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Diffstat (limited to 'runtime/doc/pattern.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | runtime/doc/pattern.txt | 42 |
1 files changed, 22 insertions, 20 deletions
diff --git a/runtime/doc/pattern.txt b/runtime/doc/pattern.txt index 4a574e35d..177a652b7 100644 --- a/runtime/doc/pattern.txt +++ b/runtime/doc/pattern.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -*pattern.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2020 Dec 06 +*pattern.txt* For Vim version 8.2. Last change: 2020 Dec 25 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar @@ -394,15 +394,19 @@ the pattern will not match. This is only useful when debugging Vim. ============================================================================== 3. Magic */magic* -Some characters in the pattern are taken literally. They match with the same -character in the text. When preceded with a backslash however, these -characters get a special meaning. +Some characters in the pattern, such as letters, are taken literally. They +match exactly the same character in the text. When preceded with a backslash +however, these characters may get a special meaning. For example, "a" matches +the letter "a", while "\a" matches any alphabetic character. Other characters have a special meaning without a backslash. They need to be -preceded with a backslash to match literally. +preceded with a backslash to match literally. For example "." matches any +character while "\." matches a dot. If a character is taken literally or not depends on the 'magic' option and the -items mentioned next. +items in the pattern mentioned next. The 'magic' option should always be set, +but it can be switched off for Vi compatibility. We mention the effect of +'nomagic' here for completeness, but we recommend against using that. */\m* */\M* Use of "\m" makes the pattern after it be interpreted as if 'magic' is set, ignoring the actual value of the 'magic' option. @@ -411,30 +415,28 @@ Use of "\M" makes the pattern after it be interpreted as if 'nomagic' is used. Use of "\v" means that after it, all ASCII characters except '0'-'9', 'a'-'z', 'A'-'Z' and '_' have special meaning: "very magic" -Use of "\V" means that after it, only a backslash and terminating character -(usually / or ?) have special meaning: "very nomagic" +Use of "\V" means that after it, only a backslash and the terminating +character (usually / or ?) have special meaning: "very nomagic" Examples: after: \v \m \M \V matches ~ 'magic' 'nomagic' - $ $ $ \$ matches end-of-line - . . \. \. matches any character + a a a a literal 'a' + \a \a \a \a any alphabetic character + . . \. \. any character + \. \. . . literal dot + $ $ $ \$ end-of-line * * \* \* any number of the previous atom ~ ~ \~ \~ latest substitute string - () \(\) \(\) \(\) grouping into an atom - | \| \| \| separating alternatives - \a \a \a \a alphabetic character + () \(\) \(\) \(\) group as an atom + | \| \| \| nothing: separates alternatives \\ \\ \\ \\ literal backslash - \. \. . . literal dot - \{ { { { literal '{' - a a a a literal 'a' + \{ { { { literal curly brace {only Vim supports \m, \M, \v and \V} -It is recommended to always keep the 'magic' option at the default setting, -which is 'magic'. This avoids portability problems. To make a pattern immune -to the 'magic' option being set or not, put "\m" or "\M" at the start of the -pattern. +If you want to you can make a pattern immune to the 'magic' option being set +or not by putting "\m" or "\M" at the start of the pattern. ============================================================================== 4. Overview of pattern items *pattern-overview* |