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revision 1220 by ph10, Wed Oct 31 17:42:29 2012 UTC revision 1221 by ph10, Sun Nov 11 20:27:03 2012 UTC
# Line 13  from the original man page. If there is Line 13  from the original man page. If there is
13  man page, in case the conversion went wrong.  man page, in case the conversion went wrong.
14  <br>  <br>
15  <br><b>  <br><b>
16  UTF-8, UTF-16, AND UNICODE PROPERTY SUPPORT  UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32, AND UNICODE PROPERTY SUPPORT
17  </b><br>  </b><br>
18  <P>  <P>
19  From Release 8.30, in addition to its previous UTF-8 support, PCRE also  As well as UTF-8 support, PCRE also supports UTF-16 (from release 8.30) and
20  supports UTF-16 by means of a separate 16-bit library. This can be built as  UTF-32 (from release 8.32), by means of two additional libraries. They can be
21  well as, or instead of, the 8-bit library.  built as well as, or instead of, the 8-bit library.
 </P>  
 <P>  
 From Release 8.32, in addition to its previous UTF-8 and UTF-16 support,  
 PCRE also supports UTF-32 by means of a separate 32-bit library. This can be  
 built as well as, or instead of, the 8-bit and 16-bit libraries.  
22  </P>  </P>
23  <br><b>  <br><b>
24  UTF-8 SUPPORT  UTF-8 SUPPORT
# Line 33  In order process UTF-8 strings, you must Line 28  In order process UTF-8 strings, you must
28  support, and, in addition, you must call  support, and, in addition, you must call
29  <a href="pcre_compile.html"><b>pcre_compile()</b></a>  <a href="pcre_compile.html"><b>pcre_compile()</b></a>
30  with the PCRE_UTF8 option flag, or the pattern must start with the sequence  with the PCRE_UTF8 option flag, or the pattern must start with the sequence
31  (*UTF8). When either of these is the case, both the pattern and any subject  (*UTF8) or (*UTF). When either of these is the case, both the pattern and any
32  strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-8 strings instead of  subject strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-8 strings
33  strings of 1-byte characters.  instead of strings of individual 1-byte characters.
34  </P>  </P>
35  <br><b>  <br><b>
36  UTF-16 SUPPORT  UTF-16 AND UTF-32 SUPPORT
37  </b><br>  </b><br>
38  <P>  <P>
39  In order process UTF-16 strings, you must build PCRE's 16-bit library with UTF  In order process UTF-16 or UTF-32 strings, you must build PCRE's 16-bit or
40  support, and, in addition, you must call  32-bit library with UTF support, and, in addition, you must call
41  <a href="pcre_compile.html"><b>pcre16_compile()</b></a>  <a href="pcre16_compile.html"><b>pcre16_compile()</b></a>
42  with the PCRE_UTF16 option flag, or the pattern must start with the sequence  or
43  (*UTF16). When either of these is the case, both the pattern and any subject  <a href="pcre32_compile.html"><b>pcre32_compile()</b></a>
44  strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-16 strings instead of  with the PCRE_UTF16 or PCRE_UTF32 option flag, as appropriate. Alternatively,
45  strings of 16-bit characters.  the pattern must start with the sequence (*UTF16), (*UTF32), as appropriate, or
46  </P>  (*UTF), which can be used with either library. When UTF mode is set, both the
47  <br><b>  pattern and any subject strings that are matched against it are treated as
48  UTF-32 SUPPORT  UTF-16 or UTF-32 strings instead of strings of individual 16-bit or 32-bit
49  </b><br>  characters.
 <P>  
 In order process UTF-32 strings, you must build PCRE's 32-bit library with UTF  
 support, and, in addition, you must call  
 <a href="pcre_compile.html"><b>pcre32_compile()</b></a>  
 with the PCRE_UTF32 option flag, or the pattern must start with the sequence  
 (*UTF32). When either of these is the case, both the pattern and any subject  
 strings that are matched against it are treated as UTF-32 strings instead of  
 strings of 32-bit characters.  
