaries. What defines a line +boundary is controlled by the -N (--newline) option. + +
+The amount of memory used for buffering files that are being scanned is +controlled by a parameter that can be set by the --buffer-size option. +The default value for this parameter is specified when pcregrep is built, +with the default default being 20K. A block of memory three times this size is +used (to allow for buffering "before" and "after" lines). An error occurs if a +line overflows the buffer. +
++Patterns can be no longer than 8K or BUFSIZ bytes, whichever is the greater. +BUFSIZ is defined in <stdio.h>. When there is more than one pattern +(specified by the use of -e and/or -f), each pattern is applied to +each line in the order in which they are defined, except that all the -e +patterns are tried before the -f patterns. +
++By default, as soon as one pattern matches a line, no further patterns are +considered. However, if --colour (or --color) is used to colour the +matching substrings, or if --only-matching, --file-offsets, or +--line-offsets is used to output only the part of the line that matched +(either shown literally, or as an offset), scanning resumes immediately +following the match, so that further matches on the same line can be found. If +there are multiple patterns, they are all tried on the remainder of the line, +but patterns that follow the one that matched are not tried on the earlier part +of the line. +
++This behaviour means that the order in which multiple patterns are specified +can affect the output when one of the above options is used. This is no longer +the same behaviour as GNU grep, which now manages to display earlier matches +for later patterns (as long as there is no overlap). +
++Patterns that can match an empty string are accepted, but empty string +matches are never recognized. An example is the pattern "(super)?(man)?", in +which all components are optional. This pattern finds all occurrences of both +"super" and "man"; the output differs from matching with "super|man" when only +the matching substrings are being shown. +
++If the LC_ALL or LC_CTYPE environment variable is set, +pcregrep uses the value to set a locale when calling the PCRE library. +The --locale option can be used to override this. +
++It is possible to compile pcregrep so that it uses libz or +libbz2 to read files whose names end in .gz or .bz2, +respectively. You can find out whether your binary has support for one or both +of these file types by running it with the --help option. If the +appropriate support is not present, files are treated as plain text. The +standard input is always so treated. +
++By default, a file that contains a binary zero byte within the first 1024 bytes +is identified as a binary file, and is processed specially. (GNU grep also +identifies binary files in this manner.) See the --binary-files option +for a means of changing the way binary files are handled. +
++The order in which some of the options appear can affect the output. For +example, both the -h and -l options affect the printing of file +names. Whichever comes later in the command line will be the one that takes +effect. Similarly, except where noted below, if an option is given twice, the +later setting is used. Numerical values for options may be followed by K or M, +to signify multiplication by 1024 or 1024*1024 respectively. +
++-- +This terminates the list of options. It is useful if the next item on the +command line starts with a hyphen but is not an option. This allows for the +processing of patterns and filenames that start with hyphens. +
++-A number, --after-context=number +Output number lines of context after each matching line. If filenames +and/or line numbers are being output, a hyphen separator is used instead of a +colon for the context lines. A line containing "--" is output between each +group of lines, unless they are in fact contiguous in the input file. The value +of number is expected to be relatively small. However, pcregrep +guarantees to have up to 8K of following text available for context output. +
++-a, --text +Treat binary files as text. This is equivalent to +--binary-files=text. +
++-B number, --before-context=number +Output number lines of context before each matching line. If filenames +and/or line numbers are being output, a hyphen separator is used instead of a +colon for the context lines. A line containing "--" is output between each +group of lines, unless they are in fact contiguous in the input file. The value +of number is expected to be relatively small. However, pcregrep +guarantees to have up to 8K of preceding text available for context output. +
++--binary-files=word +Specify how binary files are to be processed. If the word is "binary" (the +default), pattern matching is performed on binary files, but the only output is +"Binary file <name> matches" when a match succeeds. If the word is "text", +which is equivalent to the -a or --text option, binary files are +processed in the same way as any other file. In this case, when a match +succeeds, the output may be binary garbage, which can have nasty effects if +sent to a terminal. If the word is "without-match", which is equivalent to the +-I option, binary files are not processed at all; they are assumed not to +be of interest. +
++--buffer-size=number +Set the parameter that controls how much memory is used for buffering files +that are being scanned. +
++-C number, --context=number +Output number lines of context both before and after each matching line. +This is equivalent to setting both -A and -B to the same value. +
++-c, --count +Do not output individual lines from the files that are being scanned; instead +output the number of lines that would otherwise have been shown. If no lines +are selected, the number zero is output. If several files are are being +scanned, a count is output for each of them. However, if the +--files-with-matches option is also used, only those files whose counts +are greater than zero are listed. When -c is used, the -A, +-B, and -C options are ignored. +
++--colour, --color +If this option is given without any data, it is equivalent to "--colour=auto". +If data is required, it must be given in the same shell item, separated by an +equals sign. +
+
+--colour=value, --color=value
+This option specifies under what circumstances the parts of a line that matched
+a pattern should be coloured in the output. By default, the output is not
+coloured. The value (which is optional, see above) may be "never", "always", or
+"auto". In the latter case, colouring happens only if the standard output is
+connected to a terminal. More resources are used when colouring is enabled,
+because pcregrep has to search for all possible matches in a line, not
+just one, in order to colour them all.
