@c -*-texinfo-*-
@c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual.
-@c Copyright (C) 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001,
-@c 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
+@c Copyright (C) 1990-1995, 1998-1999, 2001-2012
@c Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions.
@setfilename ../../info/searching
@var{string}. If successful, it sets point to the end of the occurrence
found, and returns the new value of point. If no match is found, the
value and side effects depend on @var{noerror} (see below).
-@c Emacs 19 feature
In the following example, point is initially at the beginning of the
line. Then @code{(search-forward "fox")} moves point after the last
find a match. Invalid arguments cause errors regardless of
@var{noerror}.
-If @var{repeat} is supplied (it must be a positive number), then the
-search is repeated that many times (each time starting at the end of the
-previous time's match). If these successive searches succeed, the
-function succeeds, moving point and returning its new value. Otherwise
-the search fails, with results depending on the value of
-@var{noerror}, as described above.
+If @var{repeat} is a positive number @var{n}, it serves as a repeat
+count: the search is repeated @var{n} times, each time starting at the
+end of the previous time's match. If these successive searches
+succeed, the function succeeds, moving point and returning its new
+value. Otherwise the search fails, with results depending on the
+value of @var{noerror}, as described above. If @var{repeat} is a
+negative number -@var{n}, it serves as a repeat count of @var{n} for a
+search in the opposite (backward) direction.
@end deffn
@deffn Command search-backward string &optional limit noerror repeat
This function searches backward from point for @var{string}. It is
-just like @code{search-forward} except that it searches backwards and
-leaves point at the beginning of the match.
+like @code{search-forward}, except that it searches backwards rather
+than forwards. Backward searches leave point at the beginning of the
+match.
@end deffn
@deffn Command word-search-forward string &optional limit noerror repeat
@node Regexp Backslash
@subsubsection Backslash Constructs in Regular Expressions
+@cindex backslash in regular expressions
For the most part, @samp{\} followed by any character matches only
that character. However, there are several exceptions: certain
@cindex @samp{\S} in regexp
matches any character whose syntax is not @var{code}.
+@cindex category, regexp search for
@item \c@var{c}
matches any character whose category is @var{c}. Here @var{c} is a
character that represents a category: thus, @samp{c} for Chinese
characters or @samp{g} for Greek characters in the standard category
-table.
+table. You can see the list of all the currently defined categories
+with @kbd{M-x describe-categories @key{RET}}. You can also define
+your own categories in addition to the standard ones using the
+@code{define-category} function (@pxref{Categories}).
@item \C@var{c}
matches any character whose category is not @var{c}.
can't avoid another intervening search, you must save and restore the
match data around it, to prevent it from being overwritten.
+ Notice that all functions are allowed to overwrite the match data
+unless they're explicitly documented not to do so. A consequence is
+that functions that are run implicitly in the background
+(@pxref{Timers}, and @ref{Idle Timers}) should likely save and restore
+the match data explicitly.
+
@menu
* Replacing Match:: Replacing a substring that was matched.
* Simple Match Data:: Accessing single items of match data,