50  </P>  </P>
51  <br><b>  <br><b>
52  UTF SUPPORT OVERHEAD  UTF SUPPORT OVERHEAD
# Line 78  support), the escape sequences \p{..}, \ Line 65  support), the escape sequences \p{..}, \
65  The available properties that can be tested are limited to the general  The available properties that can be tested are limited to the general
66  category properties such as Lu for an upper case letter or Nd for a decimal  category properties such as Lu for an upper case letter or Nd for a decimal
67  number, the Unicode script names such as Arabic or Han, and the derived  number, the Unicode script names such as Arabic or Han, and the derived
68  properties Any and L&. A full list is given in the  properties Any and L&. Full lists is given in the
69  <a href="pcrepattern.html"><b>pcrepattern</b></a>  <a href="pcrepattern.html"><b>pcrepattern</b></a>
70    and
71    <a href="pcresyntax.html"><b>pcresyntax</b></a>
72  documentation. Only the short names for properties are supported. For example,  documentation. Only the short names for properties are supported. For example,
73  \p{L} matches a letter. Its Perl synonym, \p{Letter}, is not supported.  \p{L} matches a letter. Its Perl synonym, \p{Letter}, is not supported.
74  Furthermore, in Perl, many properties may optionally be prefixed by "Is", for  Furthermore, in Perl, many properties may optionally be prefixed by "Is", for
# Line 96  place. From release 7.3 of PCRE, the che Line 85  place. From release 7.3 of PCRE, the che
85  which are themselves derived from the Unicode specification. Earlier releases  which are themselves derived from the Unicode specification. Earlier releases
86  of PCRE followed the rules of RFC 2279, which allows the full range of 31-bit  of PCRE followed the rules of RFC 2279, which allows the full range of 31-bit
87  values (0 to 0x7FFFFFFF). The current check allows only values in the range U+0  values (0 to 0x7FFFFFFF). The current check allows only values in the range U+0
88  to U+10FFFF, excluding the surrogate area, and the non-characters.  to U+10FFFF, excluding the surrogate area and the non-characters.
89  </P>  </P>
90  <P>  <P>
91  Excluded code points are the "Surrogate Area" of Unicode. They are reserved  Characters in the "Surrogate Area" of Unicode are reserved for use by UTF-16,
92  for use by UTF-16, where they are used in pairs to encode codepoints with  where they are used in pairs to encode codepoints with values greater than
93  values greater than 0xFFFF. The code points that are encoded by UTF-16 pairs  0xFFFF. The code points that are encoded by UTF-16 pairs are available
94  are available independently in the UTF-8 encoding. (In other words, the whole  independently in the UTF-8 and UTF-32 encodings. (In other words, the whole
95  surrogate thing is a fudge for UTF-16 which unfortunately messes up UTF-8.)  surrogate thing is a fudge for UTF-16 which unfortunately messes up UTF-8 and
96    UTF-32.)
97  </P>  </P>
98  <P>  <P>
99  Also excluded are the "Non-Characters" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF  Also excluded are the "Non-Character" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF
100  and the last two code points in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.  and the last two code points in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.
101  </P>  </P>
102  <P>  <P>
# Line 119  detailed reason code if the caller has p Line 109  detailed reason code if the caller has p
109  <P>  <P>
110  In some situations, you may already know that your strings are valid, and  In some situations, you may already know that your strings are valid, and
111  therefore want to skip these checks in order to improve performance, for  therefore want to skip these checks in order to improve performance, for
112  example in the case of a long subject string that is being scanned repeatedly  example in the case of a long subject string that is being scanned repeatedly.