+
+
+The colour that is used can be specified by setting the environment variable
+PCREGREP_COLOUR or PCREGREP_COLOR. The value of this variable should be a
+string of two numbers, separated by a semicolon. They are copied directly into
+the control string for setting colour on a terminal, so it is your
+responsibility to ensure that they make sense. If neither of the environment
+variables is set, the default is "1;31", which gives red.
+
+-D action, --devices=action +If an input path is not a regular file or a directory, "action" specifies how +it is to be processed. Valid values are "read" (the default) or "skip" +(silently skip the path). +
++-d action, --directories=action +If an input path is a directory, "action" specifies how it is to be processed. +Valid values are "read" (the default in non-Windows environments, for +compatibility with GNU grep), "recurse" (equivalent to the -r option), or +"skip" (silently skip the path, the default in Windows environments). In the +"read" case, directories are read as if they were ordinary files. In some +operating systems the effect of reading a directory like this is an immediate +end-of-file; in others it may provoke an error. +
+
+-e pattern, --regex=pattern, --regexp=pattern
+Specify a pattern to be matched. This option can be used multiple times in
+order to specify several patterns. It can also be used as a way of specifying a
+single pattern that starts with a hyphen. When -e is used, no argument
+pattern is taken from the command line; all arguments are treated as file
+names. There is no limit to the number of patterns. They are applied to each
+line in the order in which they are defined until one matches.
+
+
+If -f is used with -e, the command line patterns are matched first,
+followed by the patterns from the file(s), independent of the order in which
+these options are specified. Note that multiple use of -e is not the same
+as a single pattern with alternatives. For example, X|Y finds the first
+character in a line that is X or Y, whereas if the two patterns are given
+separately, with X first, pcregrep finds X if it is present, even if it
+follows Y in the line. It finds Y only if there is no X in the line. This
+matters only if you are using -o or --colo(u)r to show the part(s)
+of the line that matched.
+
+--exclude=pattern +Files (but not directories) whose names match the pattern are skipped without +being processed. This applies to all files, whether listed on the command line, +obtained from --file-list, or by scanning a directory. The pattern is a +PCRE regular expression, and is matched against the final component of the file +name, not the entire path. The -F, -w, and -x options do not +apply to this pattern. The option may be given any number of times in order to +specify multiple patterns. If a file name matches both an --include +and an --exclude pattern, it is excluded. There is no short form for this +option. +
++--exclude-from=filename +Treat each non-empty line of the file as the data for an --exclude +option. What constitutes a newline when reading the file is the operating +system's default. The --newline option has no effect on this option. This +option may be given more than once in order to specify a number of files to +read. +
++--exclude-dir=pattern +Directories whose names match the pattern are skipped without being processed, +whatever the setting of the --recursive option. This applies to all +directories, whether listed on the command line, obtained from +--file-list, or by scanning a parent directory. The pattern is a PCRE +regular expression, and is matched against the final component of the directory +name, not the entire path. The -F, -w, and -x options do not +apply to this pattern. The option may be given any number of times in order to +specify more than one pattern. If a directory matches both --include-dir +and --exclude-dir, it is excluded. There is no short form for this +option. +
++-F, --fixed-strings +Interpret each data-matching pattern as a list of fixed strings, separated by +newlines, instead of as a regular expression. What constitutes a newline for +this purpose is controlled by the --newline option. The -w (match +as a word) and -x (match whole line) options can be used with -F. +They apply to each of the fixed strings. A line is selected if any of the fixed +strings are found in it (subject to -w or -x, if present). This +option applies only to the patterns that are matched against the contents of +files; it does not apply to patterns specified by any of the --include or +--exclude options. +
+
+-f filename, --file=filename
+Read patterns from the file, one per line, and match them against
+each line of input. What constitutes a newline when reading the file is the
+operating system's default. The --newline option has no effect on this
+option. Trailing white space is removed from each line, and blank lines are
+ignored. An empty file contains no patterns and therefore matches nothing. See
+also the comments about multiple patterns versus a single pattern with
+alternatives in the description of -e above.
