diff --git a/Doc/howto/regex.rst b/Doc/howto/regex.rst index 3beca38130f..9adfa85252b 100644 --- a/Doc/howto/regex.rst +++ b/Doc/howto/regex.rst @@ -354,9 +354,9 @@ for a complete listing. +------------------+-----------------------------------------------+ :meth:`match` and :meth:`search` return ``None`` if no match can be found. If -they're successful, a ``MatchObject`` instance is returned, containing -information about the match: where it starts and ends, the substring it matched, -and more. +they're successful, a :ref:`match object ` instance is returned, +containing information about the match: where it starts and ends, the substring +it matched, and more. You can learn about this by interactively experimenting with the :mod:`re` module. If you have :mod:`tkinter` available, you may also want to look at @@ -386,16 +386,16 @@ interpreter to print no output. You can explicitly print the result of None Now, let's try it on a string that it should match, such as ``tempo``. In this -case, :meth:`match` will return a :class:`MatchObject`, so you should store the -result in a variable for later use. :: +case, :meth:`match` will return a :ref:`match object `, so you +should store the result in a variable for later use. :: >>> m = p.match('tempo') >>> m #doctest: +ELLIPSIS <_sre.SRE_Match object at 0x...> -Now you can query the :class:`MatchObject` for information about the matching -string. :class:`MatchObject` instances also have several methods and -attributes; the most important ones are: +Now you can query the :ref:`match object ` for information +about the matching string. :ref:`match object ` instances +also have several methods and attributes; the most important ones are: +------------------+--------------------------------------------+ | Method/Attribute | Purpose | @@ -436,8 +436,9 @@ case. :: >>> m.span() (4, 11) -In actual programs, the most common style is to store the :class:`MatchObject` -in a variable, and then check if it was ``None``. This usually looks like:: +In actual programs, the most common style is to store the +:ref:`match object ` in a variable, and then check if it was +``None``. This usually looks like:: p = re.compile( ... ) m = p.match( 'string goes here' ) @@ -454,8 +455,8 @@ Two pattern methods return all of the matches for a pattern. ['12', '11', '10'] :meth:`findall` has to create the entire list before it can be returned as the -result. The :meth:`finditer` method returns a sequence of :class:`MatchObject` -instances as an :term:`iterator`:: +result. The :meth:`finditer` method returns a sequence of +:ref:`match object ` instances as an :term:`iterator`:: >>> iterator = p.finditer('12 drummers drumming, 11 ... 10 ...') >>> iterator #doctest: +ELLIPSIS @@ -476,7 +477,7 @@ You don't have to create a pattern object and call its methods; the :func:`search`, :func:`findall`, :func:`sub`, and so forth. These functions take the same arguments as the corresponding pattern method, with the RE string added as the first argument, and still return either ``None`` or a -:class:`MatchObject` instance. :: +:ref:`match object ` instance. :: >>> print(re.match(r'From\s+', 'Fromage amk')) None @@ -786,9 +787,9 @@ Groups indicated with ``'('``, ``')'`` also capture the starting and ending index of the text that they match; this can be retrieved by passing an argument to :meth:`group`, :meth:`start`, :meth:`end`, and :meth:`span`. Groups are numbered starting with 0. Group 0 is always present; it's the whole RE, so -:class:`MatchObject` methods all have group 0 as their default argument. Later -we'll see how to express groups that don't capture the span of text that they -match. :: +:ref:`match object ` methods all have group 0 as their default +argument. Later we'll see how to express groups that don't capture the span +of text that they match. :: >>> p = re.compile('(a)b') >>> m = p.match('ab') @@ -908,10 +909,10 @@ numbers, groups can be referenced by a name. The syntax for a named group is one of the Python-specific extensions: ``(?P...)``. *name* is, obviously, the name of the group. Named groups also behave exactly like capturing groups, and additionally associate a name -with a group. The :class:`MatchObject` methods that deal with capturing groups -all accept either integers that refer to the group by number or strings that -contain the desired group's name. Named groups are still given numbers, so you -can retrieve information about a group in two ways:: +with a group. The :ref:`match object ` methods that deal with +capturing groups all accept either integers that refer to the group by number +or strings that contain the desired group's name. Named groups are still +given numbers, so you can retrieve information about a group in two ways:: >>> p = re.compile(r'(?P\b\w+\b)') >>> m = p.search( '(((( Lots of punctuation )))' ) @@ -1175,11 +1176,11 @@ three variations of the replacement string. :: *replacement* can also be a function, which gives you even more control. If *replacement* is a function, the function is called for every non-overlapping -occurrence of *pattern*. On each call, the function is passed a -:class:`MatchObject` argument for the match and can use this information to -compute the desired replacement string and return it. +occurrence of *pattern*. On each call, the function is passed a +:ref:`match object ` argument for the match and can use this +information to compute the desired replacement string and return it. -In the following example, the replacement function translates decimals into +In the following example, the replacement function translates decimals into hexadecimal:: >>> def hexrepl(match):