113  with different patterns. If you set the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK flag at compile time  If you set the PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, PCRE
114  or at run time, PCRE assumes that the pattern or subject it is given  assumes that the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) contains only
115  (respectively) contains only valid UTF-8 codes. In this case, it does not  valid UTF-8 codes. In this case, it does not diagnose an invalid UTF-8 string.
116  diagnose an invalid UTF-8 string.  </P>
117  </P>  <P>
118  <P>  Note that passing PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK to <b>pcre_compile()</b> just disables the
119  If you pass an invalid UTF-8 string when PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK is set, what  check for the pattern; it does not also apply to subject strings. If you want
120  happens depends on why the string is invalid. If the string conforms to the  to disable the check for a subject string you must pass this option to
121  "old" definition of UTF-8 (RFC 2279), it is processed as a string of characters  <b>pcre_exec()</b> or <b>pcre_dfa_exec()</b>.
122  in the range 0 to 0x7FFFFFFF by <b>pcre_dfa_exec()</b> and the interpreted  </P>
123  version of <b>pcre_exec()</b>. In other words, apart from the initial validity  <P>
124  test, these functions (when in UTF-8 mode) handle strings according to the more  If you pass an invalid UTF-8 string when PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK is set, the result
125  liberal rules of RFC 2279. However, the just-in-time (JIT) optimization for  is undefined and your program may crash.
 <b>pcre_exec()</b> supports only RFC 3629. If you are using JIT optimization, or  
 if the string does not even conform to RFC 2279, the result is undefined. Your  
 program may crash.  
 </P>  
 <P>  
 If you want to process strings of values in the full range 0 to 0x7FFFFFFF,  
 encoded in a UTF-8-like manner as per the old RFC, you can set  
 PCRE_NO_UTF8_CHECK to bypass the more restrictive test. However, in this  
 situation, you will have to apply your own validity check, and avoid the use of  
 JIT optimization.  
126  <a name="utf16strings"></a></P>  <a name="utf16strings"></a></P>
127  <br><b>  <br><b>
128  Validity of UTF-16 strings  Validity of UTF-16 strings
# Line 155  U+D800 to U+DFFF are independent code po Line 135  U+D800 to U+DFFF are independent code po
135  must be used in pairs in the correct manner.  must be used in pairs in the correct manner.
136  </P>  </P>
137  <P>  <P>
138  Excluded are the "Non-Characters" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF  Excluded are the "Non-Character" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF
139  and the last two code points in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.  and the last two code points in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.
140  </P>  </P>
141  <P>  <P>
# Line 171  therefore want to skip these checks in o Line 151  therefore want to skip these checks in o
151  the PCRE_NO_UTF16_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, PCRE assumes that  the PCRE_NO_UTF16_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, PCRE assumes that
152  the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) contains only valid UTF-16  the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) contains only valid UTF-16
153  sequences. In this case, it does not diagnose an invalid UTF-16 string.  sequences. In this case, it does not diagnose an invalid UTF-16 string.
154    However, if an invalid string is passed, the result is undefined.
155  <a name="utf32strings"></a></P>  <a name="utf32strings"></a></P>
156  <br><b>  <br><b>
157  Validity of UTF-32 strings  Validity of UTF-32 strings
# Line 180  When you set the PCRE_UTF32 flag, the st Line 161  When you set the PCRE_UTF32 flag, the st
161  passed as patterns and subjects are (by default) checked for validity on entry  passed as patterns and subjects are (by default) checked for validity on entry
162  to the relevant functions.  This check allows only values in the range U+0  to the relevant functions.  This check allows only values in the range U+0
163  to U+10FFFF, excluding the surrogate area U+D800 to U+DFFF, and the  to U+10FFFF, excluding the surrogate area U+D800 to U+DFFF, and the
164  "Non-Characters" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF and the last two  "Non-Character" code points, which are U+FDD0 to U+FDEF and the last two
165  characters in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.  characters in each plane, U+??FFFE and U+??FFFF.