+
+
+If this option is given more than once, all the specified files are
+read. A data line is output if any of the patterns match it. A filename can
+be given as "-" to refer to the standard input. When -f is used, patterns
+specified on the command line using -e may also be present; they are
+tested before the file's patterns. However, no other pattern is taken from the
+command line; all arguments are treated as the names of paths to be searched.
+
+--file-list=filename +Read a list of files and/or directories that are to be scanned from the given +file, one per line. Trailing white space is removed from each line, and blank +lines are ignored. These paths are processed before any that are listed on the +command line. The filename can be given as "-" to refer to the standard input. +If --file and --file-list are both specified as "-", patterns are +read first. This is useful only when the standard input is a terminal, from +which further lines (the list of files) can be read after an end-of-file +indication. If this option is given more than once, all the specified files are +read. +
++--file-offsets +Instead of showing lines or parts of lines that match, show each match as an +offset from the start of the file and a length, separated by a comma. In this +mode, no context is shown. That is, the -A, -B, and -C +options are ignored. If there is more than one match in a line, each of them is +shown separately. This option is mutually exclusive with --line-offsets +and --only-matching. +
++-H, --with-filename +Force the inclusion of the filename at the start of output lines when searching +a single file. By default, the filename is not shown in this case. For matching +lines, the filename is followed by a colon; for context lines, a hyphen +separator is used. If a line number is also being output, it follows the file +name. +
++-h, --no-filename +Suppress the output filenames when searching multiple files. By default, +filenames are shown when multiple files are searched. For matching lines, the +filename is followed by a colon; for context lines, a hyphen separator is used. +If a line number is also being output, it follows the file name. +
++--help +Output a help message, giving brief details of the command options and file +type support, and then exit. Anything else on the command line is +ignored. +
++-I +Treat binary files as never matching. This is equivalent to +--binary-files=without-match. +
++-i, --ignore-case +Ignore upper/lower case distinctions during comparisons. +
++--include=pattern +If any --include patterns are specified, the only files that are +processed are those that match one of the patterns (and do not match an +--exclude pattern). This option does not affect directories, but it +applies to all files, whether listed on the command line, obtained from +--file-list, or by scanning a directory. The pattern is a PCRE regular +expression, and is matched against the final component of the file name, not +the entire path. The -F, -w, and -x options do not apply to +this pattern. The option may be given any number of times. If a file name +matches both an --include and an --exclude pattern, it is excluded. +There is no short form for this option. +
++--include-from=filename +Treat each non-empty line of the file as the data for an --include +option. What constitutes a newline for this purpose is the operating system's +default. The --newline option has no effect on this option. This option +may be given any number of times; all the files are read. +
++--include-dir=pattern +If any --include-dir patterns are specified, the only directories that +are processed are those that match one of the patterns (and do not match an +--exclude-dir pattern). This applies to all directories, whether listed +on the command line, obtained from --file-list, or by scanning a parent +directory. The pattern is a PCRE regular expression, and is matched against the +final component of the directory name, not the entire path. The -F, +-w, and -x options do not apply to this pattern. The option may be +given any number of times. If a directory matches both --include-dir and +--exclude-dir, it is excluded. There is no short form for this option. +
++-L, --files-without-match +Instead of outputting lines from the files, just output the names of the files +that do not contain any lines that would have been output. Each file name is +output once, on a separate line. +
