MatchData is the type of the special variable $~,
and is the type of the object returned by
Regexp#match
and
Regexp#last_match
. It
encapsulates all the results of a pattern match, results normally
accessed through the special variables $&, $', $`, $1, $2, and so on.
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instance methods
|
|
[ ]
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mtch[i] -> anObject
mtch[start, length] -> anArray
mtch[aRange] -> anArray
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|
Match Reference---MatchData acts as an array, and may
be accessed using the normal array indexing techniques. mtch[0] is equivalent to the special variable $&, and
returns the entire matched string. mtch[1], mtch[2], and so
on return the
values of the matched backreferences (portions of the pattern
between parentheses).
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m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
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|
m[0]
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» |
"HX1138"
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|
m[1, 2]
|
» |
["H", "X"]
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|
m[1..3]
|
» |
["H", "X", "113"]
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|
m[-3, 2]
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» |
["X", "113"]
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|
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begin
|
mtch.begin( n ) -> anInteger
|
|
Returns the offset of the start of the nth element of the
match array in the string.
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m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.begin(0)
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» |
1
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|
m.begin(2)
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» |
2
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|
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end
|
mtch.end( n ) -> anInteger
|
|
Returns the offset of the character immediately following the
end of the nth element of the match array in the string.
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m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.end(0)
|
» |
7
|
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m.end(2)
|
» |
3
|
|
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length
|
mtch.length -> anInteger
|
|
Returns the number of elements in the match array.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.length
|
» |
5
|
|
m.size
|
» |
5
|
|
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offset
|
mtch.offset( n ) -> anArray
|
|
Returns a two-element array containing the beginning and ending
offsets of the nth match.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.offset(0)
|
» |
[1, 7]
|
|
m.offset(4)
|
» |
[6, 7]
|
|
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post_match
|
mtch.post_match -> aString
|
|
Returns the portion of the original string after the current
match. Equivalent to the special variable $'.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138: The Movie")
|
|
m.post_match
|
» |
": The Movie"
|
|
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pre_match
|
mtch.pre_match -> aString
|
|
Returns the portion of the original string before the current
match. Equivalent to the special variable $`.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.pre_match
|
» |
"T"
|
|
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size
|
mtch.size -> anInteger
|
|
A synonym for
MatchData#length
.
|
|
string
|
mtch.string -> aString
|
|
Returns a frozen copy of the string passed in to match.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.string
|
» |
"THX1138."
|
|
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to_a
|
mtch.to_a -> anArray
|
|
Returns the array of matches.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.to_a
|
» |
["HX1138", "H", "X", "113", "8"]
|
|
|
to_s
|
mtch.to_s -> aString
|
|
Returns the entire matched string.
|
m = /(.)(.)(\d+)(\d)/.match("THX1138.")
|
|
m.to_s
|
» |
"HX1138"
|
|
Extracted from the book "Programming Ruby -
The Pragmatic Programmer's Guide"
Copyright
©
2001 by Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. This material may
be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in
the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later (the latest version is
presently available at http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)).
Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is
prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard
(paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained
from the copyright holder.