166  </P>  </P>
167  <P>  <P>
# Line 196  therefore want to skip these checks in o Line 177  therefore want to skip these checks in o
177  the PCRE_NO_UTF32_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, PCRE assumes that  the PCRE_NO_UTF32_CHECK flag at compile time or at run time, PCRE assumes that
178  the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) contains only valid UTF-32  the pattern or subject it is given (respectively) contains only valid UTF-32
179  sequences. In this case, it does not diagnose an invalid UTF-32 string.  sequences. In this case, it does not diagnose an invalid UTF-32 string.
180  </P>  However, if an invalid string is passed, the result is undefined.
 <P>  
 UTF-32 only uses the lowest 21 bits of the 32 bit characters, and the  
 application may use the upper bits for internal purposes. To allow you to  
 pass these strings to PCRE unmodified (thus avoiding the costly operation of  
 creating a copy of the string with the upper bits masked), PCRE accepts  
 these 32-bit character strings as-is, but only uses the lowest 21 bits for  
 matching, if you pass the PCRE_NO_UTF32_CHECK flag to <b>pcre32_exec()</b> and  
 <b>pcre32_dfa_exec()</b>. However, in this situation, you will have to apply  
 your own validity check, and avoid the use of JIT optimization.  
 (The latter restriction may be lifter in a later version of PCRE.)  
181  </P>  </P>
182  <br><b>  <br><b>
183  General comments about UTF modes  General comments about UTF modes
184  </b><br>  </b><br>
185  <P>  <P>
186  1. Codepoints less than 256 can be specified by either braced or unbraced  1. Codepoints less than 256 can be specified in patterns by either braced or
187  hexadecimal escape sequences (for example, \x{b3} or \xb3). Larger values  unbraced hexadecimal escape sequences (for example, \x{b3} or \xb3). Larger
188  have to use braced sequences.  values have to use braced sequences.
189  </P>  </P>
190  <P>  <P>
191  2. Octal numbers up to \777 are recognized, and in UTF-8 mode, they match  2. Octal numbers up to \777 are recognized, and in UTF-8 mode they match
192  two-byte characters for values greater than \177.  two-byte characters for values greater than \177.
193  </P>  </P>
194  <P>  <P>
# Line 235  UTF-32 mode, but its use can lead to som Line 206  UTF-32 mode, but its use can lead to som
206  multi-unit characters (see the description of \C in the  multi-unit characters (see the description of \C in the
207  <a href="pcrepattern.html"><b>pcrepattern</b></a>  <a href="pcrepattern.html"><b>pcrepattern</b></a>
208  documentation). The use of \C is not supported in the alternative matching  documentation). The use of \C is not supported in the alternative matching
209  function <b>pcre[16|32]_dfa_exec()</b>, nor is it supported in UTF mode by the JIT  function <b>pcre[16|32]_dfa_exec()</b>, nor is it supported in UTF mode by the
210  optimization of <b>pcre[16|32]_exec()</b>. If JIT optimization is requested for a  JIT optimization of <b>pcre[16|32]_exec()</b>. If JIT optimization is requested
211  UTF pattern that contains \C, it will not succeed, and so the matching will  for a UTF pattern that contains \C, it will not succeed, and so the matching
212  be carried out by the normal interpretive function.  will be carried out by the normal interpretive function.
213  </P>  </P>
214  <P>  <P>
215  6. The character escapes \b, \B, \d, \D, \s, \S, \w, and \W correctly  6. The character escapes \b, \B, \d, \D, \s, \S, \w, and \W correctly
# Line 290  Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. Line 261  Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
261  REVISION  REVISION
262  </b><br>  </b><br>
263  <P>  <P>
264  Last updated: 25 September 2012  Last updated: 11 November 2012
265  <br>  <br>
266  Copyright &copy; 1997-2012 University of Cambridge.  Copyright &copy; 1997-2012 University of Cambridge.
267  <br>  <br>
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