++-l, --files-with-matches +Instead of outputting lines from the files, just output the names of the files +containing lines that would have been output. Each file name is output +once, on a separate line. Searching normally stops as soon as a matching line +is found in a file. However, if the -c (count) option is also used, +matching continues in order to obtain the correct count, and those files that +have at least one match are listed along with their counts. Using this option +with -c is a way of suppressing the listing of files with no matches. +
++--label=name +This option supplies a name to be used for the standard input when file names +are being output. If not supplied, "(standard input)" is used. There is no +short form for this option. +
++--line-buffered +When this option is given, input is read and processed line by line, and the +output is flushed after each write. By default, input is read in large chunks, +unless pcregrep can determine that it is reading from a terminal (which +is currently possible only in Unix-like environments). Output to terminal is +normally automatically flushed by the operating system. This option can be +useful when the input or output is attached to a pipe and you do not want +pcregrep to buffer up large amounts of data. However, its use will affect +performance, and the -M (multiline) option ceases to work. +
++--line-offsets +Instead of showing lines or parts of lines that match, show each match as a +line number, the offset from the start of the line, and a length. The line +number is terminated by a colon (as usual; see the -n option), and the +offset and length are separated by a comma. In this mode, no context is shown. +That is, the -A, -B, and -C options are ignored. If there is +more than one match in a line, each of them is shown separately. This option is +mutually exclusive with --file-offsets and --only-matching. +
++--locale=locale-name +This option specifies a locale to be used for pattern matching. It overrides +the value in the LC_ALL or LC_CTYPE environment variables. If no +locale is specified, the PCRE library's default (usually the "C" locale) is +used. There is no short form for this option. +
+
+--match-limit=number
+Processing some regular expression patterns can require a very large amount of
+memory, leading in some cases to a program crash if not enough is available.
+Other patterns may take a very long time to search for all possible matching
+strings. The pcre_exec() function that is called by pcregrep to do
+the matching has two parameters that can limit the resources that it uses.
+
+
+The --match-limit option provides a means of limiting resource usage
+when processing patterns that are not going to match, but which have a very
+large number of possibilities in their search trees. The classic example is a
+pattern that uses nested unlimited repeats. Internally, PCRE uses a function
+called match() which it calls repeatedly (sometimes recursively). The
+limit set by --match-limit is imposed on the number of times this
+function is called during a match, which has the effect of limiting the amount
+of backtracking that can take place.
+
+
+The --recursion-limit option is similar to --match-limit, but
+instead of limiting the total number of times that match() is called, it
+limits the depth of recursive calls, which in turn limits the amount of memory
+that can be used. The recursion depth is a smaller number than the total number
+of calls, because not all calls to match() are recursive. This limit is
+of use only if it is set smaller than --match-limit.
+
+
+There are no short forms for these options. The default settings are specified
+when the PCRE library is compiled, with the default default being 10 million.
+
+-M, --multiline
+Allow patterns to match more than one line. When this option is given, patterns
+may usefully contain literal newline characters and internal occurrences of ^
+and $ characters. The output for a successful match may consist of more than
+one line, the last of which is the one in which the match ended. If the matched
+string ends with a newline sequence the output ends at the end of that line.
+
+
+When this option is set, the PCRE library is called in "multiline" mode.
+There is a limit to the number of lines that can be matched, imposed by the way
+that pcregrep buffers the input file as it scans it. However,
+pcregrep ensures that at least 8K characters or the rest of the document
+(whichever is the shorter) are available for forward matching, and similarly
+the previous 8K characters (or all the previous characters, if fewer than 8K)
+are guaranteed to be available for lookbehind assertions. This option does not
+work when input is read line by line (see \fP--line-buffered\fP.)
+
+-N newline-type, --newline=newline-type
+The PCRE library supports five different conventions for indicating
+the ends of lines. They are the single-character sequences CR (carriage return)
+and LF (linefeed), the two-character sequence CRLF, an "anycrlf" convention,
+which recognizes any of the preceding three types, and an "any" convention, in
+which any Unicode line ending sequence is assumed to end a line. The Unicode
+sequences are the three just mentioned, plus VT (vertical tab, U+000B), FF
+(form feed, U+000C), NEL (next line, U+0085), LS (line separator, U+2028), and
+PS (paragraph separator, U+2029).
+
+
+When the PCRE library is built, a default line-ending sequence is specified.
+This is normally the standard sequence for the operating system. Unless
+otherwise specified by this option, pcregrep uses the library's default.
+The possible values for this option are CR, LF, CRLF, ANYCRLF, or ANY. This
+makes it possible to use pcregrep to scan files that have come from other
+environments without having to modify their line endings. If the data that is
+being scanned does not agree with the convention set by this option,
+pcregrep may behave in strange ways. Note that this option does not
+apply to files specified by the -f, --exclude-from, or
+--include-from options, which are expected to use the operating system's
+standard newline sequence.
+
+-n, --line-number +Precede each output line by its line number in the file, followed by a colon +for matching lines or a hyphen for context lines. If the filename is also being +output, it precedes the line number. This option is forced if +--line-offsets is used. +
++--no-jit +If the PCRE library is built with support for just-in-time compiling (which +speeds up matching), pcregrep automatically makes use of this, unless it +was explicitly disabled at build time. This option can be used to disable the +use of JIT at run time. It is provided for testing and working round problems. +It should never be needed in normal use. +
++-o, --only-matching +Show only the part of the line that matched a pattern instead of the whole +line. In this mode, no context is shown. That is, the -A, -B, and +-C options are ignored. If there is more than one match in a line, each +of them is shown separately. If -o is combined with -v (invert the +sense of the match to find non-matching lines), no output is generated, but the +return code is set appropriately. If the matched portion of the line is empty, +nothing is output unless the file name or line number are being printed, in +which case they are shown on an otherwise empty line. This option is mutually +exclusive with --file-offsets and --line-offsets. +
+
+-onumber, --only-matching=number
+Show only the part of the line that matched the capturing parentheses of the
+given number. Up to 32 capturing parentheses are supported, and -o0 is
+equivalent to -o without a number. Because these options can be given
+without an argument (see above), if an argument is present, it must be given in
+the same shell item, for example, -o3 or --only-matching=2. The comments given
+for the non-argument case above also apply to this case. If the specified
+capturing parentheses do not exist in the pattern, or were not set in the
+match, nothing is output unless the file name or line number are being printed.
+
+
+If this option is given multiple times, multiple substrings are output, in the
+order the options are given. For example, -o3 -o1 -o3 causes the substrings
+matched by capturing parentheses 3 and 1 and then 3 again to be output. By
+default, there is no separator (but see the next option).
+
+--om-separator=text +Specify a separating string for multiple occurrences of -o. The default +is an empty string. Separating strings are never coloured. +
++-q, --quiet +Work quietly, that is, display nothing except error messages. The exit +status indicates whether or not any matches were found. +
++-r, --recursive +If any given path is a directory, recursively scan the files it contains, +taking note of any --include and --exclude settings. By default, a +directory is read as a normal file; in some operating systems this gives an +immediate end-of-file. This option is a shorthand for setting the -d +option to "recurse". +
++--recursion-limit=number +See --match-limit above. +
++-s, --no-messages +Suppress error messages about non-existent or unreadable files. Such files are +quietly skipped. However, the return code is still 2, even if matches were +found in other files. +
++-u, --utf-8 +Operate in UTF-8 mode. This option is available only if PCRE has been compiled +with UTF-8 support. All patterns (including those for any --exclude and +--include options) and all subject lines that are scanned must be valid +strings of UTF-8 characters. +
++-V, --version +Write the version numbers of pcregrep and the PCRE library to the +standard output and then exit. Anything else on the command line is +ignored. +
++-v, --invert-match +Invert the sense of the match, so that lines which do not match any of +the patterns are the ones that are found. +
++-w, --word-regex, --word-regexp +Force the patterns to match only whole words. This is equivalent to having \b +at the start and end of the pattern. This option applies only to the patterns +that are matched against the contents of files; it does not apply to patterns +specified by any of the --include or --exclude options. +
++-x, --line-regex, --line-regexp +Force the patterns to be anchored (each must start matching at the beginning of +a line) and in addition, require them to match entire lines. This is equivalent +to having ^ and $ characters at the start and end of each alternative branch in +every pattern. This option applies only to the patterns that are matched +against the contents of files; it does not apply to patterns specified by any +of the --include or --exclude options. +
++The environment variables LC_ALL and LC_CTYPE are examined, in that +order, for a locale. The first one that is set is used. This can be overridden +by the --locale option. If no locale is set, the PCRE library's default +(usually the "C" locale) is used. +
++The -N (--newline) option allows pcregrep to scan files with +different newline conventions from the default. Any parts of the input files +that are written to the standard output are copied identically, with whatever +newline sequences they have in the input. However, the setting of this option +does not affect the interpretation of files specified by the -f, +--exclude-from, or --include-from options, which are assumed to use +the operating system's standard newline sequence, nor does it affect the way in +which pcregrep writes informational messages to the standard error and +output streams. For these it uses the string "\n" to indicate newlines, +relying on the C I/O library to convert this to an appropriate sequence. +
++Many of the short and long forms of pcregrep's options are the same +as in the GNU grep program. Any long option of the form +--xxx-regexp (GNU terminology) is also available as --xxx-regex +(PCRE terminology). However, the --file-list, --file-offsets, +--include-dir, --line-offsets, --locale, --match-limit, +-M, --multiline, -N, --newline, --om-separator, +--recursion-limit, -u, and --utf-8 options are specific to +pcregrep, as is the use of the --only-matching option with a +capturing parentheses number. +
++Although most of the common options work the same way, a few are different in +pcregrep. For example, the --include option's argument is a glob +for GNU grep, but a regular expression for pcregrep. If both the +-c and -l options are given, GNU grep lists only file names, +without counts, but pcregrep gives the counts. +
++There are four different ways in which an option with data can be specified. +If a short form option is used, the data may follow immediately, or (with one +exception) in the next command line item. For example: +
+ -f/some/file + -f /some/file ++The exception is the -o option, which may appear with or without data. +Because of this, if data is present, it must follow immediately in the same +item, for example -o3. + +
+If a long form option is used, the data may appear in the same command line +item, separated by an equals character, or (with two exceptions) it may appear +in the next command line item. For example: +
+ --file=/some/file + --file /some/file ++Note, however, that if you want to supply a file name beginning with ~ as data +in a shell command, and have the shell expand ~ to a home directory, you must +separate the file name from the option, because the shell does not treat ~ +specially unless it is at the start of an item. + +
+The exceptions to the above are the --colour (or --color) and +--only-matching options, for which the data is optional. If one of these +options does have data, it must be given in the first form, using an equals +character. Otherwise pcregrep will assume that it has no data. +
++It is possible to supply a regular expression that takes a very long time to +fail to match certain lines. Such patterns normally involve nested indefinite +repeats, for example: (a+)*\d when matched against a line of a's with no final +digit. The PCRE matching function has a resource limit that causes it to abort +in these circumstances. If this happens, pcregrep outputs an error +message and the line that caused the problem to the standard error stream. If +there are more than 20 such errors, pcregrep gives up. +
++The --match-limit option of pcregrep can be used to set the overall +resource limit; there is a second option called --recursion-limit that +sets a limit on the amount of memory (usually stack) that is used (see the +discussion of these options above). +
++Exit status is 0 if any matches were found, 1 if no matches were found, and 2 +for syntax errors, overlong lines, non-existent or inaccessible files (even if +matches were found in other files) or too many matching errors. Using the +-s option to suppress error messages about inaccessible files does not +affect the return code. +
++pcrepattern(3), pcresyntax(3), pcretest(1). +
+
+Philip Hazel
+
+University Computing Service
+
+Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
+
+
+Last updated: 03 April 2014
+
+Copyright © 1997-2014 University of Cambridge.
+
+
+Return to the PCRE index page. +
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